Making New Music

It is pure positive energy that flows through this former recording studio in Cambridge, Mass., these days, not music.

Marjolein Brugman, Tom Lapsley and their children took the abandoned 2,000-square-foot building under their creative wing and recycled it into a bold home. The single-story recording studio was completely gutted and replaced with a three-story home. The lower level is now a garage with the living spaces upstairs.

The first floor playroom features a stainless-steel kitchenette salvaged from the old recording studio. They created an outdoor courtyard of sorts on the second floor by coming in from the original walls about 10 feet. And the third floor contains a master bedroom and Marjolein's home office. Skylights and lots of windows provide an open, airy perch.

Brugman, an avid feng shui enthusiast and Pilates instructor, took great care to incorporate the principles of energy into every corner of their new space. Meanwhile, Lapsley, who spent decades in the restaurant business, designed his dream kitchen. What is the result? A three-story symphony of bright colors and daring designs now fill the space. A highlight is the entrance to the children’s bedrooms made from original hand-carved wooden doors from the former entry to the recording studio.