After years in the city, Michael Lerner and his wife, Amiee, were ready for a change. Selling their Seattle home—where Michael had built an ADU from scratch—they set out for the countryside, where they wanted to start afresh and get in sync with the land.
source.image: Kirsten Dirksen
They found the perfect spot an hour and a half north of the city: a small circular home made of wood overlooking a dreamy Pacific Northwest forested valley. The property also had an expansive unfinished barn and plenty of space for creativity, introspection, and hands-on work.
Michael and Aimee decided to revamp the “wooden yurt” and live in it. They’d finish the barn to turn it into a creative barndominium with a garage area on one side, and, on the other side, a full studio apartment with Michael’s own music studio: they call it the Kulshan Loft. With no formal training, Michael taught himself construction through thousands of hours of YouTube videos, turning a backyard project into a passion.
Advertisement
A tranquil spot sheltered by trees near the barn served as the site of Michael’s next endeavor: a skillful, Scandinavian-and-Japanese-looking cabin studio with sleeping quarters on a mezanine, an impressive work of precision and craft. Now, their new homestead offers room to grow—not just in building skills but also in music, with a dedicated studio for his indie work. It’s a fresh start in a place where craftsmanship and creativity thrive. Michael leads the band Telekinesis, featured on NPR’s Tiny Desk a few years back, a part of the indie label Merge Records.
