By Ellen Morrissey
Interior photographs by Tamara Flanagan
Portrait photographs by Stephanie Zollshan
Styling by Sean William Donovan
Growing up, Carly Shafiroff moved houses more times than she can remember. “There was the one next to Aunt Jody’s on Meadow Street, Alford, West Stockbridge, Stockbridge, Lenox…” Her mom, Linda, cuts in, “Lenox was a reno…” Carly picks back up. “You built the house that we lived in on Blue Hill Road, technically, and then…” Her voice trails off. Listening to the two of them go back and forth, one gets the feeling that they’ve left a few houses off the list. “Yeah, we built a lot,” says Linda. “Many, many, many,” Carly responds.
Though she may not know the exact number of homes she’s lived in off the top of her head, Carly can easily recall spending summer vacations poring over blueprints and weekends in local antique shops, thanks to her mom’s career. In the nearly 25 years since Linda founded Creative Building Solutions in Great Barrington with her college friend Sarah Stiner, it’s clear that designing, building, and decorating houses in the Berkshires has been central to their lives—both personal and professional. All the while, Carly gained an immersive education in the trades, one that she parlayed into her eponymous design business, Carly Jane Design.
Though the pair has worked for a variety of clients and collaborated on a range of construction projects, their latest endeavor is their most personal. The new build in Great Barrington happens to be the home that Linda shares with her “other half,” Mike Brooks. After finding land that she and Mike both liked, Linda did what she always does: “I dragged Carly to see it.”
In the living area, custom chairs in a graphic checked pattern give a subtle nod to Mike’s love of racing. The extra long sectional is covered in a deep-brown fabric to ground some of the more modern elements in the room. A floating hearth of white oak spans the width of the wall with builtin benches, offering additional conversation space to sit and admire the views through the six-foot-high windows. Mike’s motorcycle is parked at the bottom of the stairs, just inside the entry. In the kitchen, micro-Shaker-style cabinets (in which the framing around center panels is narrow) are clean and modern.
From there, their process followed a familiar pattern. “I start to do a schematic, and then I send it over to Carly. She’s like, this looks great, but this is terrible. Do this, move that, move that.” The result of their collaboration is a home that’s in keeping with the natural surroundings of the site, and in the organic yet luxuriously elegant style that Carly is known for. The interiors also fit the vernacular of the region—refined but relaxed, elevated, and timeless. “We used white oak, natural stones—quartzites, granites, and marbles. Textures that you layer together, and each material develops a lived-in patina. It’s a little bit imperfect.”
In other words, says Linda, “People like that it’s not stuffy. You can put your feet up on things. This is not the Hamptons.”
Throughout the house, there are also industrial-modern touches, another trademark design detail of the region. The metalwork on the bar countertop and the kitchen cabinets is by local craftsman Kody Goddard of KG Fabrication. “He’s not only a wonderful welder, but also a friend,” says Carly. “It’s great to work alongside other locals who are doing cool things in design. There are so many young people who have realized that the Berkshires is a wonderful place to be, there’s not really anywhere quite like it. And there is enough work for people to do something creative, whether it’s welding, furniture-making, interior design.”
She shares that commitment to hiring and supporting local talent with her mother’s company. “I love hearing about all these young people forging a new path,” Linda says, “and my kid happens to be one of them. They’re the future of our business.”
“It’s great to work alongside other locals who are doing cool things in design. There are so many young people who have realized that the Berkshires is a wonderful place to be, there’s not really anywhere quite like it.”
– Carly
A soft palette of earth tones and varied textures set a restful, relaxing tone in the primary bedroom, while an abundance of jet mist granite ups the earthy yet elegant factor in the powder room. In the dining area, Carly selected the branch-inspired light fixture to evoke the landscape of the Berkshires, a signature of Carly Jane Design. Camel-colored leather chairs add warmth and are practical for such a high-traffic seating area.
The challenge is keeping them in the region, given the housing and affordability crises. Linda and her business partner, Sarah, want to help solve that problem and are working to get a new project off the ground. “We’re calling it neighborhood housing,” says Linda. They hope to deed-restrict houses for people like nurses, cops, welders, and tradespeople, meaning that potential buyers would have to prove that they work in Berkshire County and, later, sell to somebody who can prove that they do the same.
“I want my kids and others in their late 20s and early 30s to be able to start families and put their kids in the elementary school, middle school, and high school that they went to,” says Linda.
Her commitment to her community is evident in other ways, as well, as she proved this past spring. When ICE agents appeared outside her office in Great Barrington to apprehend a Berkshires resident, Linda got out her phone and began recording. “What are the charges?” she asked. “Where are you taking him? What is he accused of? What are your names?”
Linda’s video clip soon went viral and she herself was identified as the person who captured the video. She would do it again in a heartbeat, she says, and it only strengthened her resolve to protect her community. “There were people in our parking lot immediately, helping his family. We have a lot of good people here.”
Sarah Stiner, Linda’s business partner at Creative Building Solutions, goes over some plans at the kitchen island, where the streamlined and neutral color scheme keeps the focus light and bright.
Clearly, the Shafiroffs are committed to their beloved Berkshires. The question is whether Linda will stay in the house that her company just built and her daughter just finished decorating. Or will it be the latest in a long string of Berkshires homes? “Our intent is to stay in it,” she says, “until we need to downsize when I’m older. And then I go on Carly’s payroll. That’s the plan.”
