Warehouse Fleecing: An Illustrated Home in Claverack

True story: Writer Dave King and Artist Frank Tartaglione found an abandoned warehouse outside Claverack and completely transformed it. How they did it, however, is a matter of perspective. Chock full of history, both real and imagined, their 5,000-square-foot home and studio complex is a light-filled warren of illustrated walls, whimsically deceptive flourishes, creative reuse of space, and a few tricks. Stories line the walls. Some of them come from King’s extensive library, but others are straight from the mind and through the brush of Tartaglione, an accomplished tromp l’oeil painter and artist, all tied together with one, very imaginative, thread.

Originally part of the area’s extensive sheep and wool industry, the couple have taken the warehouse’s originally intended use and spun it into something completely different. “Our home is unlike anyone else’s,” admits King. “It’s expressive, welcoming, and totally idiosyncratic.”