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When Tiffany Birch and her family moved into a new house in Ann Arbor one year ago, her 17-year-old daughter, Brigitte Kapnick, asked not only for a special space to play her instruments — but also for a grand piano to add to the collection.

“We had an upright piano that was really old and out of tune. My mom was always telling me that she’d buy a grand piano if we moved. So, I said, ‘OK, we moved, are we getting this piano?’” says the Pioneer High School senior, who also plays the guitar, viola, and ukulele.��

Birch, an interior designer who runs Birch Design Associates in Ann Arbor, discovered a Kohler & Campbell baby grand for sale on Facebook Marketplace through a friend’s post. “We got it tuned, fixed the pedals, and had new pads put on,” Birch says. Now, it takes center stage in the music room.

��“Beyond the piano, I love the room’s ceiling and the wood beams,” Kapnick says. “And I like it when the light shines through the window onto my sheet music [which is likely works by Chopin or Beethoven]. My piano teacher won’t stop talking about the room; he says that it looks like it’s straight from England.”��

Birch says the design goal was to keep the history of their 1929 home “but give it more of a California vibe where it’s sort of light and modern.” Here, the mom-daughter duet share insights on some notable music-room elements.��

More on The Music Room

Lime on a dime

“We had the fireplace painted the same as the wall color, but in a flat finish to look seamless and resemble limestone,” Birch says.�� ��

Gotta have art

A lithograph by Alexander Calder, “The Frog and the Saw” (or “La Grenouille et la Scie” in French), hangs over the fireplace. “Orange is my favorite color; I had to have it,” Birch says. Adds Kapnick: “I like a lot of what my mom likes, so what she did in this room is great.”

Choice chandelier

A Ralph Lauren Home chandelier featuring a horse theme, with bits and leather straps, hangs from the home’s original solid wood beams.��

Star power

Hanging on the wall near the piano are framed black-and-white photos of the Sex Pistols and Bob Marley. “Those are two of my mom’s favorite musicians,” Kapnick says.

Pretty panes

The room features all the original leaded-glass windows. “The owner before us had them all restored,” Birch says.

Floored by beauty

All the flooring is original 1928 tile from Pewabic.

Front-row seats

“Two chairs flank the fireplace and offer seating to enjoy a drink and listen to Brigitte play,” Birch says, “not unlike what people used to do decades ago during dinner parties. I think that tradition should be brought back.”��

Canines and cows

Birch is flanked by Kapnick’s viola and Penny the dog. The rug is a cowhide rug Birch purchased at Baker Furniture at the Michigan Design Center in Troy.

This story is from the June 2022 issue of ����vlog��׿�� Detroit. Read more our digital edition.�� And��click here��to see more metro Detroit interiors.��