By The Piano

Rarely do the terms "rock star" and "homebody" describe the same person. Then again, Neko Case is far from your typical rock star. Or homebody. The Grammy nominee, whose genre-defying sound falls somewhere between alt-country and punk-folk, spends as many as 10 months a year on the road. But just because she's not physically at her 1787 Vermont farmhouse doesn't mean she isn't there — dreaming and decorating, room by room, in her head.

In this photo: Neko Case does much of her composing in the kitchen, at an old piano she rescued from a nearby frat house. The alcove's mirrored tile, along with the white version covering the walls, is by Artistic Tile. As for the border up top? Pratt & Larson custom-made that tile, dubbing the color "Neko red."