I had the pleasure of photographing The Abner in Litchfield, Connecticut for Salt Hotels. This hospitality photography project took me to a small New England town where an 1888 county courthouse has been transformed into a 20-room boutique hotel. The building now houses The Courtroom restaurant and Verdict, a seasonal rooftop bar that was fortunately open during my visit.

What struck me most was how Salt Hotels approached the renovation. Rather than erasing the building's history, they used it as North Star throughout the whole project. Old courtroom benches became dining seating, former jury box elements were repurposed as reception desks, and that grand main courtroom where verdicts were once delivered is now where guests gather for dinner. Retaining these design elements add a new layer to this history of this building, and is something that you don't get to photograph every day.

Litchfield itself felt like a town that understands preservation. Walking around between shots, I noticed how much of the historic architecture remains, giving the whole area a sense of continuity. My approach to this hotel photography assignment was capturing this conversation between past and present. The warm color palette throughout the hotel, the carefully restored floors, the way natural light moves through those tall courtroom windows. Each of the guest rooms has its own personality, and photographing them meant finding what makes each space distinct while showing how they all belong to the same story of boutique hotel design.