An Intimate, Elegant Room for Hobbies and Relaxation
Homeowners work with a designer to create a place to pursue their pastimes in their early 1900s San Francisco building
Thoughtful Built-In Storage
Previously the owners, both attorneys, displayed their large book collection on freestanding shelves that lined the walls. Nystrom measured the number of linear feet required to store their books and designed extensive built-ins accordingly.
The original French door in this photo is an entry into this part of their home, which Nystrom dubs “an urban atelier.” She left the area above the center cabinets open to serve as a landing-zone console and hung a mirror so that they can check themselves before heading out the door. The mirror also brightens the dark palette.
“The red chair had been with them for many years and was a favorite, so we knew it was important to work it into the room,” Nystrom says. She set it up as a comfy reading chair next to a pharmacy-style floor lamp. It’s also a great spot for the husband to keep his wife company while she works on her hobbies.
Layers of lighting allow the owners to change the mood in the cozy space. The prior renovation added recessed lights on the ceiling, and Nystrom supplemented them with floor lamps, the glass pendant and library lights over the built-ins to create a pleasing atmosphere, whether they want to enjoy watching TV in a dimly lit room or need more powerful light for reading and knitting.
Browse brass-finished mirrors in the Houzz Shop
Previously the owners, both attorneys, displayed their large book collection on freestanding shelves that lined the walls. Nystrom measured the number of linear feet required to store their books and designed extensive built-ins accordingly.
The original French door in this photo is an entry into this part of their home, which Nystrom dubs “an urban atelier.” She left the area above the center cabinets open to serve as a landing-zone console and hung a mirror so that they can check themselves before heading out the door. The mirror also brightens the dark palette.
“The red chair had been with them for many years and was a favorite, so we knew it was important to work it into the room,” Nystrom says. She set it up as a comfy reading chair next to a pharmacy-style floor lamp. It’s also a great spot for the husband to keep his wife company while she works on her hobbies.
Layers of lighting allow the owners to change the mood in the cozy space. The prior renovation added recessed lights on the ceiling, and Nystrom supplemented them with floor lamps, the glass pendant and library lights over the built-ins to create a pleasing atmosphere, whether they want to enjoy watching TV in a dimly lit room or need more powerful light for reading and knitting.
Browse brass-finished mirrors in the Houzz Shop
Her Artistic Pursuits
The wife recently retired, which gives her more time for artistic endeavors. “She’s always been involved in music — she’s an accomplished pianist and sings in a choir — so this floor serves as a rehearsal space,” Nystrom says.
She also knits and sews. The hutch and the table used to be their dining room furniture. Now the hutch holds her yarns. Both owners use the table as a laptop desk, and she uses it for her hobbies.
Clever cabinetry fabricated by MCA Creative stores less attractive items. Nystrom designed the window seat to include file drawers, and the sewing machine, the printer and office supplies have designated spots in the cabinets underneath the bookshelves.
The owners wanted to be able to move the table around to suit their needs. So it is on casters, and Nystrom kept the floor in this area free of rugs.
Nystrom helped her clients find the monoprint over the piano by Bay Area artist Kay King to add to their lovely collection of work by local artists.
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The wife recently retired, which gives her more time for artistic endeavors. “She’s always been involved in music — she’s an accomplished pianist and sings in a choir — so this floor serves as a rehearsal space,” Nystrom says.
She also knits and sews. The hutch and the table used to be their dining room furniture. Now the hutch holds her yarns. Both owners use the table as a laptop desk, and she uses it for her hobbies.
Clever cabinetry fabricated by MCA Creative stores less attractive items. Nystrom designed the window seat to include file drawers, and the sewing machine, the printer and office supplies have designated spots in the cabinets underneath the bookshelves.
The owners wanted to be able to move the table around to suit their needs. So it is on casters, and Nystrom kept the floor in this area free of rugs.
Nystrom helped her clients find the monoprint over the piano by Bay Area artist Kay King to add to their lovely collection of work by local artists.
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Rugs warm up the floor in other parts of the room. Nystrom had sea grass rugs cut and bound to fit the space, and she layered custom area rugs in key spots. Their colors pick up the deep rose tones in the wallpaper.
His Pastimes
Besides using the space for office work, the husband enjoys reading here and listening to his wife’s music. They both like to watch TV from this sofa.
They already owned the artwork, but the sofa, the two cocktail tables and the lamp are new. Mixing their favorite things with new items lends a pleasing collected look throughout the atelier.
His Pastimes
Besides using the space for office work, the husband enjoys reading here and listening to his wife’s music. They both like to watch TV from this sofa.
They already owned the artwork, but the sofa, the two cocktail tables and the lamp are new. Mixing their favorite things with new items lends a pleasing collected look throughout the atelier.
Nodding to History
“While the prior renovation had taken out a lot of the walls that divided the space into smaller rooms, this barrel window kept the historic feeling of the early 1900s San Francisco building,” Nystrom says. Two easy-to-move chairs offer views of the San Francisco skyline, including the Transamerica Pyramid. A floor lamp between them makes this another good reading spot.
With other design details, she created a streamlined look that doesn’t feel too sleek. “They have contemporary flat-front [cabinet] panels in a bright citrus green upstairs, so we went with Shaker-style down here. It’s not uber modern, so it fits in with the traditional style of the wallpaper yet has clean lines that are not too fussy,” she says.
Drapes on a custom rod can be adjusted for TV watching and privacy. The fabric is a polyester blend. “It feels like wool, and it drapes beautifully,” Nystrom says. She used the same fabric, which picks up a rose hue in the wallpaper, on the Roman shades over the window seat.
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“While the prior renovation had taken out a lot of the walls that divided the space into smaller rooms, this barrel window kept the historic feeling of the early 1900s San Francisco building,” Nystrom says. Two easy-to-move chairs offer views of the San Francisco skyline, including the Transamerica Pyramid. A floor lamp between them makes this another good reading spot.
With other design details, she created a streamlined look that doesn’t feel too sleek. “They have contemporary flat-front [cabinet] panels in a bright citrus green upstairs, so we went with Shaker-style down here. It’s not uber modern, so it fits in with the traditional style of the wallpaper yet has clean lines that are not too fussy,” she says.
Drapes on a custom rod can be adjusted for TV watching and privacy. The fabric is a polyester blend. “It feels like wool, and it drapes beautifully,” Nystrom says. She used the same fabric, which picks up a rose hue in the wallpaper, on the Roman shades over the window seat.
Find a window treatment specialist
Floor Plan
The hobby room-library is on the right half of this plan, with the entry in the lower right corner, the music and hobby area to the left, and the TV den and barrel window on the upper right.
Takeaways
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The hobby room-library is on the right half of this plan, with the entry in the lower right corner, the music and hobby area to the left, and the TV den and barrel window on the upper right.
Takeaways
- Use a wallpaper pattern as a jumping-off point for a color palette and a style direction.
- Don’t be afraid to ask a designer to incorporate your favorite things. You don’t need to start with a blank slate.
- Layer lighting to create different moods in one space.
- Consider custom cabinetry to house stuff you don’t always want to look at, whether it’s media and office equipment or a sewing machine.
More on Houzz
Read about other craft spaces
Find a pro to help with your project
Shop for home products
Hobby Room-Library at a Glance
Who lives here: A married couple of attorneys, one recently retired
Location: North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco
Size: 400 square feet (37 square meters)
Designer: Ellen Nystrom of Nystrom Design
The owners of this multiunit, early 1900s building on a hill in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood reserved the top two floors for themselves. The fourth floor contains the couple’s kitchen and living room, where they gather with family and entertain guests. The third floor has a separate entrance off the hallway and contains their private quarters: a master suite and a 400-square-foot multipurpose space. Interior designer Ellen Nystrom helped them transform that space into an intimate place to read, play music, watch TV, work, knit, sew and pursue other artistic hobbies.
Setting the Tone
The third floor, which had been renovated and opened up during a previous remodel, had white walls. But since the owners already had a bright modern space upstairs, they wanted a completely different feeling down here. “Because one of my clients is a knitter, she had a really good grasp of color and knew what she liked,” the designer says. They used Houzz ideabooks to share ideas.
After Nystrom presented several concepts and wallpaper choices, the couple fell in love with this floral pattern. “We built the rest of the scheme around this paper,” she says. Benjamin Moore’s Newburg Green paint for the built-ins, walls and millwork was a great match to the blue in the wallpaper. Although many of the unit’s original architectural features had been stripped away over the years, the design pays homage to the building’s Victorian-era roots.
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