Room of the Day: What’s Behind the Mirror?
Creative thinking turned this yoga studio into a dual-use room for Canadian downsizers
Designers Reena Sotropa and Alanna Dunn met the owners of this condo as they were downsizing from a much larger house. Having given up quite a bit of square footage, the couple wanted every room in their new home to function well, and for some rooms to serve multiple purposes. The design duo started thinking creatively and decided that the yoga studio, which was a must-have space, would be a great room to sneak in more function.
AFTER: Bright, colorful wallpaper now covers the ceiling. “We had thought about putting the wallpaper on the walls,” Sotropa says. “But then we thought about how the room would function. When you work out, you spend a lot of time lying down and looking at the ceiling. We knew it made more sense up there.”
The wallpaper was the inspiration for the rest of the room. They painted the walls white, created a blue window seat cushion, bought colorful yoga mats and covered the floor with a soft but firm rug. To ensure that the rug would work for yoga, the designers had the client test samples until they found one that provided the right support underfoot.
They also worked with a local millworker to create open and closed shelving throughout the room. The client needed space to store equipment, such extra mats and free weights. The weights fit in the drawers under the window seat. The drawers were engineered to hold the additional weight.
Wallpaper: Vertere, Trove; crate, yoga mat and pillows: HomeSense
The wallpaper was the inspiration for the rest of the room. They painted the walls white, created a blue window seat cushion, bought colorful yoga mats and covered the floor with a soft but firm rug. To ensure that the rug would work for yoga, the designers had the client test samples until they found one that provided the right support underfoot.
They also worked with a local millworker to create open and closed shelving throughout the room. The client needed space to store equipment, such extra mats and free weights. The weights fit in the drawers under the window seat. The drawers were engineered to hold the additional weight.
Wallpaper: Vertere, Trove; crate, yoga mat and pillows: HomeSense
The open shelves provide storage for the client’s collections, such as the yoga figurines found on her travels around the world.
Cabinet hardware: Lewis Dolin, Banbury Lane Design Centre
Cabinet hardware: Lewis Dolin, Banbury Lane Design Centre
The room also transforms into a guest room. The designers worked with the local millworker and a custom framing company to create a Murphy bed behind the studio’s large mirror, shown in the first photo.
“This was the biggest challenge in the room because none of us had ever done anything like it before,” Sotropa says. “We all knew this was a great idea, but we didn’t know exactly how to do it. We had some great team players to make it possible.”
The millwork company used hardware from Murphy Wall-Beds to create the cabinetry for the bed. The mirror, which the framers secured to the bed’s underside, also acts as the pull-down handle. It easily comes down from the wall, creating an instant guest room.
The shelves by the sides of the bed also stick out an extra few inches on the bottom to serve as nightstands.
“I am really happy with how this room turned out,” Sotropa says. “We were able to make the room work for both purposes without sacrificing on function.”
Millwork: Aric Hartley of Pepper Tree Studios
More
How to Add a Murphy Bed
How to Turn Almost Any Space Into a Guest Room
More Rooms of the Day
“This was the biggest challenge in the room because none of us had ever done anything like it before,” Sotropa says. “We all knew this was a great idea, but we didn’t know exactly how to do it. We had some great team players to make it possible.”
The millwork company used hardware from Murphy Wall-Beds to create the cabinetry for the bed. The mirror, which the framers secured to the bed’s underside, also acts as the pull-down handle. It easily comes down from the wall, creating an instant guest room.
The shelves by the sides of the bed also stick out an extra few inches on the bottom to serve as nightstands.
“I am really happy with how this room turned out,” Sotropa says. “We were able to make the room work for both purposes without sacrificing on function.”
Millwork: Aric Hartley of Pepper Tree Studios
More
How to Add a Murphy Bed
How to Turn Almost Any Space Into a Guest Room
More Rooms of the Day
Exercise and Guest Room at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple in their 60s who downsized from a 6,000-square-foot home to a condo
Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Size: 181 square feet (16.8 square meters)
Designers: Reena Sotropa, principal designer, and Alanna Dunn, senior interior designer, at Reena Sotropa In House Design Group
One of the clients avidly practices yoga, so the room’s first purpose was to serve as a workout area. They brainstormed with the client to make sure the room would have everything she needed: a cushioned floor, open and hidden storage, a TV for workout videos, and lots of open space.
Mirror: custom, Corner Framing Studio; TV console and rug: Restoration Hardware