Last year, interior designer Frank Roop purchased a 725-square-foot condo on Newbury Street to serve as his studio and office. I popped in last spring to go over the details on the gorgeous Nantucket house that I wrote about for the Boston Globe Magazine (and this blog). While I was there, I also got the lowdown on how he transformed it into a perfect workspace; one that showcases his signature style without overwhelming the designs he puts forth for his clients. I wrote it up as a Q&A for Stuff Magazine called “Interior designer Frank Roop’s functional and fashionable studio”. And, I took extra notes and pictures to share here.
“I definitely went all out. My studio is simple and clean, with notes of exotica, pops of color, and a lot of texture. It communicates my aesthetic, but is neutral enough so that the design doesn’t overshadow my presentations to clients.”
The space originally housed three separate offices. Roop kept a plan with three distinct spaces, but opened up the wall between two of them, adding large custom metal-and-glass doors. That’s where his desk and computer are. He presents design concepts and swatch boards in the adjoining room with the fireplace. The third room is a work area for making models, with doors he can shut if it gets messy.
![Desk Desk](https://i0.wp.com/stylecarrot.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/desk.jpg?resize=371%2C458&ssl=1)
Roop’s desk is vintage Danish from a dealer in Paris. The wall behind the desk is a high-gloss lacquer with “a million coats of paint” that were sanded between coats and then sprayed with a high-gloss finish. Roop adds, “It took about a week to do that one wall.” The stripey painting is by local artist David Moore, represented by the Kidder Smith Gallery.
Left: Roop often uses vintage Curtis Jere wall sculptures. An array of sea anemones hang behind his desk. (He used similar sculptures above the desk in the Nantucket family room.)
Right: Detail of the overhead light fixture that he designed. About it Roop says, “It is essentially a light box made of silk with top-stitched suede tape.”
Left: These open rectangular bookshelves hang on the wall to the left of Roop’s desk. He used similar shelves in his home too.
Right: Roop favors fancy minerals as objets d’art. The hunks here are actually slag glass. (I scoured ebay for a hunk (of glass) of my own as soon as I got back to my computer.)
![fireplace fireplace](https://i0.wp.com/stylecarrot.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/fireplace1.jpg?resize=468%2C388&ssl=1)
Right: The main room adjoins Roop’s office. The walls are covered with a superfine hemp cloth in a neutral color, which is important because he displays the design boards on the ledges here. The wall behind the fireplace is a micro-mosaic tile in a polished white Carrara marble that’s sort of sparkly. The Plexiglass globe chandelier is from an antique dealer in San Francisco.
Top right: A mesmerizing slab of rock with clear crystal formations, from China, sits on the mantle. Bottom right: Another painting by David Moore hangs above a decorative screen with nail head detailing.
![roop-star-table roop-star-table](https://i0.wp.com/stylecarrot.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/roop-star-table.jpg?resize=433%2C309&ssl=1)
Left: “My super-duper high-end treasure is this ’60s-era George Nakashima coffee table.”
Right: Roop designs most of the upholstered pieces in his projects. This chair is one of his early prototypes. He also designed the star side table with a shimmery veneer that’s made from paua shell imported from Hawaii. When the Nantucket client saw it, she insisted on having one too. The star table in Nantucket has more of a bluish tinge.
The presentation ledges. These boards are for an over-the-top condo in Miami. I got a sneak peek of the photos, but sorry, can’t share them yet! They’ll be published in a national glossy soon.
![swatches swatches](https://i0.wp.com/stylecarrot.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/swatches.jpg?resize=338%2C613&ssl=1)
Details from the inspiration boards. Shiny, velvety, nubby, geometric, metallic. Delicious. The colors and textures are pure Roop, but revved up to stand out in South Beach.
![sputnik sputnik](https://i0.wp.com/stylecarrot.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/sputnik3.jpg?resize=277%2C376&ssl=1)
“I love light fixtures – I think of them as sculpture.”
![dog dog](https://i0.wp.com/stylecarrot.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/dog.jpg?resize=162%2C175&ssl=1)
[tweetmeme source=”StyleCarrot” only_single=false]