Room of the Day: A Home Office That Really Clicks
A portrait photographer gets a much-needed workspace at home, and her tween daughter gets a new room in the bargain
It was clear this photographer and mother needed a place in the house to call her own. During an expansive home design and renovation, designer and project manager Laura Schwartz-Muller noticed that her client was always carrying her laptop around the house and could never find a spot to sit down and work. “I also noticed that she had given all of the space in the house over to everyone else. I knew she needed and deserved her own space,” Schwartz-Muller says.
“After” photos by Riley Jamison
Room at a Glance
What happens here: This is the home office of a photographer who specializes in ballet portraits. The room also serves as a changing room for her subjects.
Location: Calabasas, California
Size: 225 square feet (21 square meters)
Designer: Laura Schwartz-Muller of Four Point Design+Construction
BEFORE: Originally this room was the bedroom of the client’s tween daughter, but designer Laura Schwartz-Muller thought it was the right spot for the photography production office. The family’s adult son had left the nest, so Schwartz-Muller suggested moving the daughter into his old room, which she laid out with enough storage so it could serve as both playroom and bedroom.
“The preteen years are the best time to get a kid to let go of a lot of their toys,” the designer says. “We sat down with everything and told her to figure out which ones she wanted to donate to the children’s hospital and the Ronald McDonald House and she really got into it. Kids that age are ready to let go of being babies.” This decluttering work made it easier for the daughter to move into her new room.
Room at a Glance
What happens here: This is the home office of a photographer who specializes in ballet portraits. The room also serves as a changing room for her subjects.
Location: Calabasas, California
Size: 225 square feet (21 square meters)
Designer: Laura Schwartz-Muller of Four Point Design+Construction
BEFORE: Originally this room was the bedroom of the client’s tween daughter, but designer Laura Schwartz-Muller thought it was the right spot for the photography production office. The family’s adult son had left the nest, so Schwartz-Muller suggested moving the daughter into his old room, which she laid out with enough storage so it could serve as both playroom and bedroom.
“The preteen years are the best time to get a kid to let go of a lot of their toys,” the designer says. “We sat down with everything and told her to figure out which ones she wanted to donate to the children’s hospital and the Ronald McDonald House and she really got into it. Kids that age are ready to let go of being babies.” This decluttering work made it easier for the daughter to move into her new room.
AFTER: The daughter’s old room is now a crisp, bright and well-organized photography production office. The area on the left is for computer and administrative tasks, and the free-standing desk is the creative space.
“The room is minimal, clean and easy to maintain — there’s a sense of serenity in this active space,” Schwartz-Muller says. The designer went with engineered hardwood floors and Flor carpet tiles because the family has several pets. Flor tiles are easy to clean, and it’s easy to replace just one or two if necessary.
Wall paint: Cool December, Dunn-Edwards
“The room is minimal, clean and easy to maintain — there’s a sense of serenity in this active space,” Schwartz-Muller says. The designer went with engineered hardwood floors and Flor carpet tiles because the family has several pets. Flor tiles are easy to clean, and it’s easy to replace just one or two if necessary.
Wall paint: Cool December, Dunn-Edwards
The computer area had been a double closet. Schwartz-Muller had the doors and the header removed, and new drywall and plaster make the alcove look original to the space.n
She outfitted the office with pieces from Ikea. “You have to know what you’re doing with Ikea, but there are really great quality pieces there,” Schwartz-Muller says. The desktop is a Ikea kitchen countertop.
She outfitted the office with pieces from Ikea. “You have to know what you’re doing with Ikea, but there are really great quality pieces there,” Schwartz-Muller says. The desktop is a Ikea kitchen countertop.
The second work area is for spreading out. “A creative work area should be away from all of the clunky computer equipment,” Schwartz-Muller says.
“My client loves to sit Indian style, so when we shopped for [chairs] she took her shoes off to try out every one — this one makes her so happy and the color is great,” she says.
Chair: Crate and Barrel; rug: Flor; desk: Ikea
“My client loves to sit Indian style, so when we shopped for [chairs] she took her shoes off to try out every one — this one makes her so happy and the color is great,” she says.
Chair: Crate and Barrel; rug: Flor; desk: Ikea
The cool white walls are just the right backdrop for displaying art. The homeowner’s work is hung on a tension cable wire system with clips. She can easily switch things out to show clients their photographs. For best results with a tension cable wire system, Schwartz-Muller recommends finding the wall studs and installing the anchoring pieces directly into them.
Behind the desk is a more permanent collection of other work, the beginning of a gallery wall. The wall is designated for the homeowner’s photography collection and daughter’s artwork. “I always want to design a room so that it can evolve with my clients,” Schwartz-Muller says. “By not squaring anything off and keeping the gallery wall loose, she can expand it herself as she adds to her collection.”
While there are no hard-and-fast rules for a gallery wall, the designer recommends keeping it cohesive. Here she used Spanish White mats for every piece and black or white frames, and she recommended that her client do the same with new pieces.
Linen window treatment fabric: Kravet; iron drapery hardware: custom
Behind the desk is a more permanent collection of other work, the beginning of a gallery wall. The wall is designated for the homeowner’s photography collection and daughter’s artwork. “I always want to design a room so that it can evolve with my clients,” Schwartz-Muller says. “By not squaring anything off and keeping the gallery wall loose, she can expand it herself as she adds to her collection.”
While there are no hard-and-fast rules for a gallery wall, the designer recommends keeping it cohesive. Here she used Spanish White mats for every piece and black or white frames, and she recommended that her client do the same with new pieces.
Linen window treatment fabric: Kravet; iron drapery hardware: custom
Although this room is almost completely the photographer’s own, it also serves as a dressing room for ballerinas getting ready for their portraits. A wall-mounted shelf with drawers (you can see just a tiny corner of it sticking out on the right) and a square mirror, also from Ikea, create an area for that purpose.
Bonus: Here’s a peek at the portrait and ballet studio. Before, it was another area that the homeowner had given over to her daughter.
The room is now multifunctional and the tween gets to enjoy it as well. She is seriously pursuing ballet and now she can have tutors help her work on her form and technique at home.
“I knew the lockers were perfect for my client when I saw them. The whole house is kind of like a gallery, so we wanted to find interesting pieces to place against the white walls like art,” Schwartz-Muller says. The lockers hold equipment such as tripods on top and ballet shoes on the bottom.
A new soffit in the ceiling holds
the portrait backdrop screen.
“I knew the lockers were perfect for my client when I saw them. The whole house is kind of like a gallery, so we wanted to find interesting pieces to place against the white walls like art,” Schwartz-Muller says. The lockers hold equipment such as tripods on top and ballet shoes on the bottom.
A new soffit in the ceiling holds
the portrait backdrop screen.
The backdrop rolls up to reveal a mirror, and the ballet barre can move in and out. The glass doors at left are new as well. “They keeps a visual connection but provide privacy,” the designer says.
Everyone is thrilled with their new spaces. Mom has her very own photography production office, daughter has a beautiful new bedroom, mother and daughter can enjoy the photography and ballet studio, and the adult son now stays in a renovated loft over the garage when he comes to visit. Meanwhile, a lot of other children are now enjoying the toys the daughter had outgrown.
See more Rooms of the Day
Everyone is thrilled with their new spaces. Mom has her very own photography production office, daughter has a beautiful new bedroom, mother and daughter can enjoy the photography and ballet studio, and the adult son now stays in a renovated loft over the garage when he comes to visit. Meanwhile, a lot of other children are now enjoying the toys the daughter had outgrown.
See more Rooms of the Day
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