Spare bedrooms are too frequently relegated to second-tier status. They’re thrown together as a home office, a guest bedroom furnished with leftovers, or a jumbled storage room. Rather than let our multi-use spare bedroom languish in design purgatory, we decided to make it a standout space in our old farmhouse. Not entirely a guest room and not entirely an office, we decided to create a library.
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We have worked from home for well over a decade, and know our home-office needs are less about monitors and desks and more about a quiet spot to sit while returning emails and making calls. Freed of the requirement of a dedicated desk, our options were open.
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We started transforming a simple, yet sunny, front bedroom by painting the floor a dusty blue, then covering the walls in tongue-and-groove boards to add character. With houseguests an infrequent occurrence, we needed a spot for a single guest to stay over on occasion. We opted for a daybed, which could be used just as easily for lounging with a good book as it could for sleeping. We created a daybed nook by building matching bookcase walls on either end of a twin bed, resting on a custom platform. The bookcases surround a pair of windows, with a lowered, paneled ceiling to add to the feeling of a cozy nest. Additional bookcases were built on two more walls—one filling most of the wall and the other wrapping around the room’s other windows. Paneling and ornamental trim give the built-ins a luxurious, handsome appearance.
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The walls and built-ins were painted a rich emerald green. We complemented the color scheme with a neutral grass rug under an aged faux zebra hide. Blue denim drapes help frame the daybed, matching our Howdy French club chair in the opposite corner. We added storage with a modern wood credenza, and hung some of our favorite forest-inspired botanical prints above it.
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The finished room is a delight and fits our needs perfectly. We have ample storage to keep paperwork and tech doodads tucked away, a comfy place for a housesitter to sleep, and a distinctive room in which we love spending time.
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Until next time, Roger and Chris, at Double Heart Farm.
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This article is part of a series chronicling the home renovation of Roger Hazard and Chris Stout-Hazard, furniture designers with Roger+Chris. Read more on doubleheartfarm.com or follow along on instagram.com/dblheartfarm.
This article originally appeared in the July/August 2021 issue of Omaha Home. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
