Story Teller: Home Office to Moody Hudson Den

The ordinary became extraordinary in this Hudson den. Originally, a wooden desk sat in the center of an office that resembled a hotel business suite. A simple drum pendant lamp hung over raised olive-striped carpeting. The homeowner wanted to transform the room's feel and functionality.

“He wanted to renovate the office to go from a home office to more of a casual den and asked that it have a dark, cozy and masculine feel to it,” says designer Jen Lopez, owner of Jen Lopez Design. “He also wanted this to feel like a place his wife and two daughters could join him and relax.”

The redesign spanned 15 months, largely due to the wait for commissioned artwork. Lopez stripped away the carpeting and laid down a latticed parquet floor, with an interwoven pattern shifting between light and dark tones. Her team took down the textured ceiling, smoothed it out and installed subtle overhead lighting that could be adjusted with a dimmer. Cutting Edge Construction seamlessly managed the project's construction process from concept to completion. Curtains were replaced with custom shutters by Timan & Co. A bookcase from McNeill’s Cabinetry & Floors replaced an older unit. The bookcase, shutters and walls were painted in Sherwin-Williams' Caviar.

“The whole vibe of the room is quiet luxury,” says Lopez. “When you pause and you take in the textures — the artwork, the materials and the lighting, even the objects styled on the shelves — every detail was chosen with intention and reflects the client's appreciation for refinement without pretense.”

Sophisticated Seating

Lopez layered in furnishings that offer both maximum comfort and subtle nods to the homeowners’ love for nature and hunting. An oversized chair provides spacious seating — with a feathered pillow — alongside a mohair sofa made with fabric from the silken hair of Angora goats. A mahogany chair with hair-on-hide leather and antique steel nailheads sits stoically in front of a small desk near the entrance.

Mood Lighting

The Urban Electric flushmount fixture in the ceiling provides just the right amount of ambient lighting without overpowering the space. In fact, every light in the room — from recessed lighting in the ceiling and shelving to the Urban Electric polished nickel and milk glass sconces — runs on a dimmer and intentionally fades into the background. “The design detail and the materials in those fixtures will take your breath away,” says Lopez.

Moving Portrait

The 60-by-80-inch painting of a racehorse at full gallop took nearly a year to complete. Lopez commissioned the artwork from Santa Fe artist Lex Lucius, who created the acrylic, ink and gesso piece on wood panel based on photographs of the homeowner’s horse, Catiche, during a Kentucky race. “Anytime I commit to a project, I try to get to know the client at a level that I understand what their interests are, the things that are important to them and the travels they've taken, for example, so that when we style their space, those furnishings are very intentional and personal," Lopez says. “The painting is an heirloom piece for sure. Every member of the family played a role in its creation — capturing photos, sharing stories and guiding the details for the artist — making it deeply personal and profoundly meaningful."

Calls of Nature

Natural touches weave throughout the entire room. The shelves showcase midcentury ram’s horn and brass candlesticks, a vintage 1970s Gucci silver-plated hound stirrup cup and a 1962 Pebble Beach stirrup cup adorned with a silver-and-hunter-green equestrian award medallion. A thin animal hide rug also captures attention beneath an espresso coffee table. While inspired by others, the table was also a true collaboration between Lopez and Hudson craftsman Russell Kieselbach to get it just right. It seemingly floats on four enormous aluminum spheres painted by Faux Elegance to look like brass. “There’s not one detail we didn’t fully embrace,” says Lopez. “The collection of pieces in this room form a narrative — a reflection of his life.”