Frank Roop

By Marni Elyse Katz
August 20, 2010

(Photo Credit: Eric Roth)

Frank Roop is my favorite designer in Boston. As in, if I had the money, he’s who I’d hire. Years before I moved to the city, I had torn pages of his work from magazines. He’s been published in the best of them, including Elle Décor, House Beautiful and Metropolitan Home, and he was just named one of the world’s top 70 international designers by Architectural Digest France.

Roop began his firm in 1998 after a career in men’s retail, during which he worked at Louis Boston, a high-end, cutting edge department store in Boston. Roop creates environments that he calls “couture,” combining custom pieces with vintage finds and sumptuous textiles.

Here is a sampling of Roop’s work, which showcases many elements of his signature style.

Miami Living Room

Last summer on a visit to Roop’s studio, his inspiration boards were filled with amazing textiles, tiles, and bits of color-stained wood, in colors and finishes a bit more flashy, but no less fantastic, than his usual mix of materials. They were for this Miami home. I love the result.

Roop often uses turquoises and greens; here the colors are a bit brighter, reflecting the vibe of the South Florida locale. Roop used similar colors, in deeper, richer shades of velvet upholstery in the reading nook of his Boston living room.

The contemporary artwork above the Roop-designed tufted sofa is by Graham Gillmore, who is represented by Boston-based Kidder-Smith Gallery. Roop designed the boxy light fixture, which is made of powder-coated steel and acrylic.

Miami Dining Room

Roop often incorporates mosaic tile surfaces in his work. Here, the dining room floor has a funky, large-scale geometric pattern. In the foyer of his Boston duplex, Roop opted for a more traditional application. The fireplace wall in his studio is covered in iridescent white mosaic tiles.

Another boxy light fixture made of powder-coated steel, designed by Roop, hangs above the French walnut dining table, which he also designed. The chairs are vintage Milo Baughman from the 1970s.

Miami Study

In the study of this Miami home, Roop hung a starburst wall sculpture by Curtis Jere that he found in Florida, which complement the atomic ceiling pendants. Jere wall sculptures are are an integral part of Roop’s signature style, and work just as well in a sophisticated condominium in the city as they do in a Nantucket summer home. He even has some hanging in his studio.

Boston Living Room

To cover the floor to ceiling windows in this loft in Boston’s South End neighborhood, Roop used cashmere and wool fabrics to create two-tone curtain, a technique he often employs. He used three different color fabrics in this Back Bay living room, which was the very first image I saved of his work almost ten years ago. (I think it’s Roop’s former home.) Here’s another example, this one of multi-striped drapes in a study.

The cushion of the custom-designed chaise is a darker fabric than the frame, which is also a signature look. (There’s a pair of chaises similarly upholstered in this living room.) The swirling light fixture is vintage Gaetano Scolari from the 1960s that Roop found in Miami. The cobalt and sky blue chunks on the coffee table are slag glass, a less expensive alternative to minerals, with which Roop also accessorizes. I purchased a yellow hunk of slag glass on eBay as soon as I learned about it from him!

(photo credit: Eric Roth)

Boston Dining Room

In the ame South End loft, Roop, designed a striped pattern for the walls that was created using hand-applied, paper-backed silk. The two tables, also designed by Roop, are made of French walnut atop powder-coated steel bases.

The photograph s above the table are by Bill Jacobson, who is represented by the Robert Klein Gallery in Boston, fine art photography gallery on Newbury Street with which Roop often does business. For the living room of his Boston duplex, Roop chose a stunning photograph by Didier Massard, also represented by Robert Klein. I have my eye on one for myself!

(photo credit: Eric Roth)

Boston Bedroom

Again, striped curtains hang across a Back Bay bow-front window. A Mid-Western artisan created the bubblicious light fixture. The accent wall behind the bed is upholstered in a cut-velvet fabric by Clarence House. The chairs are vintage. The turquoise table lamp provides a pop of color. Notice the trim along the lampshade – another Roop signature, and a trick you can easily employ yourself.