It was a blank slate—a designer’s dream, and the perfect new start for Sean and Jin Xu, their 15-year-old daughter and their 11-year-old son. The Xus bought the new build in Upper Saddle River in 2021 and enlisted Wyckoff-based designer Jennifer Pacca to make it the family home they’d long envisioned. “They wanted a contemporary […]
A Great Great Room
A fun-loving upper Saddle River Family with three school-age children wanted the best of both worlds: all the glam and sophistication of a great room, but none of the fuss that stifles a lively gathering. When Laurie DiGiacomo of the eponymous Ridgewood design firm arrived on the scene in 2020, the room was empty except […]
Miami Meets The Palisades
Maybe another designer would have been cowed by the prospect of turning a builder’s own home into a jewel guests would find dazzling. But Jaclyn Isaac, principal at Shrewsbury-based Doni Douglas Design, took it in stride. The result is an edgy modern gem with a South Florida flavor—think cream-colored seating with pops of color—reined in […]
A Work Space That Works
SARAH DAU, A HEALTHCARE MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT, spends her days helping clients make the most of their practices. Yet when it came to her own work environment— a makeshift home office on the main floor of her family’s 4,500-square-foot Tudor home in Sparta—she was neglecting to give herself the same attention. Dau had taken a […]
Cooking With Charm
Three years ago, after their grown children had moved out, a couple of empty nesters decided it was time to downsize to a ranch-style home. They found what they were looking for in Upper Saddle River. The two-bedroom house, a mid-century-style structure built in 1971, had loads of character and charm. But its original kitchen […]