It all started with curtains. The owners of a sprawling home in Summit had hired interior designer Judy Sturdevant of Freeman Hall Design in Westfield to help select window treatments throughout the house. But over roughly two years, one small job turned into a few big ones. Sturdevant made over almost every “major” room at this residence—including the owners’ 23-year-old son’s bedroom, which, amid COVID-19, has been doubling as his home office. Most recently, the designer took on the garden room, which was dark, dated and in need of a refresh.
But this room has three walls of windows that overlook the deck and the gorgeous property; curtains would’ve obstructed the view. Instead, because of limited wall space, an oil painting by Mark Pugh became the window treatment— and the base of the room. “We took off the frame and took it to a metalsmith,” the designer says of the piece. Eventually, “we hung it with airplane wire and cast a finial ornament at the top to match the hardware on the two Kindel Furniture credenzas.” They also applied a neutral linen to the back to add visual appeal and ensure that the piece would lie more seamlessly against the window.
To showcase the wife’s array of collectibles, Sturdevant had the same metalsmith make a custom brass étagère, which matches the sloped ceiling and has Greek-style accents corresponding to the owners’ existing coffee table. The designer also reupholstered the couple’s vintage sofa from 1933, which sits parallel to two spool chairs covered in a custom tropical fabric that—like all the plants and succulents—brings the outdoors in. The ceiling beams were refurbished with natural wood too.
The finished product was a perfect marriage of old and new. “We’re all happy with how it turned out, and it flows beautifully,” says the designer. “It’s a wonderful feeling being trusted and showcasing different things I’ve never done before.”