DESIGN by ARIELLE MIZRAHI
DESIGN PHOTOGRAPHY by ANNA HERBST
TEXT by DONNA ROLA
The aroma of fresh-baked cookies? It’s not unusual, these days, to find it wafting through a certain Millburn home. That’s when there’s a baking collaboration among family members, including three children, and they would be elbowing and jostling each other for sure had their kitchen not been transformed into the commodious room it is today.
“I love to cook, and I love sharing that with my kids,” says the mom of the family. “This would not have been possible in the other kitchen—or it would have been more disorganized.” Credit designer Arielle Mizrahi of her eponymous Short Hills firm, who finished working her magic in early 2024.
The husband-and-wife owners purchased the four-bedroom, Tudor-style home in 2018, always planning to renovate the kitchen, especially after the “happy surprise” of twins gave them a larger family than anticipated. Mizrahi was able to make the reno happen by tailoring it to their needs.
From the get-go, the designer was determined that things like cookies would take center stage in the first-floor renovation. This meant not only kid-friendly counter space (in easy-care quartzite resembling Mont Blanc marble), but also a large island at which to congregate and a Thermador double oven with a 60-inch range.
Taming disorder, Mizrahi expanded and reoriented the kitchen, breaking its ties with a laundry room, now housed in its own space. There’s a handy mudroom that spares the family from the “parade of shoes and bags” from the front door to the dining room that previously prevailed. “Now everything is contained,” as much as it can be with kids, says the owner. (The couple also gained an above-garage office, which matches the home’s façade.)
While the family adored the classic workmanship of the home and wanted to retain its Tudor charm, this jewel box posed a challenge. As Mizrahi explained, she needed to “make every inch count.” That required getting to know the clients, right down to their recipes. “We really go through every drawer and nook and cranny, and we make sure that everything has a home,” the designer says. An antique mirror appliance garage, for instance, hides chargeables from the dining-room view. Through it all, Mizrahi never lost sight of her mission to brighten and overhaul the living space, restoring unity to a mishmash of prior owners’ design efforts.
One way Mizrahi pays homage to Tudor is with a plaster hood, which she designed to command attention with its distinctive arch. Another is the leaded-glass display cabinets with a diamond pattern, a distinctive home for the homeowner’s cookbook collection.
For hosting holidays, the homeowner likes how her big extended family can gather around the walnut-based island with ample walnut-and-leather stools by Four Hands. The rich base contrasts with the natural cream of the mission-style perimeter cabinets by Kountry Kraft, which draw warmth from brass hardware by Rejuvenation. Other standout features include the deVol handmade ceramic pendants with antique brass, joining a mix of metals, from a polished nickel faucet to stainless-steel sink and appliances.