Not many families get to build their dream vacation home in a district that’s on the National Register of Historic Places, but that was the opportunity—and the challenge—facing Vanessa and Jeff Romond and their architect, Michael Pagnotta. The Beach Haven Historic District contains some of the grandest homes on Long Beach Island, including the gloriously […]

A fun-loving Wyckoff couple had their fill of a kitchen design that stood in the way of easy-breezy gatherings. And pandemic or no pandemic, it was time to be liberated from the creamy cabinets and welcome the very essence of Party Planning 101 (and family life): more counter space. “The real clincher was COVID,” says […]

Designing the home space of a long-established organization is different from planning a residence. While the quest for stunning aesthetics remains similar, budgets, timing and technical and code factors are of utmost importance. But the job description for the interior designer is often essentially the same: update the space aesthetically, yet stay true to its […]

When author Thomas Wolfe wrote You Can’t Go Home Again, he failed to anticipate Gary Kouletas. With his wife Gregoria, Kouletas purchased his childhood home in Hasbrouck Heights from his parents. And today, thanks to a major upgrade and expansion, the Cape Cod-style house is making just as many memories for Gary’s three sons as […]

For a blended family of six in Warren, John Denver’s song “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” has become a welcome wakeup call with its reference to “cakes on the griddle.” It tells the whole crew that Dad’s specialty—pancakes—will soon be ready to devour, hot off the new BlueStar stove’s built-in grill. “My favorite parts […]