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 […]
New Home for the Holidays
Tim Simon can appreciate the beauty and grandeur of a historic home, but he doesn’t want to live in one. The reason? “Anything I try to fix, I make worse,” he says, laughing. Although Westfield is full of beautiful older houses, “I knew these gorgeous homes would need some attention, and even minor repairs would […]
Big Family, Big Dreams
For their “forever home,” a Springfield couple wanted it all. Each room in their new-construction colonial was to have its own style. Yet the total effect was to be that of a livable home, not a cacophony or a frigid showplace. Designer Daniella Hoffer took up the homeowners’ challenge to curate unique materials and elements […]
Finding a Place in History
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 […]
Quarantine, the Mother of Invention
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 […]