DESIGN by PAM COOPER, COOPER INTERIORS
PHOTOGRAPHY by VIC WAHBY
TEXT by DONNA ROLANDO
With a stork on the way, a family’s perspective often changes. Many choose to shy away from major undertakings like a gut-job renovation—except for preparing the baby’s room. But the owners of a five-bedroom colonial in Basking Ridge were different. Having lived in their house for almost three years, they were ready to trade what they increasingly saw as its 1970s boxiness for an open, family-friendly feel, and they were undaunted by their baby’s ETA.
Previously the formal dining room and sitting room had no place for a young family. Instead, designer Pam Cooper of the eponymous Watchung-based firm, along with Woodbridge Builders of Kenilworth, created the heart of the house with three rooms that beat as one. True to plan, the interconnected, L-shaped family room, kitchen and dining area now always make the cook feel like part of the action.
“It’s definitely made these three spaces a lot more livable, and entertaining has been great,” says homeowner Tara.
Completed in 2023, the project beat the stork with all but the finishing touches. Tara and husband Andrew applaud the team’s work. He says Cooper and the builder “did a great job, making sure everything happened and in a timely fashion.”
From the floor plan to the aesthetics, this is a house meant to be lived in; Cooper’s mission was a casual and comfortable design that also elevated and contemporized. Common threads are Tara’s beloved blue as well as the deep-toned oak flooring.
Instead of a potentially stuffy formal dining room, Cooper designed the couple’s favorite space: a relaxed eating area with a custom banquette (Jud Bar Construction) that suits family and holiday gatherings with equal comfort.
“I think it’s incredible how she just came out with the wallpaper and the color and the cushion seat,” says Andrew.
As Cooper explains, a Thibaut floral wallpaper curated for softness sets the scene for the star of the room: the blue banquette with a “fun, geometric pattern” back cushion and sponge-off simplicity.
With the charm of a Parisian bistro, navy-and-white rattan chairs (Serena & Lily Riviera) team up with a wooden, pedestal-base table that handled Thanksgiving with ease. For its inherent warmth, Cooper completed the look with brass, as seen in the Fletcher sconces and landscape frame.
Without compromising style, this reno team’s timing gave the couple a working kitchen before baby made three. Using wood to warm up cream cabinets, Cooper accorded center stage to a walnut-and-brass hood (Ingrained Cabinetry), which “really catches the eye,” while tying in wood flooring and rattan stools.
Also born to be a star, exotic quartzite wows the island counter with color while a neutral quartzite tops the perimeter counters. Look for further motion in the variegated hues of the herringbone marble backsplash, as well as the valance—a floral nod to the backyard. For a “punctuation of color” reflective of the island, Cooper also selected smoky-gray and brass pendants. A vegetable dye wool rug perks up the floor.
To elevate the family room, Cooper kept clutter at bay with hidden storage in the vertical-plank built-ins, featuring Benjamin Moore’s Hale Navy and brass. Even the television is classy, framed like a painting over the rebuilt marble fireplace.
With a baby on the way, performance fabrics took the fright out of a cream, herringbone sectional (custom by Vanguard), which joins a dark blue chair and blond coffee table. As a “fun element” with Tara’s blue, Cooper infused pops of orange and then pulled together all the colors with a hand-knotted rug from India. To keep a large, neutral sofa from overwhelming, she edged the draperies with a Greek key pattern. Sconces bathe the room in ambient lighting.
Not blue but a saturation of green gives the kitchen-area powder room its charm, thanks to Thibaut “Chatelain” wallpaper in a “tree-of-life” pattern. The large-scale floral, says Cooper, “really pops out at you,” an effect she enhanced with board-and-batten wood paneling. Even the ceiling gets a boost from Thibaut, which elevates with gray-and-white grass cloth. Cooper aimed for elegance with the Calacatta marble, white wood vanity and diamond-patterned floor, but didn’t stop there. Brass sconces flank a brass mirror while two English castle prints deliver a soft touch.
Thankful for a design team that took the pain out of planning at a critical time, Tara says of her home: “Before, it was very traditional, but with Pam’s help we contemporized it a bit and made it fresh and airy and bright with pops of color throughout for a young family to enjoy.”