DESIGN by JULIE AND DARREN CHINA, IDEA SPACE ARCHITECTURE + DESIGN
PHOTOGRAPHY by RAQUEL LANGWORTHY
TEXT by MARISA SANDORA CARR
If there’s one thing Jessica and Jeremy Samon knew they didn’t want in their new kitchen and master bath in South Orange, it was a “cookie-cutter” design. They wanted something different. Something unique—dark and moody. Their builder suggested that they meet with Julie and Darren China of Idea Space in Maplewood, whose design and architecture work had been described as “interesting,” with a clean and modern look.
Says Jessica: “Everything we saw from them didn’t look like all of the typical renos with the white marble.” A promising match was made. The designers started upstairs in the 1998 center-hall colonial, converting an unnecessarily large, poorly laid-out bathroom and two smaller closets into a large walk-in closet and a more modern master bathroom with a large walk-in shower, something that had topped the couple’s wish list. They also added windows that revealed the New York City skyline. “I love the new shower with the view,” says Jessica. “I wake up really early, and there’s just this amazing sunrise while you’re showering. We did invest in some good, top-down blinds though,” she adds with a laugh.
Charcoal-gray porcelain tile was selected for the floors to give the room the dark, moody look the homeowners sought. But the custom, natural-walnut vanity and framed medicine cabinets “really warm up the space,” says Julie China, “and are a nice contrast to the cooler tone finishes.” The bathroom became a luxurious, spa-like retreat for two busy professionals with demanding jobs to come back to at the end of the day.
Like the old bathroom, the home’s kitchen had a bland, ’90s, builder’s-grade look. “It was very vanilla,” says Darren, “and not in line with the Samons’ aesthetic.” So they set out to create something darker and more contemporary. After showing the Samons lots of dark colors and various wood tones, they landed on natural walnut for the upper cabinets and a blue-gray color below, bringing both of those into the island as well, with ribbed walnut paneling on the ends to add interest. Caesarstone white quartz countertops and a white undulated tile backsplash provided contrast, preventing the kitchen from looking too dark.
Julie kept the creativity coming with modern light fixtures, including a minimal LED pipeline fixture over the island, a matte black fixture with a brass interior over the sink and a faceted natural wood veneer pendant over the dining table. The end result of this makeover was exactly what the homeowners desired.
“We’ve never seen a kitchen like our kitchen,” says Jeremy. “It’s completely unique.”