The Manasquan flows serenely outside the riverfront home of Asbury Park restaurateurs Meg Brunette and Kyle Lepree. It’s a view the couple wanted to preserve—and flaunt—as they embarked on a revamp of their neutral décor.
The homeowners, who run the fashionable Pascal & Sabine bistro, tasked designer Gerald Charles Tolomeo with creating comfortable living spaces peppered with pops of color.
Tolomeo worked closely with Brunette and Lepree to outfit the rest of the home in a way that was colorful and in line with their mid-century style preferences. Most important, it needed to complement the home’s sweeping Manasquan River views.
And that meant first addressing the home’s “blank spaces,” particularly its white walls and ceilings.
The walls were covered with a neutral beige color and the ceiling was painted a bit lighter. “Color shades on ceilings will always appear darker, so we painted it one shade lighter to evoke the feeling of color continuity from top to bottom,” explains Tolomeo.
He then broke up the monotony of the spacious 20-foot-by-30-foot great room by integrating separate seating areas that flank the modern hanging teardrop fireplace. To add visual interest, Asbury Park–based architect James Watt installed a polished-wood drop ceiling above the entrance foyer, intended to draw visitors’ attention as they make their way up to the main living area.
Much of the furniture is custom, save for the chartreuse-covered William Haines “Elbow” chairs placed throughout the home. In the main portion of the room, a richly upholstered Elbow chair ac-cents a pair of sofas in beige and red and two armchairs. Opposite is a curved sectional in plum with a large, circular table and two more Elbow chairs.
Using a sizable striped area rug to ground the main seating arrangement, Tolomeo gave special attention to dressing the three sets of sliding doors overlooking the river with a coordinated mix of sheer metallic bronze and copper mesh draperies. “I put bronze fabric in front and the copper fabric in the back to add interest and playfulness to the windows. When the draperies are closed, it feels like a fabulous jewel box of a room. When they’re open, the great vertical lines help to break up space.”
Interesting décor pieces complete the main entertaining area. Flanking one of the sofas are oversize custom Brutalist-inspired lamps—they stand 48 inches high—atop a pair of short, circular side tables. “The high-low effect here was intentional,” Tolomeo says. “I’d always planned on pairing these low tables with high lamps.” An imported pair of African drums from Cameroon add blue to the palette and double as side tables.
In the master bedroom, color takes a backseat to texture and comfort. “I wanted to create a neutral area with just the slightest hint of color,” says Tolomeo. This was achieved by using a soft material throughout the room. “The walls, bed and even the draperies are all upholstered in the same light, Belgian linen. The only color that’s really apparent is on the floor,” says Tolomeo, referring to the dark wood highlighted by a brightly patterned area rug.
A pair of soft paper-shade Noguchi lamps dot the bedside ta-bles, and a single art print adds color to the nearby wall. However, what you don’t see is a flat-screen TV hidden within the king-size bed’s footboard. “It’s only accessible via a special remote control,” says Tolomeo. The clever custom built-in allows the homeowners to keep their river views while having access to the TV when desired.
After learning of the homeowners’ distaste for the original space, Tolomeo invested much of his time in updating the style and feel of the master bath. “While they loved the tub, they found the room to be cavernous and sterile,” he recalls.
Addressing the absence of color in the bath-room, he coupled rich wood tones with sleek and modern design details. To accomplish this, he painted the walls and ceiling a soft blue and fashioned a walnut skirt around the bottom of the rectangular porcelain sink. The addition of a 24-inch-wide, custom-built walnut column conceived by architect Watt contains hidden compartments for linen storage and also shields views of the toilet area. A red upholstered chair and area rug add texture and break up the mosaic-tile floor.
One other cosmetic enhancement that’s been met with rave reviews: the installation of an oversize round window above the tub to brighten the room. “It replaced two little windows,” says Tolomeo. A wall-to-wall glass shower completes the space.
The overall result? A retreat on the Manasquan River with all the comforts of fine living—every-thing they asked for, and more.