Fantasy Showhouse Sip & Scout Highlights
The Scout Guide Bergen County features many outstanding designers and home specialists. On March 30, our community gathered at the beautiful Ulrich, Inc. Kitchen and Bath showroom in Ridgewood, NJ and created a virtual Fantasy Showhouse. Members shared and celebrated the stunning designs from their latest projects and we discussed the trends in their industry that are driving the use of new materials and resources.
Of course no party is complete without fantastic food, so we turned to our friends at B&M Market for their gourmet quesadillas and salsas, and Petal Dust Cakery provided the perfect celebratory finishing touch by creating the sweetest home yet!
Enjoy the highlights of the evening:
Architect Rosario Mannino and his design/build team have broken ground on a truly spectacular stone masterpiece overlooking the fairways of White Beeches Golf and Country Club. Like all of Rosario’s projects, design is at the forefront of every decision.
This elegant French country stone manor will feature a blend of stone, dark bronze casement windows, slate roof , a second floor terrace off the primary bedroom, pergola and a lush pool and gardens will complete this entire property redesign.
This 5 bedroom, 5.5 bathroom home will be 12,000 square feet and its interiors will feature classic french architectural details and a curated mix of modern and antique furnishings.
Scouted realtor Kristin Gildea Fox brings more than 20 years of experience to her clients and is consistently one of Bergen County’s top-performing agents. Kristin has excellent strategies and advice that is helping both her sellers and buyers achieve their goals in this intensely competitive market.
For people who don’t wish to build or renovate, Kristin Gildea Fox shared the details of a beautiful Ho-Ho-Kus center hall colonial that she is representing and which checks every box. This 6 bedroom, 8 bathroom stone-front home is situated down a private lane. All of the rooms in this light-filled home are beautifully proportioned for entertaining and the private grounds feature mature gardens, an expansive lawn, a gunite pool plus a fully outfitted pool house with a kitchenette and bath. Interested buyers may contact Kristin to schedule a private showing.
For anyone looking to find design inspiration, the Wostbrock Home showroom is the interior design hub of Bergen County. Owner Heidi Wostbrock, Showroom Buyer Dawn Stanin and in-house Designers Donne’ Booysen, Michele Iannone, and Marian Shulman work with the trade and retail customers to help them source the latest materials in carpets, wallpapers, furniture and accessories. Pulling from their extensive library, the team shared the latest samples from Thibaut, Phillip Jeffries, Lee Furniture and a stunning collection of custom area and broadloom carpets. The team at Wostbrock is in constant contact with all the design manufacturers to stay apprised of supply chain delays and developments. Their knowledge and resources are invaluable to helping clients manage key decisions and providing creative solutions.
Michele Iannone also shared her design for a dreamy primary bedroom suite for an empty nester couple who recently relocated into a brand new home. Michele’s clients had previously lived in Laguna Beach and they are drawn to the zen, calming elements of the sea. The bedroom is grounded in a cream and silver sage wool area rug and warm creams and light wood tones are layered throughout. A rich mohair bench, the coziest alpaca throw blanket and a woven wood bed frame invite touch, while a textured herringbone wallpaper is on the ceiling to cocoon the expansive space.
Ulrich, Inc. Kitchen and Baths
For almost 75 years, Ulrich, Inc has been Bergen County’s premier kitchen and bathroom expert. But today they are also leading designers of home offices, mudrooms and basements.
Ulrich Kitchen unveiled a recent basement project that is certain to become the entertainment hub of the home. Led by designer Julia Kleyman, the design/build team from Ulrich transformed a 2000 square foot unfinished basement into a Bergen County hot spot that will rival any NYC club. The homeowners love their new space and have affectionately named it, Club 12.
No detail was overlooked in this epic renovation and the space features a full bar with seating for 16, a large dance floor, a gaming area with a regulation pool table, a sports lounge area to watch the big games and a home theater with tiered, first-class seating to view movies like Hollywood stars.
Further enhancing the space is atmospheric lighting that changes to suit the mood of the party, a state of the art sound system and a funky ceiling mural to keep everyone talking.
Never ones to shy away from color or a bold combination of patterns and textures, Toledo Geller revealed a fresh take on a Cotswold beauty they are renovating and redesigning for a family of five in Pelham, NY. Using a warm palette of greens, salmons and earth tones, this home will be luxuriously rich yet perfectly homey for their children and dog.
Toledo Geller believes that beautifully designed spaces have a soul and that rooms should not only enhance their client’s lifestyle, but telegraph their personality. The homeowners’ cherished china collection was the springboard for the color palette of this multi-room design and in addition to repurposing some beloved heirloom furniture pieces, Toledo Geller will be incorporating painted trim moldings, tumbled stone flooring, aged brass hardware and lighting fixtures that pay homage to the era of the home and supple, layered fabrics that beg to be touched and snuggled into.
Danielle Palmadessa’s luxurious designs are always infused with just a touch of shine. Her rooms are invariably the perfect combination of touchable and glamorous and she jokingly refers to her style as “Glamorganic.”
Danielle shared with us two recent projects she designed for spacious newer construction homes in Saddle River and Franklin Lakes.
Danielle wanted to create a bedroom that is a tranquil sanctuary that brings peace and allows the homeowner to recharge. We love the graphic wallpaper Danielle selected to adorn the bedroom’s vestibule and define the space. Its soft blue color echoes the quiet powder blue paint that surrounds the sleeping area. The space is layered with neutral organic fabrics. For the sparkle, Danielle introduced a plush white rug that has the most subtle shimmer in the texture.
This large family room has us swooning. A gorgeous cable-knit rug will ground the large space and cozy navy and cream fabrics and warm woods will be layered throughout the room. Woven blinds will add texture to the windows which will also be accented with a fun, roped, linen fabric. For a touch of bling, Danielle will be using a modern black and silver hardware pull.
Sharon Green from Artistic Tile introduced us to some of the most exquisite stone materials sourced from the greatest creator of all -Mother Nature. Sharon shared the innovative designs that the Artistic Tile designers are crafting. Sourcing materials from across the world, Artistic Tile is continually elevating interiors with custom designs that go beyond our imagination. Their 25,000 square foot Secaucus warehouse is unparalleled for the collections of carefully-curated slabs from around the world including marble, quartz, limestone, semi-precious stone, glass and ultra-thin porcelain.
Artistic Tile shared examples of their new Made in America custom mosaic collections and capabilities. Using dozens of stones in ravishing colors, from materials sourced across the world, the expert fabricators from Artistic Tile can create hundreds of patterns, from intricately detailed to classically simple, from grandly traditional to stunningly modern to create one of a kind masterpieces. This tailored-made collection has not only led to unique and unexpected designs, but by leaning into Artistic Tile’s unrivaled stone and glass inventory, they have found a creative solution to the supply chain delays that are inhibiting the design industry.
Karen McWilliams has a knack for knowing just how to reimagine space for optimal storage and pleasing aesthetic design. From their showroom right here in Hawthorne, NJ, her custom closet business is designing everything from luxurious his and her walk-in rooms for primary bedrooms, to functional kitchen pantry spaces and perfectly outfitted mudrooms. One of Karen’s favorite closet features is to add a mini bar refrigerator in the closet island so that the homeowners may enjoy a cocktail while getting ready or a nightcap before going to bed.
Karen shared with us the details of a dream closet she recently created. Thanks to her company’s fully custom capabilities, these lucky homeowners are enjoying a closet that is truly an oasis. Completed in light wood tones, the room’s special features include cabinet lighting, glass shelves, and custom storage for purses, shoes, ties and jewelry. To keep things extra tidy, Karen’s design also includes built-in laundry bins that allow garments to be separated into lights and darks.
Scenic Landscaping/Tapestry Pool:
Devin Short from the Landscape Architect Team of Scenic Landscaping is working on a stunning French Country Estate in Far Hills, NJ. This gracious property had fallen into disrepair but the new owners turned to the award-winning Scenic team to combine classic styling with elegant modern materials for a beautifully revitalized property that reflects this young family’s vision. Given the scope of the project, the work will be done in phases and take a few years, but Scenic Landscaping understands the importance of developing a comprehensive plan to guide the process. Using state-of-the-art computer graphics, Scenic is able to help their clients envision the final project in virtual reality at every hour of the day.
Phase I of this vast project was the construction of a classically designed pool that includes luxurious elements including a sun shelf, lap lane, and safety fence. The pool entry is graced with old stone piers from Connecticut and big stone slab steps open the flow between spaces while stepping stone walkways with lawn joints create pathways.
An outdoor kitchen with a built-in grill and lounge patio area was positioned close to the house for ease of use.
Devin selected a cornucopia of plantings to soften the hardscape and ensure interest in every season. Each specimen is carefully grown and selected at Scenic Landscaping’s proprietary nursery.
Snapshots from the festive evening.
