This Storied Montclair House Was Given New Life With Playful Panache
In 2022, designer Beth Diana Smith met with a couple who had recently purchased a 100-year-old home in Montclair, New Jersey. They hit it off, and what had started out as a conversation about a kitchen renovation ended up as talks to design the entire house, a two-story, two-bedroom home with an enclosed porch.
Smith, who will be honored with the Rising Star award from the New York School of Interior Design next spring, set out with the client to keep some of the old while adding some needed new. In the living room, that meant keeping the original brick fireplace and adding a marble mantel and cubed tile surround to give it a fresh modern edge. The room was then drenched in a moody, walnut brown paint by Benjamin Moore that contrasts against the bright light and softer colors from the neighboring dining room and kitchen. But the room’s true statement moment is a navy wallcovering from Divine Savages that features a playful print of red and gold roses.
“I do not like floral, mainly because my mother traumatized me as a kid with this big brown floral sofa that she had when I was growing up,” Smith says with a laugh. The addition, per her client’s request, “really went beautifully with the house to blanket that fireplace,” she says.
In the adjacent dining room, Smith removed an existing window and added double doors, with the intent to build an outside deck off of it in the future. A chandelier by Currey & Co. hangs above a wood dining table surrounded by the client’s wood dining chairs. The light fixture adds a playful modern edge to the room, with its undulant circular shape that mimics the movement in the pattern of the ceiling wallpaper. "The living room ceiling reminds me of weeping willow trees," Smith says.
Of course, that kitchen renovation was a key part of the project, which entailed removing the wall between the dining room and kitchen to create a line of sight from the front door. What was previously an empty wall with a refrigerator was transformed into a more functional space with shaker-style cabinets painted in Sherwood Williams’s Dockside Blue, and a dark-blue butcher-block island. Smith added a window with roman shades in a Stroheim floral print fabric, and covered the floors in a black and white patterned tile from The Tile Shop.
In the primary bedroom, the client picked out a mineral green bed that was the anchor in the room. Smith sourced nightstands from West Elm and lamps from Circa Lighting for the bedside. The curtain fabric by Stroheim and a gold wallcovering behind the bed were paired to go with the bed. “The goal was to see something bold and beautiful,” she says.
In the upstairs library, Smith helped the clients plan for the future. The couple, now expecting a child early next year, wanted to make sure the room could eventually function as a nursery. Smith covered the walls in a grasscloth and a playful animal print was selected for the window fabric.
Dining Room
The dining table is by Castlery and the dining chairs were the client's own. The chandelier is from Currey & Co and the ceiling covering is by Divine Savages.
Living Room
In the living room the sofa is custom and the walls are painted in Walnut by Benjamin Moore.
Living Room
A floral wallcovering by Divine Savages covers one wall of the living room.
Living Room
In the living room, Smith sourced the mounted mask from Rome, and bench by Four Hands is upholstered in a fabric by Villa Nova.
Kitchen
In the kitchen, the butcher block island is surrounded by stools from Rove Concepts. The sink fittings are by Waterworks, the floor tiles are by The Tile Shop, and the window shade is of a fabric by Stroheim.
Primary Bedroom
In the bedroom a wallcovering by Farrow & Ball anchors the room. Nightstands by West Elm are topped with lamps by Circle Lighting and the window curtains are of a fabric by Stroheim.
Bathroom
In the primary bathroom, the green tiles are from Tiles of Lucca and the fittings are by Waterworks.
Library
In the library, the walls are covered in a grasscloth and the ceiling is covered in wallcovering by Mitchell Black. The pendant is by Regina Andrew. The chest of drawers is by Lulu & Georgia, the chair is from West Elm, and window shades are of a Kravet fabric.
As for Smith’s favorite piece in the house? A mask that she sourced on a trip to Rome. Smith saved sharing it with her client until the end of the project because she had a hunch it would be perfect there. And sure enough, she was right.
“When she saw it, she was just like, ‘Oh, my God, can I touch it? It's just so beautiful,’” Smith says. “When I think about this house and project, I think about that moment, and it's always those finishing touches that have a sentimental value.”
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