East Coast Charm With an Edge Defines This Empty Nester Home

Designer Victoria Bell helps a couple of empty nesters renovate a charming East Coast home by lending the colorful, contemporary edge it was lacking.

May 24, 2021

By: Kamron Sanders

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A Traditional Home Is Updated and Refreshed for Family Gatherings

When a couple of empty nesters approached New Jersey-based interior designer Victoria Bell about designing their renovation, she got right to work creating their perfect space. It's a charming spot where family can gather and feel right at home, with a sophisticated design centered around family memories and heirlooms.

Stay True to Traditional Design

The home, originally built in 1950, is located in New Milford, New Jersey, and, like many homes along the East Coast, it features charming architectural details throughout. Rather than taking the easy way out by modernizing the elegant and sometimes quirky features, Victoria chose to highlight them with traditional millwork, beautiful built-ins and hardy exposed beams.

Color Is One Way to Bring Design Into a Traditional Home

While she chose to highlight the traditional architecture and style of the home, Victoria often offers juxtaposition in the form of contemporary and colorful decor. "The style of this home is a blend of traditional millwork, a contemporary color palette, sentimental furniture and eclectic textiles and decor. This blend of styles was truly transitional. We crafted the ultimate custom style that was tailored to my clients," she says.

Neutrals Create a Blank Canvas That's Accented With Color

By choosing muted grays, blues and whites in the majority of the home, Victoria's intentional use of colorful decor is even more impactful. From pink accents in the pillows to a variety of vivid artwork scattered around the home, every vignette is a balance of refinement and striking spectacle.

Choose Your Colors, Then Decide How to Use Them

"There are three philosophies I like to encourage my clients to choose when they are thinking of their style. 1. To keep the furniture neutral and the walls, textiles, rugs, art and decor colorful. 2. To keep the walls, textiles, rugs, art and decor neutral and invest in some colorful artistic furniture. 3. To balance the neutrals and colors through the design and to mix furniture pieces both colorful and neutral and textiles, rugs, art and decor mixed with color and neutral tones as well," Victoria advises.

Use Heirloom Pieces to Create a New Look

While Victoria's philosophies are great starting points, the end result really comes down to her clients' needs and their joint vision. In this instance, the client had many family photos and furniture pieces that they knew they wanted in the home. Designing around existing pieces tends to make things more complicated, but she was able to seamlessly blend family photos with fresh artwork to add to the "old meets new" theme of the home. Victoria chose to leave the family photos in their original frames, creating a memorable moment in the form of a gallery wall.

Be Intentional When Styling a Bar Cart

"When you have an open bar cart it’s important to keep it as neat and organized as possible," says Victoria. "The bar cart is supposed to complement the room and create an inviting feature to host guests. The styling should be intentional." Small, deliberate details like the family photo on the bar cart are what elevate her designs without overwhelming the senses.

Learn More: How to Style the Perfect Bar Cart for Any Party

Pocket Doors Are an Answer to Too Much Open Concept

Tucked in the middle of the family gallery wall is a wide set of pocket doors opening up to the dining room. They exist so organically in the space, it's as if they were there all along. However, these doors aren't original to the home, but a brilliant addition that makes the space more dynamic. "The client did not want a completely open concept. Therefore, we came up with the solution to put pocket doors in between the dining room and family room. This allowed the client privacy in the family room when they wanted to turn the family room into an office or an extra guest room. On the flip side, opening the pocket doors extended the dining room into the family room and allowed the clients to host as many guests as they can," explains Victoria.

Wainscoting Lends Elegance to This Dining Room

The dining room itself follows suit with the "old meets new" theme of the home. Wrapped in elegant wainscoting, the room revolves around the client's existing dining table, a gorgeous wood table with elegant burl wood dining chairs.

Traditional Wood Furniture Can Work With Updated Design

In a way, the entire design of the dining room was based on the client's table and Victoria has great advice for elevating traditional furniture in a space. "When working with wood pieces of furniture I always find the contrasting color to the wood tone, in order to let the wood and its grain be the focal point of the room. Using bold blues, grays and certain greens as base colors for the room can elevate a traditional design completely. I also take into account the scale of the furniture. A lot of traditional furniture is bulky and there are many solutions to modernizing a design with pieces like that. Some ways I like to contrast traditional pieces are with very colorful art or a statement mirror that is medium to larger in scale, paired with a neutral rug that all the furniture is sitting on. It gives the illusion that the furniture is smaller and less bulky. Another way to blend old and new elements is by choosing colors that do not bring out the rust, cherry and reds in the traditional furniture. Orange and yellows can be used when mixing old and new, but sparingly and in small doses, and when done correctly they enhance the traditional design," notes Victoria.

A Bold Wall Color Helps Spotlight Artwork

Victoria chose to add depth to the dining room by contrasting the bright white wainscoting with a deep blue-gray hue on the walls above. Whereas the rest of the home utilizes lighter paints that allow the colorful art and decor to pop, the darker walls play off of the bolder artwork and curtains. In her words, "Another one of my favorite things about the spaces in this home are the contrast of the bold wall color and prints we weaved throughout each room. It creates a depth that was not there, especially the wall above the wainscotting in the dining room. Take advantage of that little wall and make it work for you!"

Tips for Using Wallpaper in the Bathroom

Victoria's repeated return to blues and grays throughout the home imparts a calming, cohesive feel. In the bathroom, it comes in the form of patterned wallpaper, visually setting it apart from the rest of the home. While some people are hesitant to install wallpaper in a bathroom, she advises, "The most effective way to install wallpaper in a bathroom is to make sure it’s installed before any other thing in the bathroom is installed. The wallpaper should be installed before the vanity, mirror, toilets, etc. This way the installer can lay the wallpaper as close to the wall as possible, without making any jagged cuts that could potentially peel up."

Expert Tips on Mixing Metals

Another secret to Victoria's designs is her knack for choosing different metal finishes that effortlessly coexist in each space. She has a few key takeaways for successfully choosing and mixing metal finishes. "My favorite metal mix is antique brass and chrome. It is an unexpected yet fabulous pairing that truly works well together. Chrome is the most cost-effective metal finish. So, if you’re looking to mix metals, chrome is a great base to start with and build on. Chrome also works with any other metal finish, except for antiqued silver. I never mix two of the same metal colors with different finishes. For example, I never mix polished brass with antique brass. If you are going to stick with one metal color, always make sure they all have the same finish, otherwise it looks mismatched and incohesive," she advises.

Embrace the Weird Nooks and Crannies of Your Rooms

The home's main bathroom is a masterclass in how to handle the quirky architectural features you come across in a home renovation. The former attic space needed to become a bathroom, but the slant of the ceiling posed a problem. "There was physically not enough room to put a standard mirror, and the client was not interested in getting a custom mirror that would barely be usable. This brought me to the decision to lay the tile on the bathroom's wall in a double chevron pattern. I wanted the gray-blue long subway tile to be so interesting that you forgot a mirror was supposed to be there. Therefore, we put lighting on the sides of the vanity and put a regular-sized mirror on another wall in the bathroom where it could actually be used," notes Victoria. "My absolute favorite thing to do in design is to take quirky corners and bizarre room shapes and make them the focal point of the entire design, to the point that it looks intentional. Embrace the abstract shapes and weird corners they ultimately can become the most beautiful parts of your design. "

A Tale of Two Tiles

The double-chevron pattern is carried across the bathroom and onto the walls of the shower. However, Victoria offers a visual break by using a mosaic stone tile to highlight the niches and mirrors it with the shower's floor. While the contrast is slight, it's one of those small details that she is so keen on.

Spa-Like Ambiance

"The inspiration was to create a spa-like bathroom that had some coastal features to feel like you’re on the beach," says Victoria. To further this, she suspended a white beaded chandelier above the soaking tub. "Unique (fixtures) in bathrooms are a great way to break up spaces and turn the different corners of the bathroom into their own focal points, just like we did here above the huge soaking tub."

Bold Colors in the Bedroom Can Add Warmth and Impact

There are two popular misconceptions about paint. First, dark paint doesn't automatically make a room feel smaller. Second, adding warmth doesn't mean using warm colors. In fact, Victoria proves both theories wrong in the bedroom. As she puts it, "When it comes to choosing paint colors, there is a big misconception that dark colors make a room feel smaller. With the correct color or wallpaper, it can actually make a room feel bigger and it can add a dimension to the room that a lighter wall color does not. For example, in the bedroom, we did a dark blue color on the walls to create a soothing and warm space. Darker paint colors bring a warmth to a room that a light color can sometimes leave a room feeling like a blank canvas. Painting with a bold color can really elevate a room from dull to magnificent."

An Eye-Catching Island Design Works With a Room's Quirks

With its uniquely shaped island, gorgeous finishes and high ceilings, the home's kitchen is one of the standouts of the overall design. A product of yet another quirky architectural feature, the island is the first thing that catches your eye. "The kitchen is very long and narrow. A part of it is curved towards the family room and dining room. Due to this unique shape, it did not allow for a traditionally shaped island," notes Victoria.

A Uniquely Shaped Kitchen Island Becomes a Focal Point

"The architect created this unique shaped island to allow for storage, seating and unique millwork detail. The long side of the island has a large countertop space that’s great for prep. It also hides a ton of storage and a microwave that cannot be seen when walking into the kitchen. There is also a part of the island dedicated to two bar stools for the lovely couple that lives there. Because of its unique shape, the island provides space to walk around it without bumping into another person. The island actually elongates the kitchen and has become the focal point. It is simple, yet elegant and beautiful," says Victoria.

Banish Clutter From Your Kitchen Design

Victoria's "clean not clutter" motto is underscored in her design style. From coffee tables to bar carts to kitchen countertops, she is not a fan of unnecessary excess. "I personally do not like to put anything on the island. Then I generally like to keep the surrounding countertops de-cluttered as well. Any large appliances should be hidden in its cabinets. Every piece put on the surrounding countertops should be intentional. Complementing the design of the kitchen should be beautiful canisters that store utensils or sugar, an oversized fruit bowl, or a complementary floral arrangement. Generally, I like to keep all countertops as clear as possible," she adds.

How to Style Open Kitchen Shelving

Victoria is a fan of layering decor on open shelving. "I love styling open shelves in kitchens because it gives the opportunity to showcase your glassware, dinnerware, cookbooks, plants, flowers, canisters, bowls or special cutting boards. I highly recommend investing in beautiful pieces that you are proud of putting on these shelves. When styling open shelves, I like to layer the design with taller pieces in the back and smaller pieces in the front. If you have upper cabinets with open shelves, styling with tall pieces is a great way to match the elongation of the upper cabinets."

Create a Custom Look With a Striking High-End Appliance

"The start of the show in the kitchen was its white and chrome Bertazzoni range and oven. It brought the eclectic style to this transitional farmhouse kitchen. Even though the kitchen had completely new appliances, countertops and cabinets, it had the most beautiful character once we were done with it," gushes Victoria.

A Muted Gray-Blue Tile and Walls Provide Soothing Cohesion in a Mudroom

Stepping into the mudroom, your feet immediately meet a gorgeous encaustic tile featuring grays, blues and whites. The elegant finish ties into the farmhouse undertones of the kitchen and makes the space feel separated, yet one with the kitchen. "We chose this beautiful blue, white and gray encaustic tile and painted a color-matched blue on the walls. This small space also had the pleasure of having the beautiful grained-wood gray cabinets to store things as well. In order to hide the mess, where there was one, we didn’t use any traditional doors," notes Victoria. Swipe on to see what she means.

A Sliding Barn Door Separates the Mudroom and Kitchen

To further the "transitional farmhouse" look of the kitchen, Victoria chose to install a sliding barn door separating the space from the home's new mudroom. This way, the gorgeous space can easily be closed off if necessary. When open, the sliding door stays out of the way, because who would want to close off such a gorgeous space anyway?

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Photo By: Raquel Langworthy