The beautiful older homes of Baristaville are one of the area’s biggest selling points. Solidly built and brimming with period details like crown mouldings and original hardwood floors, traditional houses are sought after by buyers who often spend a premium to maintain and restore these architectural gems.
This is why it is unusual to come across a house that thoroughly bucks tradition and goes contemporary. We’re not talking phony Soprano-esque McMansions, with their gargantuan rooms and over-the-top finishes – but rather homes that make smart use of authentic modern design principles.
“It’s a much smaller minority of clients who want contemporary design,” said Gary Rosard, an architect based in Millburn.
Rosard completely renovated a conventional ranch-style home in Short Hills for a family who had recently moved from a sleek Dumbo loft.
“We were conscious of the risk of going too modern,” said Dina Pearl, the homeowner. “We never wanted avant garde. We have three young kids, so we wanted this home to feel cozy and livable.”
In the kitchen, family room and dining room the ceilings were opened up and large windows added to visually bring the outside in. Rosard and his clients chose sleek, contemporary finishes throughout.
The end result is warm and inviting. “I think that the way that Gary laid out the space and its reflection of the gentle side of modern, make it very accessible and comfortable even to people who are generally drawn to other styles,” Pearl said. “We took care to ensure that it would blend nicely into the neighborhood.”
Martina Servos, who owns Lemongrass Design in Glen Ridge, said that many homeowners are concerned about going outside the period their house was built.
“People sometimes think that modern style is cold. But if the modern is integrated into the existing traditional house, the end result does not feel out of place.”
She noted that the design has to have the right flow, proportion and color mix. “Whether I am designing a modern or traditional house, it has to be elegant. It can’t look like a space shuttle.”
Her Upper Montclair clients Larry and Suzette Unger wanted a modern, European style kitchen renovation with clean, straight lines and quality materials.
However, “we needed to be mindful of the traditional style of the rest of the house,” said Larry Unger. The couple chose dark brown wood for the cabinets, but with a shiny lacquer finish to tie into the adjoining living room’s wood oak floors and dentil moldings.
Architect Seth Leeb generally designs traditional homes because that is where the demand is. “I love doing both, but I am a modernist at heart,” said Leeb. He is currently renovating a stunning contemporary home for a South Orange couple.
Built in the 1950s by architect Leo Fisher (who lived in it himself), the home is perched on a steep hillside and has sweeping views of New York City. Leeb has designed the house with expansive glass and decks on the back to take advantage of the incredible vistas.
The house also has the requisite green features, along with sleek touches like a stainless steel floating interior staircase, see through fireplace, high-tech wood clad system on the exterior, second-floor hot tub, yoga/meditation room and a fingerprint-activated front door.
Leeb said the owners, who also own an apartment in Manhattan, have been very involved with the design process. “They’re great clients, and it’s been a lot of fun,” he said. 
But some homeowners may be leery of the resale value of modern-style renovations.
Unger, who is a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker in Montclair, said, “Not everyone would go for the modern, European lines that we chose, but a kitchen renovation that ties the modern elements into the existing home will increase the resale value of the home.”
Pearl agreed. “When it comes time to sell this house, it will not be for everyone,” she said. But though their look is au courant, “we also wanted a house that would be attractive to other buyers. I hope we succeeded.”
Check out the photos and decide for yourself.
I love every single one of these pictures. Clean lines are so very appealing. I think a mix of contemporary and old is nice. Although I appreciate the beauty of older homes, I always had the urge to lighten up all that dark wood–light and airy is how I like it. (I’m sure the purists out there are recoiling at the horror of painting all that dark tudor wood white–sorry!) My house is like a showroom for Room & Board.
I love modern too – a two bedroom split ranch we were sure we were going to buy had 6 offers above asking and this was in the middle of the mortgage meltdown. We wound up with an oldie. Room and Board is great. I have purchased from them a number of times and the products are well made and well designed and the service is great.
It seems that living in old pre-war Colonials and Victorians make us feel more, well,
Waspy !
Owning one of these aged dowagers ( or do they own us? ) is part of the express ticket from the trappings of new money to the trappings of old money.
It takes balls to live in a modernistic house in the face of this, so, more power to those who assert themselves. Although the crap that passes for modern, for the most part, stinks. But when modern is great, it’s really great.
Our recent old meets new renovation is the “Loft Feeling in the Suburbs” featured at https://www.lemongrassdesign.com/loft04.html.
In full disclosure, we are modernists at heart, so we will always choose clean and sleek over authentic period details.
That being disclosed, our experience working with Ms. Servos of Lemon Grass was truly an eye-opening (not to mention space-opening) experience. We had originally read about her on Baristanet after a somewhat exasperating search for a designer who could help us convert our vision for our old house without imposing his/her own design sensibilities on us. Most of the designers we met were more interested in listening to themselves speak rather than what we actually wished to achieve. Not Ms. Servos.
Our first meetings were casual and upbeat, with Ms. Servos getting to know our individual tastes, likes, and dislikes, and asking us questions about our vision, how we live, the types of spaces and color palettes we were drawn to, etc. She did not thrust her own design template upon us; rather, from a series of pleasant conversations emerged ideas and magazine clippings which eventually lead to hand-drawn! colorful renderings of potential design concepts.
To make a long story short, what one architect told us–that older, more traditional homes in this area require more traditional renovation styles–was ultimately challenged by Ms. Servos, with fantastic results. She is truly a master of the “modern meets traditional” niche and she helped us come up with a very comfortable space we look forward to using for many years to come.
Is this a thread or an informercial?
Hold up, is the post about modern interior design or modern exterior design? I know plenty of colonials in SOMA that have modern interior design and have even have had their layouts altered to be more “modern.”
Besides, I consider a ranch to be pretty modern ’round these parts.
Right on the money, Spiro. I’m confused too.
Is this a new feature? A “story” that features past, current or (we’re working) on it advertisers?
Is this like those “features” in NJ Monthly Magazine?
Oh, well. For me, my Palatial Estate in UPPER Montclair is well over 100-years-old. The idea of some “modern” room, (or for me, wing) is odd because what is modern today is the pink tiled bathroom of tomorrow.
Old, classic- and yes, WASPy style is ageless.
Leaves me cold.
So what really is the point of this? that when renovating a Victorian house it’s a good idea not to do every last thing in the style of Victoria’s day, with gas lamps and claw-footed sofas etc? Okay, I guess that’s fine. But the point hardly seems worth hyperventilating over. I’ve always found architectural writing a bore, so maybe it’s just me.
Spiro says:
“Owning one of these aged dowagers ( or do they own us? ) is part of the express ticket from the trappings of new money to the trappings of old money.”
As a long-time old-house lover, I would change that to the express ticket
to the trappings of no money! Money Pit Indeed!!