Happy summer, cuties! I’m so excited to kick off the season of hot days and summer nights with a new Kathy Kuo Home design project reveal that I am just so in love with! Throughout the long, chilly winter here in the Tristate Area, my team and I were working with our client Alisa on transforming her Far Hills, New Jersey, country house from dark, dreary, and dated to an oh-so-light and airy vision of modern farmhouse perfection.
Photos by Laura Moss Photography
Our client and her husband bought this home sight-unseen this past year as a weekend getaway from NYC for them and their two young daughters (ages 5 and 7). It was in need of a major design facelift in order to make it the cozy-chic and family-friendly haven that Alisa envisioned. With the help of our stellar Design Team, KKH worked with Alisa from the initial floor plan conception, to the first wave of furniture delivery in the middle of a giant Nor’easter blizzard, to a dreamy styled photo shoot this spring once every last detail had been placed.
Read on to witness the epic transformation (all I’m gonna say is that the home originally came complete with…Heavy. Dark. Floral. Drapes), and get some behind the scenes insight, tips, and tricks from our client Alisa, and our magic-making Design Team!
The Dining Room Before:
The Dining Room After:
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A Night & Day Transformation–Thanks to the Magic of White Paint
When Alisa and her family first purchased this idyllic country home in New Jersey’s Far Hills, the space was very dark–dark wood, dark paint, and lots of heavy floral drapery. So when she started on her design journey, Alisa knew she had a couple essentials: “The biggest musts were light, and areas where my kids could play comfortably…where we could relax really comfortably and be at ease,” she explains.
The first order of business was to give the whole space a fresh coat of paint–we used Chantilly Lace from Benjamin Moore, which is one of my personal favorite paint colors since it’s not too cool and not too warm.
“We used Chantilly Lace for not only the walls, but also for the fireplaces throughout the house–that gave the space such a face-lift,” explains our design team. “The fresh white paint color really allowed light to come into the space and bounce off the walls. What used to feel very heavy became a really light and bright palette.”
Alisa also opened some of the walls, lightened the ceiling beams, stained the floor, and updated a lot of lighting–all of which was very transformative. The result is a home that feels equal parts bright, cozy, and sophisticated.
The Living Room Before:
The Living Room After:
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Cozy Vibes & Clean Lines
Ultimately, one of Alisa’s overall goals was to end up with a weekend home in Far Hills that was as cozy as it was fresh and modern. The home features several fireplaces and she was eager to make use of them on chilly evenings for family time during cocktail hour or after dinner.
“With the fireplaces in the home, I had visions of us having night caps by the fire–I wanted the space to be conducive to that, and so far it has proven to be,” Alisa says of her vision for the living room. “We got some very comfortable leather chairs and a couch and we sit there every single weekend–we gather by the fire and the adults have a drink. It’s cozy while also being clean and bright, which is a hard combination.”
This hygge-infused space was finished beautifully with minimalist details like a versatile area rug, inspired coffee table and shelf styling, a built-in nook for stacking firewood (have you ever seen anything more #RusticChic in your life?) and plenty of scrumptious decorative pillows and throw blankets.
The Family Room Before:
The Family Room After:
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A Neutral Palette with Pops of Color
When it came to the color palette for this home, Alisa opted for minimal and neutral earth tones that complemented the new light and airy aesthetic cultivated by the new paint job and updated floor plan. “My vision was to have a very clean, open, bright, and comfortable–and sort of playful–space where my family could leave the city and really relax,” Alisa says. “In terms of inspiration, I’m from the West Coast and the outside of the house is a pretty traditional, East Coast-looking home here in Far Hills, NJ–so I wanted the inside to feel a little more like my home. It has a little bit of a West Coast vibe.”
When working with Alisa on product selections, our Design Team leaned into classic neutrals with pops of vibrant blue tones to add striking vignettes of contrast. “Alisa really wanted a space where her family could all hang out and create memories in this home away from home–especially because of the year everyone’s had with COVID recently, it was so important to bring some color and some life into the space,” the KKH team explains of the design journey. “The dining room feels very earthy and natural–there are lots of earth tones and natural colors–and then in the family space, it felt a little bit more vibrant with that blue sofa.”
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In addition to helping transform the design of the dining room and kitchen, Team KKH also had a blast styling Alisa’s entertaining spaces for our springtime photo shoot–this meant setting the table in the chicest way, stocking the bar cart beautifully, and gathering fresh blooms (some right from the home’s backyard right there in Far Hills) to set the mood.
“What was fun about this home was that all of the rooms are very minimal and neutral and relaxed, so it was then fun to play with the more formal styling on the table and bar cart,” the KKH Design Team explains. “We used some really fun accents from Kim Seybert and Michael Aram–to get this look, you can make it shimmery with candle light, and have fun with napkins and napkin holders. We had beautiful glass napkin holders from Simon Pearce and some metal ones from L’Objet.”
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Gathering & Entertaining
Aside from making sure that the home was full of space for her family and children to relax and make memories together, Alisa wanted to fill the home with natural areas for gathering so that hosting weekend guests or entertaining for the holidays or summer parties would feel easy and delightful. And that brings us to one of the biggest transformations in the Far Hills home: The dining room and the kitchen.
“The dining room is probably the most climactic room in the house in terms of the transformation–we took down some faux wood wallpaper and we made the room much brighter…I am really happy with the beautiful dining table and chairs, and we also bought a bar cart from KKH that I love,” Alisa says.
On top of a formal dining space, Alisa’s home also featured a kitchen makeover complete with a classic kitchen table for the whole family to gather around. “I love how the kitchen turned out–we fixed the floors and changed the cabinets, and we painted the island,” she says. “It’s very big and open and everyone hangs out there.”
The Kitchen Before
The Kitchen After:
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Room for Family Time, Fun & Relaxation
With so many spaces designed for entertaining guests, we also couldn’t forget about one stunning room meant just for the family–the upstairs media room! This blue and white spaces brought just the subtlest touch of coastal charm to this countryside home in Far Hills, and serves as the ultimate spot for Alisa, her husband, and her two daughters to lounge, play games, and take in their favorite shows and movies.
In order to create a sense of laidback leisure, this lofted media room features an array of cool blue tones and a modular sofa in slate grey that is irresistibly comfortable.
“This sofa is super-comfortable, stain-resistant, and elegant looking–it checks all of my boxes.”
Finally, the goal here was really all about crafting a special backdrop for family bonding moments. “More often than not, a family space like this tends to be a little bit more vibrant with vitality and families playing board games, especially if it’s a weekend getaway house like this one is,” the KKH Design Team says. “We wanted it to feel fresh and upbeat and there’s a punch of color with blue tones.”
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Kathy Kuo Home Design Services
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from Best Chandeliers And Home Lighting in UAE – Homenoon https://www.homenoon.com/reviews/light-and-airy-far-hills-modern-farmhouse-reveal-kathy-kuo-blog-home-lighting-ideas/
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