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A few years ago, some of Toledo Geller’s New Jersey-based clients asked them to tour a new home they were thinking about buying. But before they went, the design duo took at look the family’s current house. “We were completely smitten by the home,” says Virginia Toledo, a co-founder of the firm along with Jessica Geller. “We understood the things the client felt it was lacking but knew it had so much potential and just felt right.”
After giving their honest review of the large new build’s uninviting feel and lack of soul, the family decided to transform their colonial home located in Tenafly, New Jersey, into their forever home instead.
With general contractor Vasilios Bogdani, Toledo Geller embarked on a renovation of the five-bedroom, four-and-a-half-bathroom home to better reflect the family’s taste. The project had a tight turnaround and involved a good deal of updates including a gut renovation of three bathrooms, refinished hardwood flooring throughout, and a reconfigured mudroom. The kitchen called for refinished cabinets and the installation of an island along with new countertops, backsplash, and plumbing fixtures.
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Many of the interiors were fully redecorated. “Their Indian heritage inspired us to incorporate jewel tones found in Indian culture as well as textiles with batik, handblocked, and paisleys patterns,” Toledo says. “We were inspired by some of our client’s existing pieces that we would be repurposing (namely their breakfast room table and dining chairs), relying on global patterns contrasted with fresh linens and rough-hewn finishes.”
At around 4,500 square feet, the home now looks completely different. From details like a Moroccan-inspired vanity to a mix of shiny marble and embroidered fabrics, the interiors now embody the family residing in it.
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Q & A
House Beautiful: Did you encounter any memorable hiccups, challenges, or surprises during the project? How did you pivot?
Jessica Geller: We were given a strict timeframe of about four months to get this project completed as our client leased a house elsewhere for that duration and needed to be back home in time for their children to resume school. This was an aggressive time frame given the scope. Throw in a global pandemic, and we had our work cut out for us. A longstanding relationship with our contractor with whom we have great communication and a lot of respecifying of materials that were back ordered (requiring us to be nimble…) are just some of the reasons we were able to deliver this project on time.
After the wallpaper in the corridors went up, our client (the husband) began having second thoughts and wanted it removed. We asked him to reconsider and to live with it and all of the furnishings for a bit before going through with the removal. The wallpaper transformed this house and was a springboard for so many of the other materials, so we are eternally grateful that he took our advice and waited and ultimately decided to keep it because it was just perfect.
HB: Where did the majority of the budget go?
Virginia Toledo: Because of the various bathroom renovations and the amount of carpentry we needed, a big chunk of the budget went into construction costs. And because of the number of rooms we had to furnish, the majority of the budget went into the furniture.
HB: How did you save money/DIY/get crafty?
JG: When it came time to value engineer the project, we had to omit some of the custom millwork we’d originally designed. One area was an entire wall of arched built-ins in the family room, and we quickly found some oversized arched bookcases that were on clearance from Ballard Designs as a substitute.
In the primary bathroom, we wanted a luxurious exotic marble to compliment the zellige tile but instead of cladding the tub deck with marble slabs of this luxurious material, we opted for a large format tile of the material. We bought a few extra tiles than would be needed to cover the surfaces so that we could “play” with a few in a dry fit layout and get the arrangement of the veining to connect/flow in a way we were happy with. We had them installed with very tight grout lines to give the effect of slab material for a fraction of the cost.
HB: Any other memorable details?
Toledo Geller:
On painting cabinets instead of replacing them…
The cabinetry was only about 10 years old, and they were very good quality and in very good condition. Our clients had tired of the dark stain they’d chosen 10 years ago but it felt criminal to throw these cabinets into the landfill, so we opted for having them professionally refinished by a cabinetry refinishing company. The color is Chantilly Lace by Benjamin Moore.
On building a window seat in the living room…
The inherent setback in the wall called for it, and we wanted to create another zone for homework or perching with a laptop. This space is the family’s hub, and maximizing seating for family time and entertaining was key.
On the frame around the opening from the family room to the kitchen…
The opening was previously framed with the same casing that was used around the house, but it competed with the striking archway and keystone of the adjacent archway. We decided to introduce salvaged wood to frame the entire doorway, which resulted in a design that held its visual weight up against the keystone archway but also introduced the new design direction in a big way and re-introduced us to the kitchen that now underwent a major facelift.
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