N.J. home makeover: $110K to create a serene living space full of art

N.J. home makeover is a regular feature on NJ.com that showcases designer, contractor and DIY renovations, large and small. To submit your renovation for consideration, email home@starledger.com with your full name, email address, phone number and town/city. Attach "before" and "after" photos of what you renovated.

Like most homeowners, Ellen Martin wanted to update her Red Bank home so it would be a lovely and comfortable place.

But as an artist and curator of the Oyster Point Gallery in Red Bank, she also wanted her redesigned living room and the adjacent den to be a suitable backdrop for her artwork.

"The art will usually go up before the furniture goes in," says Martin, for whom displaying art goes beyond adding color or interesting details to a room.

"Art is essential to my life, and it's very important to me to have it displayed in a way that adds to my general calmness in life," she said.

Creating a sense of calm also was at the core of her desire to renovate her home of five years.

"I want to breathe a sigh of relief every time I walk into my house," she said.

But she was never able to accomplish that on her own.

"Wherever I lived, I found that I was constantly moving my furniture around to find an ideal living arrangement," Martin said. "I could never get it to feel right. Everything was never in the right place. Finally, I decided that I wanted a place where I could feel completely comfortable and that I would probably need professional help to achieve that."

Her choice of a professional was based on a single photo. It was a living room shown in a local newspaper advertisement, and it resonated with Martin. It was quiet, elegant, updated and simple. Much like Martin's own work, the room in the photo was tonal, with subtle variations of one or two colors. That was the aesthetic she envisioned for her home, so she hired Jana Manning, the interior designer behind the room.

The process that led to her desired home design was not what she had expected, however.

Homeowners who are prepared to renovate a space will often have a file with photos of rooms or particular decorative or design features that appeal to them. Martin had such a file.

"She didn't even look at it," Martin said of her first meeting with Manning. "She handed me what was about a 10-inch pile of pictures and asked me to go through them and pick out what I liked. At the end of the process, my pile contained pictures that were nothing like those in the notebook I had dutifully been compiling for years. My taste had drastically changed. It was an enlightening process."

Manning says it wasn't so much that Martin's taste had changed, but that the photos she was given showed rooms where the focus was on the environment rather than the furnishings.

"I wanted her to see examples of spaces that could deliver for her the physiological, mental and emotional impact that she was looking for," Manning said. "Where she said she wanted her envvironment to provide her with a sense of calm and mental clarity, the photos she had didn't accomplish that. They had well-selected elements that placed the overall environment in a secondary role."

Manning says her goal was to mesh Martin's skill as a curator with "the overall sense of well-being that a fully developed environment can deliver."

To accomplish that, some structural changes were made. The den had been a porch area enclosed by previous owners. The resulting room still had the door that once opened to the outside. Manning had it replaced with pocket doors that would become a focal point in the updated room. A doorway between the kitchen and the living room also was moved and enlarged.

"We were able to allign the door opening with the windows and the furniture to create a subliminal feeling of order," Manning said.

Manning used order in the room's architectural features to create a calming design, and she also worked with color. At least six different grays complement the original pale-brick fireplace in the living room.

"We chose many shades so that it all stayed harmonious and so that some elements became enmphasized but other elements just receded and harmonized," she said.

Gray also is used in the den.

"We added a lot of emphasis to the pocket doors," Manning said. Attention is drawn to the doors' design with a dark gray paint.

"Where we had the strong contrast, that element is going to stand out more," she explained. "It created a very interesting and strong focal point at the end of the room."

Martin, a painter-turned-photographer is also director of Jersey Artist Registry, an online gallery with links to the work of established and emerging New Jersey painters, photographers and sculptors.

Martin considers Manning an artist working in another medium, and she says her home design changes have had the desired effect.

"I also love that we tore down some very dated-looking built-in shelves in the living room so that I could really enjoy and share my art with visitors," she said. "In my main rooms, the living room and den, what I show is a very curated collection."

Additionally, one bedroom of her three-bedroom, three-bathroom house serves as a studio and personal gallery space.

"It's really white walls with a lot of art," Martin said. "Probably about 15 or 20 pieces are shown."

The living room display shelving Martin lost was gained in the den where handmade bookcases flank the entry to the living room.

"It feels cozy to have all of my books and artifacts nearby," Martin said. "The den is more informal but still comfortable and very pulled together. It's where I watch TV or just hang out."

Manning says the den has a more enegetic color scheme because it's more casuual.

"We're not always looking to have our pulse lowered and to slow our breath," she said. "We also want spaces that are fun to hang out in, where we feel more gregarious."

In all, the project took a little more than two years to complete and cost about $110,000, including the design, construction, materials, furnishings and appliances used to update the living room, den, kitchen and entry of the 1,910-square-foot house.

"We tried to make everything special," Manning said. "We did not race through the project. We made sure that what we were choosing were timeless things that Ellen would enjoy for the long haul."

What she renovated

The living room, den, entry and kitchen of a three-bedroom, three bathroom ranch-style house in Red Bank

Who did the work?

Jana Manning redesigned areas of the house, and the homeowner hired various contractors to complete the work.

How long it took

Two years and two months. "It was completely worth it," Martin says.

What she spent

About $110,000

Where she splurged

Moving door openings, creating a new lighting design and changing the flooring throughout. As for furnishings, she splurged with many of the items in the living room: the four grey chairs, the wall sconces, the lighting, the window coverings, the flooring and the rug. She also had custom-made bookshelves in the den and a custom-made coffee table in the living room.

Where she saved

"In the den, we went with less expensive wall coverings, and some furniture from mass merchandisers such as Crate and Barrel," Martin said. The sofa was also purchased there. "We were able to get a great Mitchell Gold sofa on sale."

What she likes most

"I absolutely love the living room because it's a serene room where I can read, work, nap and entertain up to 20 guests comfortably," Martin said.

What she'd have done differently?

"Without mentioning names, I would pick a contractor with higher standards."

Kimberly L. Jackson may be reached at home@starledger.com. Find NJ.com Entertainment on Facebook.

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