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AN ADDITION AT
A COLONIAL-STYLE
HOME IN WYCKOFF
ACCOMMODATES A
MODERN FAMILY
ADDING
impact
WRITER: JUDY JEANNIN
PHOTOGRAPHER: PETER RYMWID
DESIGNER: SHARON L. SHERMAN
OLDER HOMES ARE OFTEN AN UNCOMFORTABLE FIT FOR GROWING FAMILIES.
Kitchen and bathrooms are small by today’s standards and
the family room, as we know it today, non-existent. Such
was the case for a Wyckoff family with three active children.
When their center-hall colonial-style home no longer suited
their needs, they decided to build an addition that would
expand the kitchen and living room and add a family room.
As soon as the preliminary architectural plans were in
hand, they hired Sharon L. Sherman, a certified kitchen
designer, a professional member of the American Society
68 April/May 2011
of Interior Designers and the owner of Thyme & Place
Design in Wyckoff,.
The addition was designed so the kitchen flows into the
family room, which serves as a bridge to the living room.
Wide, arched doorways separate the rooms. “Making all
the rooms work together without losing their own personality was the challenge,” Sherman says.
She chose soft yellow walls, white trim and hardwood
floors to create a backdrop that unifies the addition and
then added details that distinguish the individual rooms.
The basic color palette repeats in various shades throughout the rooms.
Taking Cues
Because the kitchen is visible from the foyer, dining room
and family room, it was pivotal in the design process. The
homeowner had some firm ideas. “She wanted an island, a
cooktop, a wall oven and a desk, but beyond that the
placement and how the kitchen should play out was left to
me,” Sherman says.
They settled on traditional cherry cabinetry surrounding
The family room is designed to accommodate both adults and teenagers. Two small benches tucked under the console and twin window seats
provide extra seating. A custom cabinet houses an entertainment center. The colors and the woods used in the family room harmonize with
those used in the adjacent kitchen and living room.
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The kitchen — with a traditional style that
sets the tone for the adjacent family room
— features a built-in refrigerator, double wall
ovens, rollout shelves, a lazy Susan and a
built-in bulletin board. While there is room
for a table and chairs, designer Sharon L.
Sherman added seating at the island for
quick bites or conversation.
a large white island with a granite countertop. “We used
a tall outfitted pantry, built-in refrigerator, microwave,
custom hood, desk and custom tile backsplash,” says
Sherman, who designed the kitchen to relate to the adjacent rooms. “We coordinated the color and styling of the
light fixtures over the island, the kitchen table and the
game table in the family room.”
The family room relates to the kitchen in the coordinating wood used on the bar and for custom cabinetry at
one end of the room. It houses an entertainment center
and bookshelves and encases two long windows with window seats.
The mother likes having the kids home, Sherman says,
so she included such teen-friendly amenities as the enter-
70 April/May 2011
tainment center, a game table and a bar with an undercounter refrigerator for soft drinks.
Furnishings Add Personality
The family room furnishings are stylish, yet practical.
Comfortable chairs flank a nutmeg leather sofa.
Upholstered benches and the window seats provide supplemental seating.
The living room, on the other hand, is clearly an adult
space. “It’s the softer part of the house,” Sherman says. “It
is a little more lush than the family room,” Sherman says.
“There are crystals on the window treatment and needlepoint pillows on the chenille brocade sofa. The other
rooms are more masculine, more informal. This is really
The large kitchen desk was designed for the
mother, who is an active volunteer and
coordinates the activities of her three children.
her kind of room. She likes to sit in there.” Sherman
designed a large white cabinet to display some of the
wife’s favorite things and had the fireplace mantel finished
to match.
The open floor plan makes the addition ideal for
large gatherings. “It gives an easier flow for parties.
People tend to congregate in separate groups — women
in one area, dads in another, kids in another. It is easy
to move around.
“We did the rooms in stages, but we had a master
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The soft color of the walls visually ties the living room to the family
room and kitchen, but it has a more formal feel. It mixes family
heirlooms like the fireplace screen and the homeowner’s treasured
prints with new furniture. Sharon L. Sherman designed a large
cabinet to showcase some of her client’s favorite things. The
fireplace mantel was painted to match.
plan for the design so they would blend into the flow
of the house,” Sherman says. “Each room has its own
personality.” DNJ
Judy Jeannin, a regular contributor to Design NJ, writes
from her home in Hillsdale.
SOURCES Overall: design, Sharon L. Sherman of Thyme & Place
Design in Wyckoff. Family Room: sofa and chairs, Kravet in
Bethpage, New York (T); window treatment, sofa and chair fabric,
also Kravet; sofa table, Fremarc in City of Industry, California (T);
game table and chairs, Woodland Furniture in Idaho Falls, Idaho (T).
Kitchen: custom cabinetry, through Thyme & Place; granite countertops, Stone Surfaces Inc. in East Rutherford; hardware, Top Knobs
USA in Belle Mead (T); decorative lighting, Spivak Lighting Corp. in
Fair Lawn; tile, John P. Fischer Tiles Inc. in Hawthorne; construction, Veenstra & Sons in North Haledon. Living Room: sofa and
chairs, Kravet; sofa, chair and window treatment fabric, Kravet; coffee table and end table, Fremarc; cabinetry, through Thyme & Place
Design. T=To the trade.
For contact information, page 125
72 April/May 2011