| NJHome 42
counter space is limited in the kitchen.” Three floating shelves provide storage and are fixed to a custom-designed wall that matches the one in the living room. “We decided to marry the rooms by incorporating the plank wall in both the living room and over the dry bar area that we created,” she says. “Visually this ties the two spaces together.” The designer gave the lower level family room a man-cave vibe and embraced earth tones when selecting and designing pieces. She created a rustic and “manly” bookcase to frame the homeowner’s new 58-inch television, which was mounted on another textured wall. “I decided stone would be a nice natural contrast against the wood-stained bookcase.” The client’s penchant for lounging came into play when Cooper selected furniture and accents. “Masculine rooms are ideally about all-around comfort,” she notes. “Part rustic and part modern, there is a delicate balance in the theme. We chose comfortable, deep furniture and a leather ottoman that he can put his feet on or use as extra seating.”
The living room does showcase a piece of the doctor’s softer side— framed shells on a neutral linen canvas adorn one of the walls. “One of the things the homeowner told me was that he loved the beach, so I snuck in a couple of items that nod to that feel without being the traditional pastel color theme.” The same masculine-yet-sophisticated theme is carried into the third-floor master bedroom. The bed features a black worn-leather headboard with brass trim, a color combo replicated in two nightstands and a light fixture. “I love to mix metals, and this was the perfect combination of iron frame and hardware with hand-applied antique brass powder-coat finish,” Cooper says of the accent pieces. For added visual interest, she covered the wall behind the headboard with a gray and black earthy grasscloth wallpaper. “I like when there is a common thread to the home,” she adds. And she did more than that, the homeowner notes. “Pam certainly delivered the wow factor,” he says.