DesignNJ_JuneJuly2023_Digital Issue

says. The room has several of Karp’s favorite furnishings, including a
coffee table with inset brass legs and a marble top as well as a rug with
a subtle blue pattern that ties the room together. The daughter’s trip to
Iceland is commemorated in a photo that Karp enlarged and hung over
the fireplace. Flanking the fireplace are doorways to the library.
The dark-against-light theme in the living room is reversed in the
adjacent library, with light furniture against dark-paneled walls.
Although the family room, living room and office look very different
from one another, they all carry through a blue theme. “I call it my
360 rule,” Karp says. “If you spin around in a full circle, whatever your
eye takes in should feel connected. People make a mistake by saying
one room is only orange, another room is only green, and so on. That
makes me feel like I’m in different homes. You should be able to take
a chair from one room and put it in any room in your house and
it should look familiar, even though each room should have its own
function, flavor and appeal.”
In the dining room, Karp placed a sideboard and sconces from the
owners’ previous home in an alcove. An eye-catching chandelier of glass
and brass cylinders is long enough to cast light the length of the table,
which opens up to accommodate guests. The patterned draperies add a
splash of color and continue the blue thread as it makes its way through
the home.
In the kitchen, classic cabinetry designed by Paragano is painted a fresh
shade of white along the perimeter while the island has a stained finish.
Karp added dark blue pendant lights over the island.
In the back stairwell, a few steps up from the garage entrance, a deep
blue storage unit provides a convenient spot for grandchildren to stow
their gear when they arrive. The highlight of the space, though, is a set
The thread of blue that makes its way through the home continues in the library. One
of Karp’s favorite blues here is a leather-topped Jonathan Adler desk (foreground). “The
color is absolutely delicious,” she says.
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