Clean lines and a restrained palette are captured in chic, high-contrast fashion. The Vertigo pendant from Petite Friture “blows in the breeze,” when the kitchen’s back double doors are open, designer Alison Nifoussi says. “The shadows it casts when illuminated are an added bonus!”
WRITTEN BY MEG FOX | PHOTOS BY CHRISTOPHER DELANEY | DESIGN BY ALISON NIFOUSSI TILE DESIGN BY DONNA MARTIN | CONTRACTOR ANDY BILSKI
Nordic Nod
FORM, FUNCTION AND SERENITY DRIVE THE CLEAN, UNCLUTTERED FEEL OF A LITTLE SILVER REMODEL
Nifoussi redesigned a run of cabinetry next to the dining table as a “moody, sexy, home bar,” complete with features such as reeded cabinets and an antiqued mirrored backsplash. Lower cabinets—“constructed with touch-latch hardware to embrace minimalist design”—are painted in “Off Black” by Farrow & Ball.
Behind the Seams
Working with six large-format 48-by-96-inch porcelain slabs for the backsplash was “very technical” from a layout and installation standpoint, designer Alison Nifoussi says. Finding installers to work with the material increased the challenge. “The sheets have to be handled like glass… if one should break you can’t just dispose of it like you would a small tile.”
Collaborator Donna Martin, owner/designer of Tiled Interiors in Red Bank, attests to the intricacy of linking the veining, which is critical to the design. “To ensure the veining worked from one piece to another, the installer [Anthony R. Linke Tile and Stone] and I photographed each piece and flipped and turned them as needed, producing a layout that moves beautifully throughout the kitchen,” Martin recalls.
Inspiration comes in many forms. For this full-scale renovation, it was an “an eye-opening trip to Iceland” and the serenity of Scan di navian design that spurred its clean lines and timeless feel, designer Alison Nifoussi of Tweak Interiors in Little Silver says. “While I love an all-white kitchen, we were going for something more unique,” she says. “Less being more was our overall design concept.” The aesthetic embraces a limited palette and an “emphasis on texture to add interest without a cluster of details.”
Frameless slab cabinets have a Scandinavian influence, Nifoussi says. She opted for “wood veneer rather than solid wood so the white rift oak wood pattern and coloration would be consistent,” she says. The counter-to-ceiling-height backsplash— covered in creamy white, large-format, glossy porcelain Calacatta slabs—“was the driver in color selection,” Nifoussi says. Pearl-toned quartz countertops are an ideal complement. “My objective was to use only workhorse, man-made materials.”
Clean contrast was achieved through the mix of light and dark tones from the hanging white oak veneered shelves with powder-coated matte-black steel strapping to the ebony-stained floors and sexy home bar, painted in “Off Black” by Farrow & Ball. Design elements also reflect a simplicity in scale and shape. Hence the understated impact of the custom hood with its sleek modern box shape and smooth, dark antiqued brass patina.
A thorough search for the “perfect lighting” strikes the right balance of task, general and accent illumination. “I knew from the get-go,” Nifoussi says, “that I didn’t want the traditional two or three hanging pendants over the island to distract from the other cool elements in the room.” Circles—one of her favorite shapes to use in design—are used in vary-ing scales, such as on the chandelier above the dining table and sconces near the range, “to create a rhythm and harmony in the space.” DNJ
EDITOR’S NOTE: For more design insight on this project, visit the web version of this story at designnewjersey.com.
SOURCES design, Alison Nifoussi of Tweak Interiors LLC in Little Silver; contractor, Andy Bilski of ATB Construction in Howell; cabinetry, Christiana Cabinetry; back-splash (Florim Etoile de Rex Crème large-format slabs), Donna Martin of Tiled In-teriors in Red Bank; countertops, (Prizma Colorquartz in Pearl), Stone World at Red Bank; tile installer, Anthony R. Linke Tile and Stone in Jamesburg; Wolf range/cooktop, Eatontown TV & Appliance in Eatontown; custom hood, Copper-Smith; hanging white oak veneered shelves, Franklin Sheet Metal in Ocean Grove; hardware and plumbing fixtures, Ocean Bath & Kitchen in Ocean; dining table, “Positano” by Mod Shop; chairs, Bungalow 5; stools, Verellen; all lighting, through Warshauer Electric Supply in Shrewsbury; antiqued mirror, Wall Glass & Aluminum in Wall Township; “Twiggy” black-and-white portrait, TheseFineWalls.com.
AS FEATURED IN FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 OF
