Black Teams Up With White

Maybe the world isn’t all black and white, but one family’s new-construction colonial in Woodcliff Lake celebrates that contrast for its impact on minimalist design.

Right from the start, Elizabeth Ego, principal designer at Agape Design Group in Franklin Lakes, was hit with a challenge. She was to go modern and minimal but still keep it warm for a couple and their two school-age girls to make their move this past April. Modern aesthetics can cause style shivers, which homeowners Sara and Eric wanted to avoid.

Designer Elizabeth Ego stands alongside a fireplace, where an abstract artwork honors the client’s request for a feminine silhouette.

The dining room gets a pop from abstract art, which infuses color into the minimalist space.

Although the couple are not newcomers to Woodcliff Lake, Sara says, “This was our first time building a home,” and they had definite goals. “I’m from California, and I wanted it to be more of a California-style home,” she says—she envisioned a bright, open space with lots of windows.

“They asked me to design a modern, minimalist home but not too cold,” recalls Ego, who appreciated the opportunity to contribute early on to planning this home with Ridgewood-based RDS Architects. “They wanted it to be warm and inviting.”

Fortunately, Ego knew just what to do to melt modern’s icy façade. Although Sara didn’t welcome much color—only what abstract artwork might deliver—she was open to the classic black-and-white scheme, and Ego used white oak furniture and flooring to warm up the scene. True party potential was another goal for the five-bedroom home, so Ego supersized tables and planted bounteous chairs. The dining room says “the more the merrier” with a huge minimalist table that combines black metal legs with a white oak top. The chairs by Olivya Stone are framed in black-stained wood with brass details, while the black metal chandelier by Visual Comfort creates an industrial vibe.

“I wanted it to feel cohesive, but each room has something special about it,” Ego says. “So, what makes this room stand out is the artwork.” An abstract artwork (Mantra by Morgan Broome) provides a pop of color—everything from blues to yellows and pinks—over the oak frame console by Arteriors.

Anchoring the space with a subtle pattern is a viscose rug by Jaipur; another one is seen in a space created just for adults: the bar room. Ego recalls that the woman of the house wanted a room that epitomized cool, which she created with an interplay of white and black, seen in the white circular bouclé chairs by Olivya Stone and the black-marble teardrop coffee tables by Eichholtz.

“We like classic cocktail bars, and we wanted that room to be a little more dramatic, a little more grown-up,” says Sara.

At Sara’s request, a woman’s silhouette in the form of another Mantra abstract hangs above a black soapstone fireplace. Ego also finds beauty in balance, as she flanked the fireplace on one side with a bar area and the other with a shelved storage space. A chevron pattern display keeps vino within reach, while the backsplash elevates with a marble look. But the element guests aren’t likely to forget any more than great grapes is the Arteriors wood-and-iron chandelier for its sheer whimsy. Drawing inspiration from 16-foot ceilings, Ego also couldn’t resist “making the room feel grander” with a double-tray effect.

Although white can be stark, this kitchen proves warm and inviting thanks to wood elements such as the hood and island base.

No place says “inviting” more than the kitchen, which combines slim Shaker cabinets with black hardware and gold tones in the faucets and brass-and-black pendants by Hudson Valley Lighting. “When you have a white kitchen, it can look very stark,” says Ego, who shook off the chill with white oak in the quartz-topped island, the hood over the Thermador range and a wall of cabinets. Minimal style meets minimal effort in the “special vinyl” stools that mimic fabric, she says. This is the family’s first island, and they marvel at how it draws people together.

The breakfast nook uses a wall of windows to maximize the view, while deriving drama from panda marble-like veins on the spacious circular table.

The breakfast nook’s mastery over the outdoors makes it one of Sara’s favorite rooms, she says, crediting the nearly floor-to-ceiling windows for creating a feeling like “you’re almost eating outside.” There are no curtains to spoil the view, but the black-trimmed windows still pop, notes Ego, who assured with minimal design that the scenery would have center stage. The circular table by Olivya Stone adds drama with black veins reminiscent of panda marble and black metal legs that complement the black metal chandelier with alabaster shades by Visual Comfort. Taking a cue from the kitchen, the chairs are a vinyl masquerading as fabric for a cohesive effect and quick cleanups.

Ego chose to make the Arabescato marble-effect shower the star of the otherwise minimal-design master bathroom, which meant keeping the vanity a calming white oak paired with black faucets and gold-toned sconces.

In the master bath, Ego uses minimalism to let the Arabescato marble-effect shower catch the eye. Yet, not abandoning simplicity, Ego chose large-format porcelain. White oak reappears in the slim Shaker cabinet and white quartz-topped vanity coupled with black faucets. The ottoman gets style points for reclaimed material and a black wood base at a homeowner-requested makeup station. A cylinder shape and a touch of gold add interest to the Hudson Valley Lighting sconces flanking the mirrors. More subdued is the gray field tile that hushes the floor so that the shower can express itself.

Reflecting on her California home on the East Coast, Sara says her designer succeeded in creating the “special place” she and Eric wanted to raise a family. “It came out exactly how we imagined,” she says.