Masculine/Feminine

Design by Jennifer Pacca Interiors
Photography by Marco Ricca
Text by Donna Rolando

She wanted their new-construction home on 20 acres in Chester to reflect grace and femininity. He favored a tailored, masculine effect. They both sought glam, but not in conflict with the home’s rustic architecture and natural setting. And finally—as if all this weren’t pressure enough—several main living spaces that open to each other cried out for a common thread.

It would be a test of balance to harmonize the longtime Bedminster couple’s forever home, but Jennifer Pacca of the eponymous Wyckoff firm proved herself adept. The key to pulling this off, she says, was a cohesive palette of rose, green and black in varying intensities along with layered design.

Leather and burnished gold chests, each with its own bone-pattern mirror, add glam to the entry foyer.

Designer Jennifer Pacca strove to create a “light, bright dining room” with a garden of green hues, blossoming from the area rug by Palace to the head chairs by Lee Industries.

“She did a fantastic job,” says homeowner Colleen, whose husband David built the ranch for future retirement years. She explains their quest for a youthful style led to “rustic glam,” and two happy clients—he with a masculine study, she with a feminine master bedroom, along with a blend of their tastes throughout the five-bedroom space.

Perhaps these homeowners knew the depth of the challenge. “They called us prior to breaking ground, and we were involved in all the design from the ground up,” Pacca recalls.

The project, completed in 2023, makes for easy, clutter-free senior living and keeps in mind two college kids, one still on the nest. The American Society of Interior Designers gave its approval with a Design Excellence Award last year.

While her husband contributed much as the builder, Colleen, a master quilter, created the entry foyer’s sensation—a Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired wall hanging, tapping into the ranch’s palette and textile focus. A multi-pendant chandelier from Hammerton and burnished-gold nail heads on leather chests by Vanguard introduce glam, while a silk fringe ottoman reflects cream and black, this home’s neutral.

The kitchen wows with gold trim on a black statement hood and the cabinetry’s gold hardware.

A “nice detail” that offsets tall ceilings is the wood cabinetry’s decorative glass, Pacca says.

This couple loves gatherings, and they appreciate how the great room and kitchen beat together as one. “The space is perfect for entertaining, formally and informally,” Colleen says.

Because they give their pots and pans a workout, adds Pacca, “they wanted a very open kitchen that was very functional.” Yet she also provided eye candy in the gold-trimmed black hood and the black-stained island with bold quartz veining. For a vintage vibe, custom green pendants by Urban Electric complement the floral Roman shades from Schumacher and check-and-brass stools from Charleston Forge. From the clients’ wish list are the golden wood cabinets and subway-tile backsplash.

In the great room, Kravet leather sofas and a chenille chair are within reach of a barn-door oak bar and a stone fireplace matching the home’s exterior. An embroidered floral fabric by Zimmer kicked off an eclectic mix of pillows. Completing the color story are abstract art, the cocktail table’s dark marble tray and a black-and-cream rug over wide-plank oak.

Keeping it rustic, Pacca draws warmth from wrought iron in the sconces by Hubbardton Forge and crystal-bead chandelier by Iatesta Studio, scaled to impress on the double-height ceiling. Ceiling beams “create the look of an older home,” she explains, while custom wood trusses ground the space.

A beautiful outdoor vista takes center stage in the master bedroom, elevated by custom furniture such as the mapleand-ceramic nightstands by Vanguard with glass lamps.

This sitting nook is warm and cozy within reach of the mosaic fireplace.

The more contemporary dining room pays homage to green, in the custom rug and ombre draperies. Pacca also used green to trim linen head chairs, which prove “livable and comfortable for daily use,” she says, as they join upholstered, cream side chairs at a white oak table by Robert James. Three abstracts from Zoe Bios flanked by gold cylinder sconces are what first greet the eye in the dining room, where a linear chandelier by Visual Comfort doubles the glam. Similarly, Pacca served a double portion of wallcoverings, handmade paper by Romo for the walls and faux hide by Elitis for the ceiling.

For the master bathroom’s Greek-isle vibe, the soaking tub sits amidst a grove of blue-andgreen palms by JF Fabrics. This “drama behind the tub” joins a turquoise hexagon floor tile, right off the husband’s palette. Also blue are the glass sconces by Jamie Young paired with a rattan mirror from Made Goods over a simple white vanity. Teasing with notions of Santorini, one of their favorite travel destinations, are the Wendover artwork and the ceramic chandelier.

Hexagon floor tile creates a burst of fun in blue from the husband’s preferred palette.

A spa-like setting with palm tree drama and fabric shades from Opuzen surrounds this freestanding tub, paired with a chrome-and-glass cart and white armless chair.

For the master bedroom, the wife imagined a tall, tufted headboard (custom-made by Pacca’s upholsterer) and pastels for a “really bright but cozy space,” the designer says. Layered rugs topped with pastels launched the décor, while taupe grass cloth grounds the space. A mosaic-surround fireplace sets the toasty stage for relaxation on a blue-and-white wing chair with a mirrored drum table. Pacca derived sparkle from mixing metals, as seen in the fur-fabric bench at the foot of the bed, custom to highlight the view.

“We love the design!” says Colleen. “Both by the architect, Richard Japko, with his structural design, and by Jennifer with her interior design magic. It is everything we hoped for and more.”