Scoring A Win

Design by Laurie DiGiacomo
Photography by Tori Sikkema
Text by Richard Laliberte

Allisen Graves takes a utilitarian approach to her family’s abode in Upper Saddle River. “It’s not a museum,” she says. “We use it.” Ten years after a structural renovation in which they essentially rebuilt the house they’d bought in 2008, the interior of the five-bedroom home needed a major refresh, due not only to tired style but also to heavy wear and tear—both her 16-year-old daughter and her 14-year-old son play hockey at elite levels and sometimes practice indoors.

“The interior was very suburban and safe, with soft colors and traditional patterns,” says Laurie DiGiacomo, owner and principal designer at Laurie DiGiacomo Interiors, based in Ridgewood. “We wanted something fresh, current and upscale.”

Graves and her husband, who both work in finance, didn’t know where to start. “We were probably the worst clients ever,” Graves says with a laugh. “We just said we didn’t want the design to be super-traditional or really modern. I’m a big proponent of finding your professional and letting them do their job. That’s why we hired Laurie—to let her figure it out. You have to trust your designer, which we did with her.”

Graves had found DiGiacomo’s work online. “I’d say my style is modern luxe influenced by hotel design, travel and unique materials,” DiGiacomo says. “I have a modern edge but enjoy timelessness as well.” A good working relationship developed quickly. DiGiacomo impressed Graves with her businesslike approach. Shared connections with friends and family added a level of comfort. “And I just liked her personally,” Graves says.

Dining-room furnishings from Vanguard Furniture featuring a mix of soft lines and patterns balance metallic finishes and dramatic light fixtures from Hudson Valley Lighting. Throughout the three-room project, designer Laurie DiGiacomo sought a mix of feminine and masculine touches for a hockey-loving family evenly split between the sexes.

The first-floor project, completed in early 2026, encompassed a family room, a dining room and an office where Graves and her husband regularly work. Longer-term foyer and kitchen projects weren’t included. “When doing multiple—but not all—rooms, you need a thread of continuity to have the remade rooms speak not only to each other but also to the rooms you haven’t worked on,” DiGiacomo says.

The designer established a color palette with the dining room and office, visible when entering the house. A challenge immediately arose: Both spaces featured wainscoting that DiGiacomo considered dated and wanted to rip out. Removing it would expose unstained wood flooring next to the wall. “I didn’t want to redo all the floors for the sake of two inches of stain,” Graves says. “The thought of that made me want to cry.”

“We had to change up some design elements due to how the house was built,” DiGiacomo says. She integrated the existing wainscoting into the design through elements such as color, texture and added molding.

In the dining room, DiGiacomo chose a warm color palette leaning toward taupe and brown, with textured wallpaper and congruent patterns in drapes and dining chairs. A large ceiling light fixture extends horizontally to fully illuminate a large table. Disc-shaped, metallic wall sconces and brass drapery rails complement the showstopping fixture.

In the office, color drenching of new molding and existing cabinetry as well as walls, ceiling and doors creates visual drama. Reworked shelving offers cubby-like partitions backed by graphic, modern floral wallpaper. Starburst hardware and leather pulls on cabinetry provide punctuation marks that also help achieve the balance of femininity and masculinity that DiGiacomo strove for throughout the house.

Color drenching of the office—along with the transformation of standard shelving into cubby-like partitions backed by patterned wallpaper from Thibaut—punches up the impact of existing cabinetry. Updated hardware from Modern Matter and an aviation-themed piece from Leftbank Art add further masculine elements to balance more feminine-feel features such as rounded forms in furniture and lighting.

“The graphic wallpaper and light fixture in the office lean more feminine, while the art piece with a plane and propeller bring a masculine touch,” DiGiacomo says. Furniture selections in all rooms—office desk and swivel chair; dining-room table and chairs; and family-room sofa and chairs—feature curves that provide softness balanced by strong touches, including a custom, family-room fireplace with a hard-edged mantel of marble-like mitered porcelain.

“Redoing the fireplace changed the whole room,” DiGiacomo says. An antique-finished mirror extends from the mantle to the ceiling in a dramatic, organically shaped strip. Completing the fireplace and custom wall took a year and three artisans: Custom Stone by Frank in Park Ridge, Artique Glass Studio in Glen Rock and Faux Time Design in Hillsdale.

“Laurie’s work is custom, unique and beautiful,” Graves says. “My daughter says, ‘I feel like I’m living in a magazine.’ That wasn’t the case before.”