DesignNJ-OctNov2023_Digital issue

Schafer purchased the vintage Directional dining room chairs at an auction a year
before walking into this Short Hills home for a real estate showing and discovering the
then-owner had identical chairs. The dining table is vintage Milo Baughman. The glassand-brass
chandelier is vintage Murano.
Schafer completely renovated the kitchen. “It used to be a completely closed-off
working space. That’s not the life I lead.” The new, more open space is visible from
adjoining rooms. “I didn’t want to hide that stone,” she says of the quartzite backsplash.
The corner window design is original to the home, though Schafer replaced the glass.
Then I saw this. I already owned the onyx table, and this was in the same
color palette. I snatched it up.”
Other items didn’t need to be purchased. Schafer notes, “there are a
lot of ‘found’ things” included in the décor. A white console in the living
room, for instance, was used by the previous owners as a wall-mounted
media cabinet in their bedroom. “It’s custom melamine,” the designer
explains. “It was built in so they left it behind. We took it off the wall and
I added the round wooden legs to make it a standalone piece.” A marble
carving displayed on top of the console was crafted by the previous owner
who, at one time, had taken up sculpture.
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