How do you choose from among duplicate furnish-ings? What do you keep or how do you integrateyour styles? When newlyweds Aimee Sharrock and Paul

Tagliareni combined households, moving into his

one-bedroom condo in downtown Jersey City, “Idecided not to take my furniture with me” and tolive with what was already in place, Sharrock says. But shortly after the dust from the couple’s wed-

ding in Italy settled, the young, well-traveled pro-

Feathering the NestA Jersey City condo goes from hodge-podge

bachelor style to married-couple chic

WRITER MEG FOX PHOTOGRAPHER MARISA PELLEGRINI

DESIGNER JOSHUA DAVID

Creating a shared household Can be exCiting — and Challenging.

Far left: Chic andcomfortable, the livingarea contains a balanceof calming neutral tones,mixed metals andreflective surfaces. Paleblue velvet drapes softenthe windows while grass-cloth wall covering “addsluster, warmth andelegance to the space,”designer Joshua Davidsays. To give tightquarters a more lightand airy feel, “allfurniture is up on legs,”he says, including anL-shaped linen sectionalthat maximizes seatingwithout adding bulk.

Left top: Whennewlyweds AimeeSharrock and PaulTagliareni combinedhouseholds, they movedinto his home: a circa1863 brownstone thathad been converted intocondos. The buildingretains its originalarchitectural detailingand is close to thewaterfront,transportation, greatrestaurants and more.“We love it here,”Sharrock says of thePaulus Hookneighborhood. “We arebig Jersey City buffs.”

BEFORE: “When I movedin, it was very much abachelor’s pad, AimeeSharrock says of theliving area’s hodge-podge look.

before

Left: The designer blends modern with tradition and a touch ofHollywood glam in the dining room. A modern drum chandelierwith crystal accents took the place of a diminutive flush-mountedfixture. New trim around the perimeter of the ceiling emphasizesthe room’s proportions, and a fresh coat of high-gloss white painton the ceiling reflects natural light from the adjacent room.

BEFORE: Black, black and more black. “I thought everything hadto match,” Aimee Sharrock says of the ill-proportioned étagèresand more that ate up floor space and impeded traffic flowbetween the dining room and living area.

before

fessionals changed course. “It wasn’t reflecting ourlifestyle or how we wanted to live,” Sharrock says ofthe bachelor-pad environment, which lacked storage,style and warmth. Eager to elevate the style and make it feel more like

home, Sharrock did a little shopping. Dual blackétagères, a black dining room table, black chairs andmore all arrived around the same time. “I thought every-thing had to match,” she recalls of the pieces, whichcompletely overwhelmed the space. “It was really bad,”she now says with a laugh. Her husband didn’t disagree.After returning home from a business trip, “The firstthing he said was, ‘What happened here?’’’

MARRIAGE OF TASTESSharrock then took to the Internet in search of a localdesign professional. “We are big Jersey City buffs and tryto support the local community and business owners,”she says. Besides “design is not my wheelhouse.” Drawn

to photos on interior designer Joshua David’s website,Sharrock made the call. The pair instantly clickedand spoke for nearly an hour about her decoratingdilemmas. “I’ll be there tomorrow!” said David, prin-cipal of Joshua David Home LLC.After touring the approximately 750-square-foot

space, discussions continued about what the clientshoped to accomplish, their lifestyle needs and howlong they planned on staying put. “We weren’t goingto stay here forever,” Sharrock says “so we made sureto keep costs at a minimum and not rehaul theentire unit.” At that time they took inventory ofwhat they wanted to keep or part with. Any newpurchases or investment pieces would have to be ver-satile enough to adapt to their next home. Photos from the couple’s wedding in Tuscany and

their travels around the world gave the designer a

window into their personalities and everyday life.“They have roots in tradition but are a young, mod-ern couple,” David says. Consequently, the décorwould be “elegant and traditional with a more mod-ern edge” he says. Because they love to entertain, dis-cussions revolved around how to open up and createbetter circulation among rooms, maximize seating,storage and more.

GRACIOUSLY GROWN UPMostly everything in the living room is new. “Westarted with the sofa,” David says, because it’s typical-ly the “most expensive piece and usually requires themost lead-time.” They chose a linen-covered semicus-tom L-shaped sectional from Williams-SonomaHome. The sectional hits the mark for its comfort,style and proportions— “not super deep but between

Plush bedding, pale blue-gray walls and a chicRoman shade elevate thestyle of a once darkbedroom. On display areframed photographs ofthe couple’s travels and asnow-covered New YorkCity scene. “I like photosthat capture themoment,” Sharrock says.

before before

Far left: A tiny closetgave way to a tidy andefficient built-in storageunit for two. Stylishottomans in a Greek keypattern flip open forextra storage andseating. The space-enhancing mirror andpainted console wererelocated from the livingarea. On the lower shelfis a jardinière the couplepicked up in Italy.

Left: To gain storage andcountertop space, Davidswapped two pedestalsinks with mirroredvanities that strike abalance between under -stated glamour andfunctional design. Newoval pivot mirrors providerelief from the otherwisestraight lines and sharpangles in a typicalbathroom.

an apartment size and a normal-depth sofa” to maxi-mize seating without adding bulk, David says. To make the compact space feel more roomy,

David says, “all furniture is up on legs” for a lightand airy feel. This includes the modern Collins barfrom Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams that stylishlystores bottles and glassware when entertaining. Light-reflecting mirrored and glass surfaces also enhance theillusion of space. Walls are covered in chic grasscloth. “It has a natural slight sheen so adds luster,warmth and elegance to the space,” he says. Layers of texture, mixed metals and a combination

of wood grains enrich a neutral palette of cream, grayand beige, along with accents of blue, which appearon the luxe velvet drapes in the living area and bed-room. When designing, “You set the language for aroom,” David says. “It can be any combo you want,

but once you determine what it is, you repeatthat throughout. It’s a European mentality ofmixing and matching.” The dining room achieves the same balance

of finishes, textures and styles. Traditionaltable and chairs in black matte and glossyfinishes pair up with a mirrored buffet and afun, white lacquered contemporary console. Adrum chandelier with crystal accents adds abit of Hollywood glam. “I adore the chande-lier. It made the room,” Sharrock says.

HIS & HER STORAGEDavid also amped up storage in myriad ways.Gone is the tiny bachelor’s closet in a dress-ing room, for instance. In its place is a floor-to-ceiling closet that spans the length of thewall and holds clothing and other items thecouple need for events and travel. He alsomade the bathroom a more functional retreatfor two by swapping out pedestal sinks withmirrored vanities that “doubled their storageand made it more airy and spa-like,” he says.As a more cost-conscious alternative to cus-tom-sized vanities, the designer suggested tworeadymade pieces from Restoration Hardwarethat fit in with the rest of the apartment’saesthetics. In the small, once dark and cramped bed-

room, “we kept everything clean, light andsimple,” David says. Walls were painted alight French gray, and a sunburst mirror —which was relocated from another room—captures light from the window. Plushbed ding from Restoration Hardware’s ItalianBorder Collection “makes you feel like youare away at a Four Seasons Hotel,” Sharrocksays, while chic Roman shades in a timelesstrellis pattern soften the windows. “Every space captures our style,” Sharrock

says, including their passion for travel, whichthey incorporated with books, mementos andphotographs from their trips around theworld — Africa, Dubai, New Zealand, Fijiand more. Rather than art for art’s sake, “theartwork is all about the photos they’ve takenand the memories created,” David says.

MOVING UP, MOVING OUTEventually, Sharrock and Tagliareni decidedit was time to move on. “I felt we were get-ting too cramped,” Sharrock says. They pur-chased a new home nearby: a circa 1863brownstone with four floors and “lots ofliving space.” David is once again assistingwith the transformation. “We are knee deepin a two-part extensive renovation,” he says.Though there will be more spaces to fill,“everything from the previous residence hasbeen reused to great effect.” And the apartment? Thanks in large part

to the design choices made it sold in oneday, over the asking price — and had multi-ple offers, Sharrock says. “People comment-ed that it felt like an oasis” away from thehustle and bustle of the city. “I have amaz-ing respect for Josh and what he brings tothe design process. He has a wide range ofknowledge and doesn’t try to break yourbudget.”

SOURCES Overall: design, Joshua David Home LLC inJersey City. Living room: sectional, “Addison” fromWilliams-Sonoma Home; large linen throw pillows,Safavieh; fur pillow, Restoration Hardware; bar,“Collins” from Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams; side chairand drapery hardware (Estate Collection), RestorationHardware; coffee table, Arhaus; silver-base side table,Arteriors Home in Carrollton, Texas; brushed brass sidetable, “Mia” from Grandin Road in West Chester, Ohio;floor lamps, Crate & Barrel; linen wallpaper, ManilaHemp from Phillip Jeffries Ltd. (T) in Fairfield; velvetdrapery panels and lining, The Shade Store; assorted ac-cessories, Bergdorf Goodman and ABC Carpet & Homein New York City. Dining room: dining table and chairs,homeowners, from Restoration Hardware; white con-sole, West Elm; bar cart and mirrored buffet, homeown-ers; chandelier, “Fascination” from Horchow in Dallas;buffet lamps, “Villena” from Uttermost in RockyMount, Virginia; mirror, “Mythos” from wayfair.com;assorted accessories, Bergdorf Goodman and ABC Car-pet & Home; wall color, Pewter Vase from Behr. Bed-room: bedding, Dune, Italian Border Collection fromRestoration Hardware; Roman shade fabric, KendoCrystal from Pindle & Pindler in New York City; walls,Light French Grey from Behr. Dressing room: storagestools, wayfair.com; Paris print, Arhaus; side table andmirror, homeowners; jardinière from Italy, homeown-ers. Bathroom: “Strand” vanities and “Sutton” oval mir-rors, Restoration Hardware. T = To the trade.

DNJ

As Featured in December 2015/January 2016 of