What can you do with a mere 460 square feet of living space?
Plenty, according to Curren Design Associates and Plumberry Designs Inc. The team’s innovative “less is more” approach transformed a nondescript space at The Abbey in Morris Township into a chic “Left Bank Loft” that visitors have voted the best interior design at Mansion in May.
The month-long event, which concludes on Wednesday, May 31, 2017, is a fundraiser for Morristown Medical Center.
Several dozen top designers have re-done 42 interior spaces, while a handful of top landscaping firms have created a series of gardens on the grounds of this former Gilded Age palace, known as Alnwick Hall when it was built for an early counsel at AT&T.
Some 22,000 people have taken paid tours of this colossal makeover, according to Kathy Hobbs of the Women’s Association for Morristown Medical Center. They voted Tulip awards–Mansion in May’s equivalent of Best in Show–to the Left Bank Loft team, and to M. Erbs Fine Gardens of Denville for “Meany’s Northumberland Parterre.”
“The old adage of ‘less is more’ is truly evident in our space,” Richard Barr of Plumberry in Florham Park said in a statement. “As our generation is starting to downsize I wanted to ensure that everything in the kitchen is easily accessible as we ‘age in place.'”
A table and cabinets can be moved and adapted to suit changing needs. Cabinetry opens at a touch, exposing all contents simply. A pivoting flat-screen TV doubles as a partition window separating the living- and sleeping areas.
“Once we saw the room with its exposed brick and high decorative ceiling, we knew our design inspiration — a loft apartment with an industrial flare,” added Michael Curren of Mendham-based Curren Design Associates.
“Many of our clients are empty-nesters who are thinking of either downsizing or purchasing a pied-à-terre, or younger clients designing a small space,” he said. The “Left Bank Loft” aimed to show “how you can live comfortably and elegantly in 460 square feet” — with a your beloved dog.
Mixing strong colors and mid-century modern furniture with industrial elements, Curren said he and Barr strove to create “a sophisticated yet functional space, essential in a studio apartment. Add a taste of Paris to the mix and hopefully we have created the perfect urban escape!”
Keith Walloch of M.ERBS Fine Gardens said his team jumped at the chance to show its gratitude to the nursing staff at Morristown Medical Center. Proceeds from Mansion in May are earmarked for a new Center for Nursing Innovation and Research.
Jeanne Finn, landscape designer co-chair. Photo courtesy of Mansion in May.
The winning garden was inspired by The Abbey’s striking architecture, he said in a statement.
“We designed a garden that could have been there when the original owners occupied the grounds, but decided to counter the classical parterre garden with Bisco Smith’s contemporary urban monolith as the center of it all,” Walloch explained.
Did the voters get it right? You have one more day to find out. After that, the Cinderella makeovers go away and the place reverts to its plain-vanilla, Mansion-in-February condition.
MORE COVERAGE OF MANSION IN MAY 2017
MAY 1-31, 2017
10 am to 3 pm
Tickets: $50
Offsite parking only, Free shuttle bus:
170 Park Ave., Florham Park (near Jets training facility; follow signs)
No children under 12; Mansion is not handicapped-accessible
Allow at least 2 hours for tour & shuttle
973-971-8800
