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NORTHJERSEY.COM ❚ THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2019 ❚ 1H
A SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION OF THE RECORD
Homescape
Designed For Living:
Bringing a family room
to scale and warming up
the classics.
3H
INTERIOR DESIGN ❚ HOME IMPROVEMENT
Less formal,
but more
custom dining
rooms in vogue
HIGH STYLE
Make a statement
with a live edge table
By KATHIE ROBITZ
SPECIAL TO HOMESCAPE
A
PHOTO COURTESY OF HIGH POINT MARKET
Staged twice a year, High Point Market brings together interior designers, home furnishings professionals and
manufacturers to learn about, showcase and promote the latest trends and products in the home decorating industry.
On Location
At High Point Market
Trend-spotting with the area’s top interior designers
By BROOKE PERRY
SPECIAL TO HOMESCAPE
E
ver wonder where interior
designers get their creative
inspiration? How they seem
to know almost instinctively
what the next on-trend color will be,
or which fabric or piece of furniture
will brilliantly update your space? The
answer is easy: they head to North
Carolina for the High Point Market,
the world’s largest furnishings indus-
try trade show. This biannual gather-
ing, held in April and October, brings
tens of thousands of interior design-
ers together with furniture makers,
textile manufacturers, and high-end
home furnishings companies exhibit-
ing everything from light fixtures
to leather-bound books to bed linens.
Among the local interior design-
ers who regularly make the trip are
Anna Maria Mannarino of Mannarino
Designs Inc. in Holmdel, Kingsley
Belcher Knauss of KBK Interior Design
in Westfield, and Sharon L. Sherman
of Thyme & Place Design in Wyckoff.
We checked in with the trio for the
insider scoop on upcoming trends and
why the High Point Market ranks as
an essential professional experience.
Read on to discover what they’re eye-
ing for 2020.
A High Point veteran, Kingsley
Knauss has been making the trip to
High Point for more than a decade. In
addition to full-service interior design
for residential and commercial proj-
ects, she partners with custom-build
clients in the earliest planning stages,
helping them create a master plan
with short- and long-term goals that
PHOTO BY BROOKE PERRY
Westfield-based interior designer
Kingsley Knauss examines a textured
box and marble-top console at the
High Point Market.
keep their interior design consistent.
“With a solid design foundation, we
can make educated buys and curate
a look of timeless elegance. A house
shouldn’t look like the designer just
left,” she smiles.
Knauss, a NJ-certified and profes-
sional member of ASID, comes to the
market “to see new products from
vendors I already love. I’m not usually
shopping for a specific client. For me,
it’s about observing the latest design
trends, and discovering small and
unique pieces that have an ability to
tell a story.”
She expects neutrals and natural
renewable materials (like rattan)
to continue their reign, embellished
with rich textures and rosy blush and
jewel tone accents. “Large-scale floral
prints are now seen mixing with time-
less geometrics,” she says, referenc-
ing today’s emerging textile trends.
In furnishings, Knauss is drawn to the
brass inlay in wood pieces seen in the
Jonathan Charles showroom, calling it
an “exciting show of craftsmanship.”
Although she believes mid-century
furnishings are still popular, “there is
a nod to more traditional, yet updated
styles.”
Space planning, floor plans, custom
cabinetry, and furniture design are
all skills in Knauss’s wheelhouse. “If a
client has a family heirloom or even
a sentimental attachment to a piece
of furniture, I encourage them to find
a way to use it,” she says. Knauss
strives to curate elements that cap-
ture her clients’ personality with
style. Case in point: a set of classic
Chippendale chairs youthfully reimag-
ined for a client, thanks to a fresh coat
of high-gloss black lacquer.
Like Knauss, Anna Maria Mannarino
considers the High Point Market a
professional requisite. “While here, I
am sourcing for current and specific
projects, and also keeping an eye on
what’s new and what’s next,” says the
designer, a past president of the NJ
chapter of ASID.
“I’m seeing a lot of bold, bright
colors in everything from textiles and
rugs to lighting, and even cabinetry
and furniture. Colored lacquers and
See ON LOCATION, Page 4H
s the holiday season approaches, you may be
thinking about getting your home ready for enter-
taining. And because most holiday celebrations,
Thanksgiving in particular, center on food, the din-
ing room may be on your list of projects.
NEW TRADITIONS
There used to be a time when a holiday dinner called
for “the special china,” and Grandma’s silver, but not so
much anymore. Modern living is more casual, and so are
the spaces where we dine at home.
“Generally speaking, in today’s home, a dining room
is often no longer a room at all, but an area within one
large open floor plan,” says Anthony Gargiulo, an interior
designer at Ethan Allen in River Edge. “And today’s furni-
ture is designed to go with a more relaxed lifestyle and less
formal entertaining.”
Even so, Gargiulo says dining can still take on the spe-
cialness of an occasion. “That would come with your table
and how you set it,” he explains.
“Whether we’re talking about a separate dining room
or the dining area in an open layout, I find that people still
want a table that extends when they need to seat eight, 10,
or 12 people for a holiday meal. But less popular are china
cabinets, because most people are no longer interested in
displaying dishes, stemware, and such. If there’s room, a
buffet or sideboard, on the other hand, can do double duty
as storage and for serving food.” And it’s compatible with
today’s less-is-more style of decorating.
TURNING THE TABLES WITH FLAIR
“I often find empty nesters who are downsizing or
redecorating don’t want to give up the “specialness” of
a formal dining table. So, I suggest going for a more tran-
sitional style and a color that’s a little more trendy — a
greige, for example,” says Gargiulo. “On the other hand,
a young family with kids is always looking for a table with
a rustic top. (‘I don’t have to think about it or worry about
it.’) So, a textured top rather than one that’s polished is
very cool to them.”
For a fresh look, he suggests mixing and matching chair
styles or colors. “Try to avoid or get rid of some of the
‘matchiness.’ Replace the armchairs, for example; perhaps
use upholstered ones. Or mix and match chairs entirely.“
And don’t forget lighting. “A chandelier is the jewelry
that adds extra panache.” In an open-concept, however,
the designer recommends choosing one that coordinates
with the other light fixtures in the space — any sconces or
the pendants over the island.
See DINING TABLES, Page 2H
PHOTO COURTESY OF ENDGRAIN DESIGN AND BUILD
Custom dining tables by EndGrain are designed with
a live edge and created with locally sourced hardwoods.
Pool and water features need to be winterized
By FRAN J. DONEGAN
SPECIAL TO HOMESCAPE
E
PHOTO COURTESY OF LEHMANN POOLS & SPAS
Protecting your pool, spa and water features from the freezing and potentially
damaging conditions of winter requires several recommended winterization steps.
ven though we enjoyed warmer day-
time temperatures through the month
of October, the cooler days of autumn
are arriving and serve as a harbinger
of the colder weather to come. With the change
of seasons, fall also brings a special list of chores
for the homeowner: raking leaves, clearing the
garden, protecting perennial plantings and
maybe giving the lawn a last dose of fertilizer.
But the homeowner who enjoyed a swimming
pool or water feature on their property during
the summer months has the added responsibility
of making sure the pool or water feature can
withstand winter’s wrath.
Winterizing a large swimming pool or even
a small front-yard fountain is more than just
regular maintenance, it is an essential sequence
of steps that prevents damage and avoids costly
repairs. “Even if you do the routine week-to-
week maintenance on your swimming pool, hire
a professional to close it up for the winter and
then open it again in the spring,” says Victor
Lehmann of Lehmann Pools & Spas in Mahwah.
CLOSING AN IN-GROUND
SWIMMING POOL
The process begins by removing all debris and
giving the pool one final cleaning. It is important
to get rid of leaves and the like because they can
stain the walls and floor of the pool if left in over
the winter. Here’s what happens once the pool
is clean.
The technician will drain the pumps, filters,
heaters, any equipment that is part of the pool
package. Water left inside a heater or pump can
freeze and damage the component. The same is
true for all of the water pipes and lines. They will
be drained and blown out using compressed air
to prevent freeze damage.
On concrete and gunite pools, the water level
is lowered a few feet below the coping, which is
usually covered with a decorative stone or tile.
“The water level is lowered in anticipation of the
amount of rain and melting snow that will get into
See POOLS, Page 3H