The Digest | New Jersey Magazine
Issue link: https://magazines.vuenj.com/i/1285484
H e recently brought his years of experience and his expertise to a new and exciting special project: the top-down interior refurbishing of what is now his own private home. e property in question is a 3 bedroom, 2 full bath 1960s mid-sized modern ranch home located in Upper Saddle River, Bergen County, NJ. One would perhaps expect that a TV personality such as Colaneri would choose a big, sprawling McMansion as his residence, but if there is something Colaneri likes to do is to subvert expectations. Plus, square footage does not always factor very highly into Colaneri's considerations. "e first thing I look for when I go into these homes is the bones of the house," Colaneri said in a phone interview with VUE Magazine. "I go into the basement, I look at the foundation, I see if the foundation is in good shape, I look at the structural beams. Everything here was built extremely well." A longtime fan of the modern, progressive design of the ranch houses built in the 60s, Colaneri purposefully did not alter the exterior of the property. Instead, he focused on totally overhauling the interior, namely by knocking down walls and creating something of an open living space. "I wasn't expanding on the footprint," he said. "I was just rearranging the inside walls." Attention to detail is the name of the game. Step inside the property and the first thing you will notice is a small area defined by hexagonal marble tiles on the floor. Featuring three different colors - black, gray and a carrara marble inlaid with stainless steel —these mid-century modern-inspired tiles bleed into the surrounding wood floors, helping make the room feel larger without compromising the open-plan that Colaneri envisioned. e walls are covered with planks of wood reclaimed from the beams of an old barn in Ohio. Reclaimed wood also makes up the custom mantle above the granite fireplace, an original feature of the property which Colaneri enhanced and restored. e living room area follows the main tenets of the mid-century modern style foreshadowed by the hexagonal tiles: clean, sleek lines, elegant and organic curves, as well as a penchant for juxtaposing traditional and non-traditional materials and textures in the same space. e living area's earth tone-heavy color palette might have, perhaps, rendered the space too somber and muted if it wasn't for the splashes of bold color provided by Colaneri's chosen furnishing and decorations, such as the colorful throw pillows that rest on the light gray couch, the mustard ottomans and the Fuschia-colored rug in the dining area. One would be remiss not to mention the miniature living moss garden that hangs on the wall between it and the dining area. A work of art featuring live, real moss sprayed with chemicals to preserve it for years, this vertical garden provides a more than just a splash of verdant color among the warm tones: it provides a transition element between different areas in Colaneri's open planned living space. V U E N J . C O M 56