Designer Showhouse of New Jersey: Dining Room
Writer Marirose Krall | Photographer Marco Ricca | Designer Mark Alan Polo and Urban Dweller | Builder Joseph DiStaulo Homes | Location Saddle River, NJ-
TABLE | Polo used benches at the table because “what I find very jarring in a dining room are all the legs. I wanted to pare that down so when you walked into the room, you got a sense of calm.” The chairs have silk upholstery; the benches have vinyl. “The people who pay the mortgage sit on silk, the kids sit on vinyl,” Polo says with a laugh. Lamps on the table make the setting more “intimate, like you’re in a private club.”
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OTTOMAN | The ottoman—which doubles as storage—is tucked away under the console, to be brought out as needed for extra seating.
Color and creativity combine in fund-raiser.
When Mark Polo saw this room, he “wanted to make it warm and inviting for dining. I’m finding from my clientele that the need for dining beautifully at home, as opposed to a restaurant, is rising,” he says. For this space, the designer chose decor that was “layered, contemporary, sexy and touchable. You want to sit there and absorb the environment.” He included a variety of textures such as silk, vinyl, coarse wood, fine lacquers and woven sheer linens. “Visually,” he says, “you want to see what every texture is about.”
The Designer Showhouse of New Jersey was in a Saddle River home built by Joseph DiStaulo Homes. The event benefited Hackensack University Medical Center (hackensackumc.org).