home
BEAUTY AND BRAINS
Smart home technology is incorporated throughout the design of this lovely home
WRITTEN BY CINDY SCHWEICH HANDLER PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF NICOLE STREATER
W
hen Nicole Streater moved
with her family from
Montclair to Essex Fells a
few years ago, she thought
that their new home’s
“bones” were great, but that
its looks were lacking. So Streater, who recently
segued from informal adviser to friends to being
a professional interior designer with her own
company — Inside by Nicole — did some seri-
ous updating. Not only did she make aesthetic
changes, but she equipped the property, including
the outdoor pool area, with smart home features,
many of which can be operated remotely. “My
husband loves tech, and we love to use items that
make our lives easier, enhance our family life and
give our girls some independence,” she says.
18
FALL 2019 MONTCLAIR MAGAZINE
ALLURING UPDATES
The previous owners built the family room addition, says Streater, but it was
dark, and not likely to elicit the “wow” that visitors express when they discover
it now. Streater replaced the terra cotta tile floor, dark wooden ceiling and
track lighting, and brown stone walls with new wood flooring, a sheet rock
ceiling with recessed lighting that houses Sonos speakers, and brightened walls.
In place of a conventional central thermostat, sensors in common areas such as
the kitchen set the temperature in other areas, and may be adjusted via phone
app. The Amazon Echo device in this room, as well as others, allows Streater
to talk to her daughters, ages 8 and 12, without yelling. “I can drop into
somebody’s room to say ‘Come down for dinner,’” she says.
(Opposite) Streater’s office fills the eye with her choice of wallpaper and
“funky lighting” from West Essex Lighting. Local photographer Audrey Blake
shot the images of Streater’s daughters against the wallpaper, then blew the
images up and printed them on metal to create the impression of translucence.
Unseen by the eye: A Sonos player and printers hidden in the bookshelves.