NORTHJERSEY.COM ❚ THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2020 ❚ 1H
A SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION OF THE HERALD NEWS
Homescape
Designed For Living:
Global décor rules
in a New Jersey home.
INTERIOR DESIGN ❚ HOME IMPROVEMENT
4H
Repairing and
restoring vintage
hardwood floors
TREND IN FURNISHINGS
Dealing with the details
— trim, inlays and borders
By TERI GATTO
SPECIAL TO HOMESCAPE
O
Quality furniture and accessories to match any style room are available on a lease basis, allowing clients the flexibility to
live with a furniture piece or room design for a desired amount of time and return everything if the client relocates.
Renting furniture: Option
for people on the move
Everything needed to stage a home, and more
By KATHIE ROBITZ
SPECIAL TO HOMESCAPE
T
he United States is rapidly
becoming a nation of renters —
cars, clothes, you name it. And
that includes homes and all the
trappings to make them stylish and
comfortable: furniture, art, lighting,
linens, even the pots and pans.
“Everything is cool to rent nowa-
days,” says Paula Newell, executive
vice president of CORT, a leading
national and international furniture
rental company. “But who knew it was
going to be cool to rent furniture?
All of a sudden, everything is about a
‘shared economy’.”
Driving this trend are the
Millennials and the Gen-Xers, says
Newell. Unlike past generations, many
of them simply aren’t interested in
owning things, including furniture.
“They want to have access [to it], and
at the same time they want flexibility.
And rental plays right into that.”
As a bonus, renting is a sustainable
choice because reuse keeps furniture
out of landfills.
Leased furniture, however, is noth-
ing new, particularly for people in
transitional circumstances, such as
those who need to relocate temporar-
ily for business or study. And renters
come from all walks of life. According
ne of the perks of buying an old house is discover-
ing old-world craftsmanship and character that is
often missing in new construction. Elegant hard-
wood floors, embellished with handcrafted borders
and inlays, are often key features in these homes, but older
flooring may need to be repaired and refinished to bring
back its original beauty. The challenge then becomes find-
ing a craftsman with the skill, experience and aesthetic
sensitivity to expertly restore an old floor.
According to Gary
Horvath of A.T.C.
Hardwood Flooring,
Bergenfield, NJ,
one of the biggest
mistakes homeown-
ers make is hiring an
inexperienced person
to repair their floor.
“Often, a customer
is not knowledgeable
enough
to realize that the
repairer may not
Recreating and replacing intri-
have used the cor-
cate inlay in a damaged vintage
rect wood to patch
floor is detailed work, requiring
up the floor, and now the skills of a craftsman.
that patch does not
match the rest of the floor,” he explains. “Older floors with
embellishments require a little more finesse when sanding
or repairing.”
Examples of a craftsmanship and artistry that today is
hard to find include ornate borders and inlays with descrip-
tive names such double ribbon, Greek key and Celtic knot,
and parquet floors with geometric patterns constructed
from tiny, hand-cut pieces of wood tacked to the sub-floor
with miniscule nails.
“One of the most complex projects I’ve handled was
a parquet floor with an intricate border,” recalls Robert
Amadeus Civiletti of Amadeus Hardwood Floors and
Interiors, Lafayette, NJ. “The wood was very thin, only
5/16 of an inch, and the border needed to be meticulously
recreated so it looked like it was part of the original floor.”
See HARDWOOD FLOORS, Page 2H
PHOTOS COURTESY OF CORT
Not only do rental companies lease furniture, but some will design the space,
as well, allowing clients to just enjoy the finished room or home.
to Matt McDonnell, chief marketing
officer for Brook Furniture Rental,
“An amazing wide range of people
have rented from us, basketball play-
ers, even past Presidents. It comes
down to a need. Generally, it is people
going through different life stages.
And someone who’s working 100 hours
a week is just looking for something com-
fortable with that essence of home.”
Newell adds, “We’ll even hang the
towels in the bathroom. All you’ve got
to do is show up with a toothbrush
and buy some groceries the next day.
The home is ready from the first night
there.”
See FURNITURE, Page 4H
PHOTOS COURTESY OF AMADEUS HARDWOOD FLOORS
Restored and refinished, this parquet floor shows off the
detailed inlay work that had to be recreated piece by piece.
Managing Your
Remodeling Project
Working together with contractor and
suppliers is knowledgeable way to go
SPECIAL TO HOMESCAPE
A
remodeling project, even a small
one, can seem daunting. That’s
because undertaking a project
involves making dozens, even
hundreds, of decisions. And some decisions
a homeowner must make aren’t appar-
ent until the last minute, especially if the
homeowner is managing the remodel them-
selves.
“Homeowners can struggle when they
have to handle a project themselves,” says
Bob Gockeler of KraftMaster Renovations
in Chatham. “They have to find and coordi-
nate all of the different trades involved and
select the products and materials. It can
be overwhelming, even on a small project.”
Gockeler is a board member of the National
Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI).
Go to nari.org to find contractors in your area.
A good strategy for tackling a remodel-
ing project is to assemble a team to guide
you through the process. There are differ-
ent ways to accomplish this. One way is to
work with a remodeling company that will
take you step-by-step through the project.
WORKING WITH
YOUR CONTRACTOR
Full-service remodeling companies, or
design/build firms, provide everything from
creating the designs through the actual
installation and construction. Some compa-
nies work with product books and samples
when it comes to picking out appliances,
fixtures and other materials. Others prefer
to visit building suppliers with the home-
owner.
“Believe it or not, it actually saves us
time and money to take clients shopping
rather than have them shop on their own,”
explains Gockeler. “The design process goes
hand in glove with product selection.”
By FRAN J. DONEGAN
Homeowners undertaking a remodeling project can ensure they purchase all the
correct and accurately-sized materials by shopping with their contractor and suppliers.
By the time they hit the showroom,
Gockeler’s designers already have a good
idea of the style the client is looking for.
Designers always interview the clients
and KraftMaster has planning guides on its
website that clients can use before meeting
with the designer. Homeowners are also
asked to collect photos and to visit web-
sites like Houzz to create an idea book for
their project.
“As a supplier, we prefer to have the
homeowner involved in product selection,”
says Brian Maffia, director of showrooms
for GPS (General Plumbing Supply).
GPS has showrooms throughout northern
New Jersey. “Kitchens and bathrooms
are personal rooms. Everyone uses the
kitchen differently, and everyone uses the
bath differently. And when they come with
their contractor, we know the contractor
has been to the house to take measure-
ments. And if there is anything behind the
walls that can affect the project, they have
already identified it.”
See PRODUCTS, Page 3H