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C’EST (SHABBY) CHIC
Spared from the junk yard, salvaged materials add glamour
WRITTEN BY CINDY SCHWEICH HANDLER PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANNE-MARIE CARUSO
L
ong before it was the design of choice for contemporary homeowners,
James Girouard, an architectural and interior designer based in New
York and Palm Beach, was known for creating stunning open floor
plans. “That’s how I got my reputation in New Jersey,” says the former
Boonton Township resident. “For 35 years, I’ve been taking out walls
in existing homes. Friends would come into my ranch, see the vaulted
ceiling and open kitchen and say ‘Oh my God!’” The owners of this center hall
Colonial in Wayne, New Jersey’s former boxing commissioner and his wife, the
proprietor of an online gift shop, wanted this and something more: A shabby chic
look combining contemporary ease and old-world charm. For this, Girouard went to
Olde Good Things, a non-profit salvage company in Pittsburgh that removes
old railings, doors, windows, tubs, fireplaces and more from renovating homes and
businesses. “You can’t find these old styles anywhere else”, he says.
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SPRING 2019 WAYNE MAGAZINE
UNOBSTRUCTED
ELEGANCE
This image of the first floor was taken
from the family room area, with
the living room space to the left,
the dining area to the right and the
staircase to the second floor hidden
behind the wall bearing the photo.
Girouard removed the standard
windows at the front of the home
and replaced them with wider,
longer windows to bring in more
light. The column is from Olde
Good Things.