Marble Takes Center Stage in a Home Office

Luxury stone accents, custom woodwork and versatile design create a refined yet relaxed space for work, lounging and entertaining

“The room was designed to be calm, sophisticated and multifunctional,” designer Janet Barcus says. “It feels elegant yet easy, perfect for both work and entertaining.”

Lauren Cherkas, president and chief sales officer of luxury stone and tile brand Artistic Tile, challenged designer Janet Barcus to transform her husband Jeff’s home office in Woodcliff Lake into a multifunctional space for work, relaxation and gatherings.

“First and foremost, the room had to function as Jeff’s office with a proper desk and good lighting,” says Barcus, owner of Jbarcus Design in Englewood. “But it also needed to double as a lounge, with a large TV for watching sports, a game table and a bar that didn’t feel like a typical bar. Lauren wanted it to feel elevated — more refined than a man cave but still relaxed and livable.”

Custom built-ins flanking the doorway are crafted from rift-cut white oak with vertical fluting in a soft cerused finish. Open shelving backed in rich Calacatta Viola marble “serves as both functional storage and a striking focal point, bringing depth and a ‘wow’ factor to the room,” Barcus says.

Cherkas adds, “The room was entirely designed around the gorgeous Calacatta Viola honed slabs from our slab gallery, because when you love marble as much as we do, that’s where it all begins.” When she proposed the stone early in the process, Barcus and junior designer Katie Lederman were instantly on board. “It’s a striking, versatile stone,” Barcus notes. “This particular variety features creamy white flecks floating in a rich red wine background.”

Cherkas and the team collaborated closely on the stone’s placement, incorporating it into the bar and custom built-in shelving and even lining the entryway door jamb. Says Barcus: “Its bold veining brings incredible movement and energy to the space and makes the built-ins feel like sculptural art.”

Lining the entryway door jamb with marble establishes a distinctive and elegant focal point at the threshold and frames the view beyond.

Jeff Cherkas’s sole requirement was a standup desk, and the design team delivered with a custom leather-wrapped sit-stand version from DWR in light oak. “A major feature is the custom woodwork and cabinetry surrounding the desk to allow for a floating placement in the room,” Barcus explains. The cabinetry is made from light rift-cut white oak with a soft cerused finish that highlights the natural grain of the wood.

Bar cabinets feature integrated lighting. The striking veining in the marble transforms the built-ins into sculptural art, Barcus says.

A palette of creamy tones, pale oak and warm brass creates a calm, cohesive backdrop, while the dramatic marble adds sculptural contrast, Barcus says. The furniture emphasizes flexibility and flow. “We designed the desk to visually disappear in the evening and placed a playful curved sofa at the center of the room for lounging,” she says. “A game table anchors the area beneath the TV [not shown], while two built-in bar cabinets with integrated lighting flank the doorway, ideal for serving drinks and snacks without disrupting the room’s layout or TV-viewing experience.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story first appeared in the October/November 2025 issue of Design NJ under the headline “The Marble Touch.”

For more stories on homes featuring marble, see “Marble Brings the Wow-Factor to a Small Powder Room,” “Couple Expand and Enhance Hoboken Brownstone,”  “Game Changers” and “Designer Injects Energy and Character Into a Westfield Home.”