A Summit Home Designed for Entertaining

It’s classic and comfortable — with a hidden surprise

“It checked all the boxes, except we hated it.” William Gardner says with a laugh when describing the original state of the home he shares with partners Eric Duchon and Shane Nelson, along with their three children and a dog. “The layout of the house was great, so was the location. But the décor was not our aesthetic. It was very conservative. Everything was beige and salmon.” Nelson says their decorative preferences lean toward the classic. “We wanted more of a timeless feel,” he says, “something we’ll enjoy looking at for 20 years.”

The homeowners entertain often. That means lots of wear and tear. “We are not a light-use family,” owner William Gardner says. “We wanted to make sure everything was as kid-, people- and pet-friendly as possible,” owner Shane Nelson adds. The oak island in the kitchen is stained black to stand up to rough wear. “The island is always the thing that gets the most beat up,” designer Alexa Ralff says. “Stain is always going to wear better than a paint finish.”

Gardner describes the project’s decorative direction: “The aesthetic needed to feel homey and comfortable for us, yet allow for a large number of people.” The kitchen fills the bill with warm, hunter green cabinetry and plenty of seating options.

To help them create interiors that would stand the test of time, the owners brought in designer Alexa Ralff, of Millburn-based AHR Designs, to address the aesthetic and practical considerations involved in the project. “They wanted a comfortable, elevated, stylish house that could handle their children, their dog and multiple family visitors,” she says.

One side of the breakfast bar opens up to a hidden pantry.

Duchon, Gardner and Nelson often entertain on a large scale. According to Ralff, “they might have 20 people on a Sunday night for dinner. They also host a lot of holidays, so they wanted a really good entertaining house, which I think we achieved.”

 This home is certainly designed for hospitality. There’s plentiful seating for family and friends, particularly in the kitchen, where the first purchase was the marble slab for the island top. “The homeowners wanted a huge island,” Ralff says. “We selected the slab first because they didn’t want a seam, and options can be very limited when choosing a full slab.” The large island seats six and the kitchen table accommodates an additional 12 to 14 people when extended with a leaf. The dining room can handle a similar crowd, with a custom table that can seat 14 to 22 people.

The cabinet color in the butler’s pantry matches that on the kitchen island. The space is used to store some of the owners’ large china collection.

The butler’s pantry, which features ample storage, a wet bar and a dishwasher is conveniently located between the kitchen and the dining room.

Ralff ensured that catering for large groups would be as efficient as possible with kitchen and pantry spaces designed to support the chefs in the family: Duchon and Nelson. They cook crowd-sized meals at the 60-inch range. It’s topped by a striking black and gold hood that contrasts stunningly with the white cabinetry.

The butler’s pantry was designed to accommodate kitchen support appliances and for maximizing storage, which appealed to Gardner. “I’m the cleanup guy,” he says. He’s also a crockery connoisseur, and his collection has a home here. “I wanted to have a nice bar space and lots of storage in a very small space. Every inch of that cabinetry is used. There’s no wasted space.”

Ralff incorporated the owners’ existing dining chairs and had them reupholstered in durable fabric. The table was custom made to complement the warm wood tones of the chairs.

Neither did they waste space at the breakfast bar, where cabinetry on one side opens to reveal a hidden pantry. Gardner shares, “I’m obsessed with hidden things and being able to close things away while maximizing space. We had to work with the original pantry space, which was in an awkward location by the kitchen table. I thought a hidden door would be really cool.”

“When we first interviewed Alexa, she brought this wallpaper for the powder room. It was far from anything we were comfortable with,” Nelson says. “It was way out of our comfort zone. It felt riskier than we were willing to go, but certainly not in an outrageous way. It helped sell us on her and it helped set a standard. This is a comfort zone we reach for.”

The breakfast bar cabinetry is hunter green. “It was one of those colors we always came back to,” Ralff notes. The homeowners are also keen on blue tones, as evidenced by the dining and laundry rooms. Deep blue grass-cloth wall covering adds drama to the dining room. “It looks fantastic,” Nelson says. “We all love the texture and the color.” The laundry room sports a vibrant blue, forest-patterned wallpaper. “Shane is the launderer. This was to be his happy place, so he got whatever he wanted. It’s like an enchanted garden in there,” Ralff says.

The laundry room features lively blue wallpaper and navy appliances. “This was the place we felt we could go a little crazy and make it special,” Nelson, the family launderer, says.

Nelson requested a hideaway ironing board to maximize space in the laundry room.

Enchanting, yes — and busy and hectic in the most wonderful of ways. “There are three dads with strong opinions, three children and a dog. It’s like organized chaos,” Ralff says. Gardner notes, “Alexa had her hands full dealing with us.” Nelson agrees. “She was both the project manager and our family therapist. She was a good person to help us work through our design challenges.”

The owners knew they wanted an inset tile “rug” in the primary bathroom. “We let Alexa decide what would work best there. She chose the types of marble and the sizes to make it as elegant as possible,” Nelson says.

The stairway runner is made from durable wool to handle high traffic.