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Adler: Elegant Transformation
10/26/2008 - By by Michael Berman
Photography by Al Kruper
From Flashdance Fantasy to a 21st Century Classic
Elaine and Steve Adler would be hard pressed to remember a time when they were not together. They met as children in Brooklyn, and were married when Steve was 21 and Elaine was just 19. Their affection for one another has grown over the years, as has their love of their Marlboro family home. When the Adlers married in the early ’70’s they moved to Staten Island, and stayed there for 7 years.
The Adlers started a family and soon considered a move to New Jersey, which was more spacious. Steve remembers Brooklyn, where there was no space between homes, and then Staten Island, where things opened up a bit; but with a growing family, Elaine and Steve wanted a bit more land for their family to enjoy. In 1980, they found the perfect home in Marlboro when they came upon a developer who had completed a subdivision and was selling the model, which they promptly bought. It was built on 7/8 of an acre and included 3,300 square feet of living space. They were thrilled with their new home, and soon found they enjoyed Marlboro living as much as they enjoyed their new dream home.
Elaine said that Marlboro offered more of a social life, and the schools gave much more attention to individual students than in Staten Island because of smaller class size. They both remember, too, how much more farmland Marlboro had at that time, and fondly recall all the cornfields that gave the landscape a much more rural feel than it has today.
Time, as they say, waits for no man…or woman. After raising their three children – Cary, Lori, and Darren – in their fun and familiar family home, it seemed like a decision needed to be made. The Adlers had many friends who were choosing to sell their homes and downsize into one of the many new active adult communities in the Marlboro area. Steve and Elaine are family-and-friend-oriented, and they love having company, entertaining, and hosting family and holiday events, so the decision was finally made to keep their home. They would, however, completely renovate the interior to update the architectural details and furnishings to reflect their new design sensibilities. The “Flashdance” early ’80’s era would be just a memory as they transformed the design of their home in a completely new direction. Though they have admitted tohaving a disco ball in the basement, Elaine and Steve say that it serves its purpose during family parties.
The nearly 2-year renovation was helped along immeasurably by Dawn Palmieri Designs of Marlboro. Dawn, a good friend of the Adlers’ daughter, understood their vision. Elaine wanted a “dramatic” approach, and Steve was able to utilize his rather considerable carpentry skills to turn it all into a reality. Now that renovation is complete, the Adlers are finally enjoying their “new” dream home, and Dawn can come over to socialize instead of guiding the design. That was what the Adlers had in mind from the very beginning.
The kitchen required a major renovation to create this timeless and classically inspired design. The crystal chandelier in the “eat-in” area, as well as the crystal pendant lights over the spacious granite-topped island, add theatricality to the finished space. The backsplash tile was a custom order from Mexico, and features a cement field with an ornate silver overlay pattern. The clever tray below the built-in coffee maker is Steve’s invention; it drops down when not in use, but comes in very handy when an early-morning coffee order has been placed.
The renovation process was a collaborative effort. Dawn Palmieri reorganized decorative pieces in the dining room to create a better design statement; she also recommended reupholstering the chairs to give their dining set new life. Steve trimmed out the doorways, added crown mouldings to the ceiling, and added a light fixture medallion, box mouldings, and built-in display niches to transform the somewhat dated room into a grand space for entertaining.
The Adlers went from contemporary ’80’s chic to dramatic traditional as they transformed their home. Dawn stressed the need to complete one room at a time and not to borrow furnishings from one room to furnish another until the room had been totally completed.
The family room has no trace of the old purple-and-gray color
scheme of nearly 30 years ago. Steve and Elaine went “shopping” in their basement to find decorative items that worked with their new style sensibility. They were thrilled to salvage pieces that had not seen the light of day in quite some time but now worked with their new style scheme.
The master bedroom was also transformedduring this 2-year design odyssey. The spectacular furnishings, bold prints, and romantic, warm, regal color scheme all work together. The ceiling detail includes crown mouldings and some delicately rendered faux accents to effect an elegant and dramatic environment. The bathroom was reconfigured, with the closet walls moved to create more space. The medicine
cabinet is another of Steve’s clever ideas; he mounted a decorative picture to the door so that when the recessed cabinet is closed all that is visible is the picture.
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