When restaurateur Edą½§ Schoenfeld recites hisą² address to dinner guests, he gets blank stares.
āThey assume Queens,ā he says of his home, located in the Forest Hill neighborhood of Newark, NJ. āAnd then when I say Newark, I get a raised eyebrow.ā
That raised eyebrow quickly turns into a dropped jaw when guests enter Schoenfeldās 21-roāom Georgian houseš, which dates back to 1909.
Schoenfeld, 67, owner of West Village Chinese fusion restaurants RedFarm and Decoy, and his wife, Elisa Herr, made the decision to leave Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, five years ago. They realized their commutes to downtoą½§wn Manhattan would be faster and easier ā less tš¹han 30 minutes ā with a Garden State ZIPĀ code.
They chose Forest Hill, a sheltered enclave of stately homes that is a 15-minute dšrive from downtown Newark.
Historic detailź¦s, such as numbered window plates and a 1903 Baldwin piano, sold them on the house, which came with furniture and costĀ less than $š¼1 million.
But of course, a century-old ą·“home comes with baggage.
āA few years after we moved in, we walked downstairs and found a corner of the ceiling on the floor,ā says Schoenfeld. āWe realized it waš¼s a prime opportunity to make the home feel more like oursš¬.ā
Enter Sasha Bikoff, the 29-year-old owner of her , who was tasked with overhauling tļ·½he mansion. Priorities for the couple, who admired Bikoffās work and commitment to repurposing items, included updating the homeās color palette and figuring out placement for their heirlooms, antiques and one-of-a-kind finds.
To begin, Bikoff painted the formerly aubergine entryway a bź¦old African violet.
Combined with the jade green of Schoenfeldās office on the right, the sunny yellow of the dining room on the left and the dusty pink of the living room at the rear of the house, the aesthetic išs meant to evoke a flower bouquet.
The living room is an ideal example of how Bikoff reinvented what the couple already owned. āThe joke was that Sasha would go shopping in our attic,ā says Schoenfeld. Bikoff overdyed a rug that belonged to Herrās mother to match the pink walls, then fixated on a chinoiserie storage cabinet ā another family piece froź¦ŗm Herr.
āEd hated it, so we had just shoved it in an upstairs corner,ā says Herr. But it became the ideal TV sāØtanź©²d.
One key pušrchase? Turquoise window treatments. āThatās where we spent the painful money,ā says Schoenfeld. āAnd they donāt do anything!ā
Toš¬ anchor the dining room, Bikoff raided the house for more treasures.
On the mantel, two ginger jars flank a tiger sculpture. A large rougš«h-hewn table was purchased from folk art dealers in the neighborhood. Bright blue curtains complement Schoenfeldās extensive collection of Royal Chinaās āwillow wareā dishes.
In the summer, the couple entertź¦ains in the solarium.
A black-and-white checkered pattern was painted on the original floorboards; the table was part of a former restaurant project and retrieved frš±om storage. Visitorsā often end the evening in the hot tub, steps away from the screen door.
Outside, the gardens contain two fish ponds. A walkway winds over the water and into a corner gazebo. Aš° weeping birch, magnolias and dogwoods are the ideal backdrop for the Japanese-themed picnic Schoenfeld is planning for 200 guests later this spring.
The second floor houses a den, the master bedroom and ā separated by sliding pocket doors ā an office suite where Herr, co-editor of Moodyās Crediāt Outlook reports, works from home. In the evenings, the couple listens to music from a Sonos sound system in the cozy dark blue den. The black-and-white master bedroom provides an oasis of calm ā and a favorite nesting spot fź¦or the coupleās 14-year-old tabby mix, Cocoa Chai Latte.
But the focal point of the second floor is the landing’s ceiling, where a starry gold skyscape glitters against a deep blue background. (It came with the place.)
āWe imagine it was the result of some ā60s acid trip,ā says Schoenfeld. He liked the ceiling decoration so much that he took photos prior to construction and had workers reproduce the image star by star š¦in gold leaf.
The houseās top level was dešsigned with guests ā including the couplesā three grandchildren ā in mind.
Its rooms, painted in shades of lime green, pink, šand turquoise and furnished with overdyed heirloom rugs, are a nod to Schoenfeldź§ās bohemian background.
āThis is me when I graduated prep school,ā explains Schoenfeld, pointing to a portrait of a clean-cut young man. āAnd this is me a year later.ā Schį¦oenfeld picks up a framed photo of a man who could be confused for a long-lost cousin of Jerry Garcia. āI gave up a full scholarship to NYU to work in a Chinese restaurant. My parents wanted to kill me.ź¦ŗā
But his parents relented when they saw Schoenfeld find success reinventing Chinese-American cuisine, beginning with the 1973š° opening of Uncle Taiās on the Upper East Side. Even though Schoenfeld studied under legendary Chinese cooking instructor Grace Chu, he considers himself a self-taught cook.
āI cook almost every day,ā says Schoenfeld, whose freezer is filled with homemade stocks.ā And despite making the rounds at Decoy and RedFarm every evening, Scšhoenfeld and Herr make it a priority to have dinner together at home most nights.
The centerpiece of the tin-ceilinged kitchen is a mint-green BlueStar range with built-in wok bšurners. A rustic sign reading āAPPLESā ā a Maine flea market findā sits above.
Adorning the buttery yellow walls are shelves for Schoenfeld to display many of what Bikoffš affectionately terms his ācuriosities.ā
Schoenfeld says one of the best parts of his homeās redesign was finding Bikoff herself: She is designing his new restaurant, The Mess, a bistro slated to open later this š½spring on East 13th Street.
Back in the kitchen, multiple walk-in pš¬antries allow ample storage space for both dry goods and china ā Schoenfeld estimates he has enough dinnerware to serve close to 300 guests ā although Herr says that number is more like 100.
āWell, in any case, itās a lot,ā Schoenfeld acquiesces. The pantry is currently filled with imported Di Gragnano pasta. In preparation for an upcoming trip to Italy, Schoenfeld is experimenting with Chinese takes on šItalian classics.
As spring rolls on, the house is filled with flowersā¦ purchased biweekly from the Newark flower district. Schoenfeld also frequents the , the in the Ironbound district, and , a Portuguese food emporium where hą·“e regularly stocks up on olive oils.
And although he loves exploring Forest Hillās grandĀ prewar homes, Schoenfeldās favorite place is home. āWhen I walk around the house, I go, āNice! I like this, I like that,ā ” he says.
āItās a good feeling.ā
A few of theirĀ favorite things
Restaurateur Ed Schoenfeld and financial edš¤”itor Elisa Herr share five highlights from their recentš renovation.
- A good yarn:Ā Two needlepointed designs are hung in the guest bedroom. āThey were made by my Grandma Goldie,ā says Schoenfeld. The third floor is where Schoenfeld and Herr showcase family photos and other personal mementos.
- Kimono over:Ā On the second floor, a room originally designed for a governess has become an ideal place for Herr to showcase her kimono collection. āI lived in Japan for four years in the 1980s. I bought most of these from Tokyo flea markets. They had been in storage for years, so I was so happy to find a place to display them.ā
- Hop to it:Ā A large portrait of a bunny family is hung in one of the guest rooms frequently inhabited by grandchildren. āThe Hare family,ā says Herr. āItās how my last name is pronounced. Each of the rabbits represented someone in my family growing up ā a mom, a dad and three bunnies.ā
- Farm it out:Ā āWhen we got the house, there were rams and cherubs galore,ā says Herr. āWe de-rammed,ā says Schoenfeld ā but a few remain, including one that sits on Schoenfeldās desk.
- Duck dynasty:Ā The kitchen shelves house collectibles, including a duck-shaped teapot Schoenfeldās oldest son, Eric, picked up while studying abroad in China. āHe schlepped it in his backpack for three months to bring it to me.ā says Schoenfeld. āOf course Iām going to display it.ā
- Stellar job:Ā The chandelier over the coupleās bed ā a crystal moon and stars ā was chosen by Bikoff to echo the ethereal nightscape painted on the ceiling of the landing. āOn its own it might be tacky. But taken with the landing, it make sense,ā says Schoenfeld. āAnd the nightlight setting is perfect.ā