A New Jersey Home With a Masterful Mix of Styles

"I wouldn’t call it beachy. And it’s not supermodern. There are some really classic things and also some rustic ones.” That’s Kelli Suozzo describing the 1950s home she shares with her husband, Chris, and their two children in Rumson, NJ. The interiors of the home actually came about due to very unfortunate timing. The Suozzos moved into the 2,700-square-foot house in August 2012, just two months before Hurricane Sandy ravaged the East Coast. When the storm hit, the house took on almost 3 feet of water. “The whole first floor and most of the furniture on it were destroyed,” Kelli recalls.

Before they could rebuild and move back in, the couple had to raise the entire home by 5 ½ feet to bring it up to code. “We were out of the house for nine months during the renovations,” says Kelli. “Not what we had anticipated, but we consider ourselves lucky. Some people lost everything.” With fresh drywall, new floors and an entirely remodeled kitchen complete, Kelli started in on replacing furniture and accessories. “I used this second chance to buy only what made me happy, whether it was an ’80s-style brass floor lamp or a country-looking farmhouse table,” she says. “It’s certainly not a one-note house. It’s a combo of everything I love.” 

Kelli and Chris with Lilly, 9, John Michael, 11, and Rufus, the family’s pug.

The three tables in the living room are a perfect example of Kelli’s style mash-up: a driftwood and glass coffee table from Roost lives in the same space as a metal cutout side table by Noir and an industrial-style concrete one from CB2. Rounding out the look are neutral pieces, like the Vanguard sofa covered in an outdoor fabric, a mid-century-style woven chair that she found at a local antiques store and a caramel-color leather bench from Oly Studio. The graphic black-and-white rug is IKEA. “Our rugs get so trashed,” she says. “There’s just no point in dropping a lot of money on them.” Kelli bought the extra-large metallic gold handprints from Natural Curiosities, and the floor lamp is from a yard sale.

One of the many changes the Suozzos made during the reconstruction was creating a double-sided fireplace between the living and family rooms. On the living room side, Kelli added a mix of glitzy pieces (a wood and brass console by Mr. Brown and a coral-looking resin mirror from Ballard Designs) to more rustic ones (a Buddha head by Tozai Home and a wooden wheel on a stand from HomeGoods). The photograph of the buffalo is by Kevin Russ.