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Jo Ann Stephens Alston, Certified Interior Designer in NJ, Allied Member ASID

School: Northern Illinois University, Drew University
Company: J. Stephens Interiors
Bernardsville, NJ 07924
Phone: (908) 502-5119
Email: alstonjo@aol.com
Website: www.jstephensinteriors.com

Designer Profile

Jo Ann Alston Certified Interior Designer in New Jersey and founder of J. Stephens Interiors located in Bernardsville NJ, is an ASID award-winning interior designer who skillfully combines the use of new furnishings and antiques to create elegant, timeless interiors. She practices in New Jersey, New York, Illinois and Virginia. After more than two decades as a premier residential interior designer, Jo Ann still loves to blend styles and to create comfortable living environments that are as beautiful as artwork. Jo Ann closely involves her clients in the design process ensuring a pride of ownership with every project. It is this intensely personal,highly interactive style that is her signature and that has her satisified clients returning time and time again.

J. Stephens Interiors represents the finest antique and custom furniture,modern furniture, fabric, rugs, art, lighting and accessory selection thru their network of sources in the US and Europe . Please call us for a complimentary design consultation at 908-502-5119.

Jo Ann's exceptional eye for color and texture has garnered her industry acclaim for 25 years. Most recently, she has received two coveted NJASID design awards for excellence and is honored to have two projects featured in "Today's Historic Interiors ," published by Schiffer Publishing. Her use of color are memorable hallmarks of every project, " I use color to create a mood that will reflect the client's
personality and texture to add a sensual feature that subtly works to trigger emotions or heighten awareness of the space." Her designs flow from room to room with a sense of continuity. They invite the viewer into the space with unexpected design features that keep the look vibrant.

Jo Ann has two distinct signature looks: Youthful Classicism with European influences and Classical Modern. Her ability to seamlessly blend styles creates fresh home environments with a sense of liveliness. " What is important is that the client ends up with a setting that feels like home: a place they connect with and feel comfortable in day to day." Regardless of style, Jo Ann's Interiors are always timelessly elegant, luxurious and clean lined.

Jo Ann personally oversees the preparation of detailed specifications as well as participating in the supervision of work supplied by each trades person. She is involved throughout all stages of the project from the initial meeting to space planning,designing custom furniture and millwork, fabric selection, lighting plans, artwork procurement and custom window treatments. " Every project presents its own
challenges," she notes. " By being hands on from beginning to end, I can ensure the design is executed to perfection." For Jo Ann, it is always about the client, the quality and the service. Her clients appreciate the high level personal touch and the successful creative collaboration that results from Jo Ann's attention to detail and communication.

Corporate and residential clients look to J. Stephens Interiors to guide all phases of design projects . Ms. Alston has completed projects for executive offices, banks,private clubs and health care facilities. These organizations seek Ms. Alston’s ability to create a structured workplace yet one that is inviting and reflects an atmosphere conducive to attracting and retaining clients and employees. FMC, Motorola and United Airlines are among corporate clients for whom Ms. Alston has completed design work.

J. Stephens Interiors also specializes in Historic Preservation and creating period appropriate rooms. Jo Ann believes that the exterior architecture dictates the interior architecture. That given, each addition or renovation to an existing Historical structure should be in proportion to the existing structure and sympathetic to the original design while in keeping with todays lifestyle. Ms. Alston has been trained at Northern Illinois University and has taken post graduate courses at Drew University in Historic Preservation. Further, she brings the ability to design period appropriate rooms with the skills of space planning, knowledge of classical details in cabinetry and paneling, antique furniture, lighting, flooring, doors and hardware sourcing, fireplaces or custom reproductions if necessary , sourcing of historical wallpaper, historical paint colors, antique fabrics or reproductions of period fabrics and the ability to design and execute period appropriate drapery treatments. She is member of Preservation New Jersey.

An avid art enthusiast, Jo Ann helps her clients build their own personal art collections to suit their tastes. " I'm inspired by the unique cultures of my clients and incorporate elements of their customs and their backgrounds into the living space" Addtionally Jo Ann's extensive travels throughout the world, in particularly Europe,
have helped influence her design work. Its during these travels that Jo Ann developed a coveted list of exclusive sources for antique furniture and art, giving her clients access to one of a kind pieces that complement their modern and traditional residences and office spaces.

Ms. Alston is a Certified interior designer in Illinois and New Jersey. Prior to starting her own firm, she worked in Chicago for one of the top 100 design firms in the country. Along with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Ms. Alston has taught interior design at Ray College of Design and Illinois Institute of Art. She has served on the Board of Advisors of each university. Currently, she is studying green design and how color and light can affect your health.

This past year, some of her projects have included, a modern home library/dining room in Warren NJ, a modern plastic surgery center in Chester NJ and a grand traditional home in Richmond Virginia.

J. Stephens Interiors has been published in Aspire, ELS, Design NJ,NJ Savvy Living,New York Living, New York Spaces , Park Place Magazine Bergen County Record, the Star Ledger and The Independent Press. Her designs have also been published in coffetable books such as, "Designed in New Jersey" a collection of New Jersey's finest designers published by DSA Publications. Her luxurious window treatments are featured in, "Can't Fail Window Treatment" published by Creative Homeowner. Two projects are featured in "Today's Historic Interiors ," published by Schiffer publishing.She has appeared on a national TV show called House Smarts . Upcoming, she is writing a forward for the book, "Nursery Decor," to be published by Schiffer Publishing.

Services Offered

Space Planning, furniture selection and specification, custom furniture,custom designed mouldings, cabinetry and millwork detailing, 3 D rendering, kitchen and bath design,window treatments, custom bedding,lighting plans, construction specifications,renovation design in collaboration with architects,builders and contractors,
sourcing and procurring antiques and fine arts both contemporary and antique, Historic Preservation, Asian and modern influenced interior design, Country French interior design, English Country Interior Design,Swedish Interior Design, Commercial Interior Design ie offices, country clubs, lobbies, healthcare facilities,virtual design, green products

Awards & Publications

In 2002, Ms. Alston’s design work was recognized by her peers by winning a bronze award for design excellence from the New Jersey chapter of ASID for a whole house project under 5,000 square feet. This project featured a 1950’s residence with a fresh traditional style that incorporated antiques, new furnishings and contemporary art. Again in 2004, Ms. Alston won a silver award for design excellence from the New Jersey chapter of ASID for a single space featuring a 20’ x 30’ family room in a contemporary space. A warm and inviting environment was created in this situation by mixing antiques with new furniture with rich textures.

Ms. Alston was honored to be selected as one of New Jersey's top 50 interior designers by NJ Savvy Living magazine.

Fee Structure

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Timeless Modern Design
The homeowners were desiring to use their dining room on a more regular basis so we followed a lead from a New York apartment and created a multi functional space thus incorporating a library/dining room.
Some of the beautiful features in this space are custom millwork, doors,ceiling moldings. The walls are pleated grey silk upholstered wall technique.
Photo by Peter Rymwid

Timeless modern design
Photo by Peter Rymwid

American National Bank private lunch room for executives

American National Bank
Private Office in Trust

Inspired by the antique Japanese screen and punctuated with a red leather coffee table, this classically modern space embodies balance and harmony. The walls, hand painted to resemble linen, are the perfect backdrop for the natural fibers that are used exclusively in the room.
This room was featured on House Smarts for a segment of their show called Design Smarts. ©Photograph by Bill Rothschild. All rights reserved.

A cozy family room was created by installing a central chandelier to bring the height of the ceiling down .Additionally the designer added
a shelf around the room for the owner to display his own photography. Custom iron floor lamps
and dramatic drapery and woven shades add texture and warmth to the room.
Even though the space is small, two seating areas were created. Wonderful leather fireside chairs beckon the owners to enjoy the beautiful fireplace and view to the outside while the family can enjoy the media center in the other area of the room.

Modern elegance with a dash of Asian influence
Ms. Alston welcomes the challenge and desire of the homeowner to bring in Asian influences into a modern, classic environment. This home in Warren NJ lacked architectural interest and texture. Laying the ground work for the room is a linen rug with a linear pattern, next Ms. Alston hired top faux finishers to lay a multi layer glaze to resemble linen on the walls ( only better!) The sleekness of the design of the sofa and coffetable work well in this relatively narrow room. Ms. Alston puncutated the space by adding very dark accents in the wood and warmed up the environment by adding the beautiful Jim Thompson silk fabric seen on the club chairs. Further the drapery treatments were carefully studied. The over draperies are linen to add an air of formal casualness and the operable shades behind the drapery add a further note of texture and practicality as they block out the sun!

A classical kitchen in a Historic Home in Summit NJ

Here is another view of the Historic home in Summit living room or rear parlor. Like a lot of older homes this room had some unbelieveably bad modifications made by previous owners. One of them was that French doors had been replaced with sliding doors. As an expert in Historic Preservation , Ms Alston was able to determine where the French doors and side lights had been and carefully restored the home, providing a millworker with drawings for the custom French doors, using hand blown glass and antique French cremone bolts. Now the eye is drawn back to the beautful view of the back yard and the home remains period appropriate.

Soft cream and camel tones are the backdrop for a deep umber velvet sofa complimented by tea-stained linen prints. Box-pleated valances with a banding of the same velvet on the sofa on either side of an unframed antique canvas artfully balance the built-in window seats that run the length of the family room. This space won an ASID design Excellence award. ©Photograph by Melabee M. Miller. All rights reserved.

A Fresh English dining room: This banquette size room was brought into correct scale by using a 1910 English mahogany dining table fully expanded to about 12'-0. The chairs are antique English Chippendale style. The sideboard is also an English antique. To provide relief from all of the wood used, the designer chose to use a light blue grey hand painted English strie wallpaper.
The masculine components in the room were blended with a feminine touch by adding the French Crystal chandelier and the antique Meissen table lamps on the sideboard. The large English antique pier mirror reflects back to the large overmantel mirror used in the living room. The luxurious draperies appear light which is partly do to the color and the silk content. Custom made tassel fringe was applied to the bottom edge of the swags and jabots.

This Historic Home in Summit NJ has been brought back to life! The room was designed to capitalize on the wonderful existing architectural features.
The signature use of French and English antiques with a captivating antique English overmantel mirror
draws the eye into this cozy space yet remains elegant, timeless and fresh.

Another view of the same Summit NJ living room. This view shows how Ms. Alston carefully mixes modern art in a traditional setting. By incorporating modern art in this room, the room remains fresh and young vs stuffy

A cozy corner in the Summit NJ living room. This photo features the lush and creative drapery treatments. Note the draperies are rings on a rod, not what you would exspect for a traditional setting! Yet once again it provides a freshness to traditional decor. Further note the use of contrasting banding peaking out from behind the silk draperies.
This fabric is repeated in the front parlor as a table skirt. Therefore tying the two rooms together. The chair in the foreground is an antique French bergere and the table behind it is an English mahogany tea table.

A warm and welcoming kitchen awaits these homemowners every morning. This kitchen was specifically designed to coordinate beautifully with the clients older home which had a very European flavor to it. The warmth and elegance of the mustard cabinets contrasts with the use of the slate and wood floor. New wrought iron lighting fixtures were custom designed to bring in a feeling of old world elegance. Hand done plaster walls received further aging through a combination of a multi layer painted technique. This kitchen was featured on the front cover of Design NJ

A new French Normandy kitchen was created for
a client in Westfield NJ who owns a historical significant French Normandy home. With the help of an architect and builder and J. Stephens Interiors, the clients original home was expanded from a two bedroom to a four bedroom home. This kitchen was part of the expansion. What I like about this space is that it is fresh, young and period appropriate. This shows you can create an interesting space in a kitchen where we all spend so much time! This kitchen was featured on the front cover of Design NJ

Another view of the ASID award winning family room in Summit NJ.
This view shows you how large the space is. It is 20 x 30 feet long. With this type of space , it is best to divide it up into different usage areas. Here you can see, a desk area, a seating area and a game table area in the back of the room overlooking the back garden. The large antique French armoire anchors the space and is put on display by using it on a angled wall. Another French antique is used in the room as a chest. The other upholstery pieces and tables are all new and feature custom finishes.

Last shot of the ASID award winning family room shows the game table area which is beautifully centered on the window to the back garden. The client uses this space for family games and also for informal dinner get togethers. The table itself has a limestone base and handwoven seagrass chairs which brings a note of texture to the room. The draperies are also featured in this shot and here you can see the wonderful details of the custom wood turned drapery rod with gilded accents. The draperies themselves are made of a brown and cream linen toile banded in dark brown velvet.

Peering down for the main staircase you can see this view of the elegant entryway that invites family and friends into an architectural significant older home in Summit, NJ. French and English period antiques are artfully combined to create a welcoming and light spirited room. In this view you can see the main seating area which is composed of an antique French sofa covered in a Scalamandre silk and antique English Chippendale style chairs.
There is a beautiful antique English Secretary
in the corner . Ms. Alston obtains her antiques from exclusive sources in the US and Europe.

This is another view of the large entry way / front parlor of the Summit NJ home. Here the large antique French crystal chandelier is prominently featured. Ms. Alston chose to leave the fixture with candles only as it is period appropriate and adds to romantic ambience of the space in the evening.You can also see the large center table with has a table skirt made of the same fabric that bands the draperies in the living which is right behind this room. An English antique ladies writing desk is right next to the large front door.

A large grand staircase in the Historic Summit Ave home was put to use!
The designer added an old French planter that mimics the tracery of the existing stain glass window. Here the homewowner can change her plants per season to brighten everyones day as they pass by. An antique Swedish chair was placed adjacent to the planter for a get away spot to read or chat on the phone.

This warm and welcoming space is part of a large home in Scotch Plains NJ. The
homeowner wanted a space that brought them back to their French roots!
This was a bit of a challenge because the space looked very Californian. First step was to develop the floor plan for the narrow room.
The client was shown about three different plans. They chose the one featured in these photos because they really wanted a sectional! Well lucky for me I have a workroom that can make sectionals at any size so we could fits one in this space! Next we devleoped two of three color schemes for the client to look at.
This room is actually based on the beautiful Scalamandre toile draperies. From there I devleoped a palette of French fabrics to work on the other upholstery pieces. Together the clients and I shopped for the antiques in this space. We added the fireplace and found the perfect antique French fireplace surround.

Another view of the French Country Family room in Scotch Plains NJ.
Here you get the feeling of the warm glaze applied to the walls and ceiling to coccoon the room and unify the soaring ceiling to the rest of the space. The designer darkened the light wood beams to a rich dark brown to harmonize with the new color palette. A new lantern was brought in to bring the eye down and add another note of French ambiance. To the left ,is an newly added electric fireplace and carefully selected antique mantel surround. Above it hangs an antique mirror with candle sconces on either side for additional lighting. Since the space is small the main seating area is the red textured sectional. We chose to use a tufted ottoman in a fun animal print as the coffeetable . Roman shades with the same tassel fringe are mounted on the French doors for comlete privacy at night. A flat weave rug is used in the main traffic area and an antique oriental is used as a ruuner in front of the French doors which the owners use all of the time.

This is one of my favorite shots because it is so welcoming. It is part of the Scotch Plains French style family room and is right next to the French doors. Every morning when the owners leave their kitchen to go out the French doors this is what they see. A charming Antique French ladies writing desk with a new mirror above.