Interior designer Kristina Phillips transforms barn into studio space

Karen Croke
| NorthJersey.com

Kristina Phillips has lived all over the world, from the south of France to Bermuda to Germany, so when it came time to design a personal space at her Bergen home, she brought a global sensibility to the job.

Phillips, an interior designer with her own firm, Kristina Phillips Interior Design, has lived in a Ridgewood Craftsman-Colonial for two decades. When she first saw it, the house and a backyard barn were painted a vivid shade of crimson. “I’m Swedish and the particular color of red was so typically Swedish,” she says.

Over the years, the red barn served as a storage shed, a man cave for her husband, and then became a kids’ hangout. “This barn has had many lives,” she says.

With the children grown, Kristina decided on one more transformation: to make the space her design studio. “My business was booming and I needed more space, so we gutted it and started fresh.”

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Let there be light

The first step was to steal some space from her husband’s potting shed to make room for a bathroom. Then, to bring in much-needed light, Kristina added skylights, full-length windows and French doors, installed maple flooring and painted the vaulted ceiling and support trusses white. Outside, she freshened the red exterior paint and white trim and added an intimate patio space defined by pavers and flower-filled planters.

In warm weather, she opens the doors and takes client meetings on the patio which she outfitted with custom-designed sofas.

It’s so pretty one wonders if those kids wander back from time to time? “There’s no more movie nights out there,” Kristina says with a laugh, “but they are very proud of what I’ve done.”

Form, function, fun

Her office features glossy white cabinets topped by a custom-designed bulletin board perfect for showcasing her design work; a vintage kilim rug she found in a small shop in Jaipur, India, anchors her desk.

“I tried to translate my upbringing into the space,” says Kristina. “It’s very classic, but also a nod to Swedish design.” That’s evident in the kitchenette where she chose white quartz countertops, a custom tile backsplash and a pair of traditional Scandinavian-style sconces. Light blue penny tile lines a clever niche behind the sink, used to showcase colorful glassware. “It’s crucial to use every bit of space you can,” she says of her design choices. “Function is first and foremost … and then, make it fun!”

She definitely had fun in the bathroom where the flowered wallpaper from Schumacher and a buffalo check tile floor in the shower (another nod to her Swedish heritage!) add whimsy.

“I got to live in a lot of different places and that really helped connect me to people,” Kristina says. “A big part of my design is pulling out what makes that person’s space special, whether it’s a color, a collection, or a family heirloom.”

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