Mansion in May

I first heard about Mansion in May while scrolling through LinkedIn. Mansion in May is a designer show house turned exhibit in Morristown, New Jersey, where designers from all over the country are invited to participate in transforming and designing a room or garden space, showcasing their unique creativity and talent. The project is organized by volunteer women from the Women’s Association for Morristown Medical Center (WAMMC) and centers around a charitable mission—tickets are sold to the public throughout May, with proceeds benefiting a different area of the hospital each year. This year’s efforts supports the new Proton Cancer Therapy machine at Morristown Medical Center.

The exterior of the Mansion complete with beautiful landscaping and gardens. Photos: Rivka N. Teitelbaum

Over on LinkedIn, I came across Adina Kornbluth of Adina Kornbluth Designs, who, as a top interior ‘couture’ designer with over 20 years of experience, was chosen to design one of the powder rooms at the Mansion. Notably, Adina is the only frum designer to be given this opportunity. Intrigued, I decided to see the Mansion for myself, take some photographs, and hopefully meet Adina to learn about the process of designing at the Mansion. 

I went to the Mansion on a beautiful sunny day. Apart from the long lines outside, which shows how popular it is, it was a fantastic experience. The Mansion exterior itself is charmingly old cottage-style, with flowers blooming everywhere. Each interior room has been designed anew, with details right down to the furniture and accessories, individually curated to each designer’s specifications, taste, and color palette. Some of the rooms had more calming design elements, while others were bold with layers of depth to the design, including textured cork wallpaper, hand-painted ceilings, gold sconces, and onyx tiles—just to name a few. In some rooms, it was all about the color and texture, in others, it was all about the accessories.

A glimpse inside the Mansion — a few of the beautifully designed interior spaces. Photos: Rivka N. Teitelbaum

I sat down with Adina afterwards to hear her take on the process and the experience. From her perspective, this was an opportunity to work hard, showcase her style, and make a Kiddush Hashem at the same time.

“The process was a long one", she says. “Application, submissions and mood boards were submitted towards the end of 2024, with many, many hours spent coming up with the design suitable for the space”. From January onwards, there were many deadlines for each different aspect of the work involved, including submissions like electrical and plumbing requests, while towards the end of March, the deadline arrived for items like wallpaper and painting installations.

The show-stopping powder room by Adina Kornbluth Designs. Photos: Rivka N. Teitelbaum

Adina’s space has a certain warmth to it, with bold, vibrant wallpaper, colorful floral arrangements and a striking gold mirror above the marble vanity, positioned between clean gold-and-glass sconces. The gilded paintwork on the cornice blends in perfectly, and is echoed in the gold edging of the built-in shelving

“Many of the deadlines coincided with Yomim Tovim and other things going on in my life,” says Adina, “The week of Pesach was when everything had to be fully installed and completed”. 

The process was very stressful and sheer hard work, she acknowledged, yet she is so grateful to have had the opportunity and experience. “I knew it was all worth it when, while out driving one day, I made a wrong turn and suddenly found myself in front of the hospital the charity supports” she told me. 

“I love a good challenge, and looking back at the amount of effort, time, hard work and money put into it, I feel it was a wonderful, blessed opportunity to participate in an amazing cause and showcase my love for design. It was worth every hour spent! I also used vendors from our community known for their expertise, and each vendor was excited to come on board with me throughout this process.”

To visit Mansion in May, book tickets here: https://www.mansioninmay.org

For more of Adina’s work, see her website: https://www.adinakornbluth.com/

Vendors:

The Fresh Start Painting Company - https://freshstartpaintco.com/

Deco Wall - Upholstery Decowallny.com  @decowallny 

Impress Wallpaper - Wallpaper installation https://impresswallpaper.com/

Nancy Conner - Florals - https://nancyconnerdesign.com/ 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rivka N. Teitelbaum is a family portrait photographer based in Monsey. She also enjoys travel photography/writing on the side. Instagram @willowandcherrystudios 

Find her online at willowandcherrystudios.com