Prepare to fall in love! 423 N. Ridgewood in South Orange is a grand center hall Colonial filled with character and charm. This one of a kind home offers space and tranquility plus proximity to downtown train and town. The estate-like .58-acre yard features a back patio for entertaining and plenty of room to play—or add a pool.

Step into the impressive foyer with leaded glass windows and high ceilings, and you’ll know you’ve arrived somewhere special. The spacious dining room is bathed in light from new windows. The renovated, eat-in kitchen offers a large walnut-topped island, wall oven, six-burner stove, Bosch dishwasher, and direct access to the yard. A butler’s pantry, mudroom, and powder room add convenience.

Entertain in the elegant living room with coffered ceilings, or through double French doors into the one-of-a-kind “Vermont” room—featuring a grand fireplace, custom built-ins, and exposed beams.

Upstairs, find second-floor laundry and two separate bedroom wings. Wing one includes two bedrooms, a shared full bath, and a connecting play/homework room. Wing two offers a guest room with dedicated bath and a stunning primary suite with dressing room and ensuite bath with soaking tub and separate shower. The top floor adds three more bedrooms, a large rec room, and two full baths. With abundant storage, a 5-year-old boiler, and mini splits on each level, comfort and peace of mind are built in.

423 N Ridgewood List of Improvements

2025

• Added new stainless steel kitchen appliances, including GE Monogram refrigerator and Smeg oven.
• Installed glass shower door in master bath.
• Installed new pocket door in first-floor half bathroom.
• Repainted and spackled entire interior of the home.
• Refinished all first- and second-story floors.
• Repainted basement walls and floor.
• Completed rear exterior Yankee gutter refurbishment.

2024

• Installed ductless Daikin mini-split system with remote control features throughout much of the three floors, providing both cooling and heating.
• Installed new copper flashing on rear chimney.

2023

• Repaired and refurbished front exterior Yankee gutters.

2021

• Full gut renovation of kitchen, including new windows.

2020

• Installed new steam boiler and removed the old one.
• Installed new wood windows in first-floor dining and family rooms, as well as upstairs bedroom.

2017

• Repainted exterior of home and completed exterior carpentry improvements.

Multiple Years

• Gut renovation of three second-story bathrooms; significant updates to remaining 2.5 bathrooms.

Dear Future Homeowner,

Welcome to the neighborhood! We have loved living at 423 N. Ridgewood Road and wish you many happy years in this wonderful home we have been caretaker of since 2010.

We have raised four children in this home and even today they are very sad we are leaving. We think they would be delighted if we were to change our minds at the last minute. But our kids are now largely grown, and it’s time for us to downsize.

I’m not even sure where to begin to describe the impact of our stay here. We lived in South Orange for 27 years, making one in-town move after spending 14 years on
Ralston Avenue in the Montrose neighborhood. South Orange/Maplewood is a great place to put down roots. It is warm and welcoming, with the diversity you don’t often see in the suburbs.

This was an attraction for us when we first came to town in 1997 and we believe it is a true and honest reflection of the world at large. If you are coming from New York it won’t feel a whole lot different from the city – minus the near-constant sirens of course!

The house itself is a great place to live. Seven bedrooms is a lot of space. When we first toured the home the prior homeowners put up signs describing each room. The room at
the far end of the first floor with the fireplace was named the “Vermont room” and the moniker remained with us. It was darkly paneled for a number of years and the room did have the feeling of a ski lodge. So the Vermont room it stayed for us.

One of the nicest parts of the house to us is that the size of it means that a number of different activities or conversations can occur without hearing one of them throughout the entire home. That means you can spend time in the Vermont room doing whatever and usually not even hear what’s going on in the kitchen. You can host a teen birthday party and sleepover and not feel too crowded, especially when they close doors to have their own space. We have always thought this to be a relatively rare and attractive quality of the home. And while the house is big, it’s not fancy or formal — a house that is a home first, originally, we think, a farmhouse and one of the first houses along the street.

Another major initial attraction for us was the deep backyard. When you get back there, you’re in your own private oasis. In summer, we’d eat most dinners on the patio. And we had many happy wiffleball games there with the large oak tree serving as third base. When we polled the kids, that is the favorite memory for each of them. There was also plenty of room for the kids to play soccer in their younger years — the goal post was between the big black walnut tree and the maple next to it. In particular, our dog has always loved lying in the sun in the yard in the afternoon. I have considered a stipulating as part of the sale periodic access to allow our dog to return occasionally to his happiest place for even just a few hours. Only kidding of course but I am sure he will feel the absence. Its a great place to be a dog in South Orange.

Our kids all attended the public schools in town. As you may know South Orange and Maplewood share the same school district and almost feel like the same town. Our kids particularly enjoyed the short walk down the hill to South Orange Middle, their favorite school. And they walked to sledding on the hill in winter and played Cougar and high school soccer and Little League baseball on Cameron fields there as well.

I’m sure you already know many of the well-known features of the towns. The proximity to New York trains is a great feature. You will hear the sound of the trains at night. I found this comforting. Mountain Station is particularly close by. Maybe a seven or eight minute walk. Mountain trains usually go to Hoboken but you can switch to a train to Penn Station at Newark Broad Street. South Orange station with trains directly to Penn is a longer walk but doable.

There are some good spots to eat in the towns as well. We particularly recommend Lorena’s in Maplewood for special occasions. It serves wonderful French dishes we believe are on par or better than many competitors in the city. There is also very good pizza and Italian in the towns – Artie’s in Maplewood, Reservoir in South Orange (cash only) and my favorite, Roman Gourmet in Maplewood. The rest of the family vehemently disagrees but if you love cheesy pizza that’s the one for me. I’d better wrap this up before I change my mind about leaving. We’ve spent most of our lives here and it will always have a special place in our hearts. Best to you on your new adventure.

Chris Mumma, for the family