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It all started with small talk. Miles Kohrman and Stefan Klecheski were busy sourcing inventory for their design firm Steppe, which has a storefront in Brooklyn, by traveling all over the Tri-State area searching for treasures. As they picked up an auctioned item they’d won in Norwalk, Connecticut—a Gideon desk lamp by Martine Bedin—they were approached by Carolyn Surgent.
“She mentioned that she bid on the lamp and lost, and Stefan told her about Steppe and our store,” Kohrman remembers. That’s how they learned Surgent had recently bought a 1960s home in Greenwich and was looking forward to furnishing her den and office. By chatting up a stranger, Kohrman and Klecheski scored their first client.
Surgent is a physical therapist and mom of two daughters, with one away at college. Originally, Kohrman and Klecheski were hired to focus on small things like sourcing lighting, a new sofa, window treatments—elevating the room’s aesthetic. But then the pair came by for their first site visit, and that appeared to be just the opening bid. “The flow didn’t work,” Klecheski notes. Instead of polite chatter, the business partners decided to ask Surgent to expand the scope of her project. “I remember going into that meeting thinking, ‘Oh my god, can we actually convince her to do this?’” Kohrman says. Here’s what happened after she said yes.
A Strategic Flip
The office and den were part of an addition that was likely completed in the ’90s, and consisted of a living area and an office separated by a set of five stairs. Kohrman and Klecheski were impressed by the vaulted ceiling and the oversized sliding door that overlooked the deck and backyard. They also liked how the two-tiered layout inside mirrored the grade increase of the boulders outside. In fact, they had a hunch that the stairs existed because of a hidden boulder. But either way, the slight three-feet height difference messed everything up.
“To get to the office, you had to walk in front of the TV,” Kohrman says. “And there was no other way to orient a sofa toward the TV without turning away from the outdoors.”
Surgent imagined a hideaway where she could work but still feel connected to her daughter when she was streaming her TV shows nearby. She asked for the new layout to capitalize on the view, while still encouraging a good hang. Klecheski, a trained architect, had a solution: Slide the steps to the other side of the room.
That strategic shift would make all the difference in cohesion, and even match the steps out back. “When we met, she said she wanted to design something cool enough for her daughter to want to be in,” Kohrman says. “And now Carolyn can sit at her desk or on the dividing wall, chatting with her daughter on the couch.”
A Riff on the Conversation Pit
Kohrman, Klecheski, and Surgent aimed for this addition to feel more aligned with the home’s 1960s origins without turning the space into a time capsule. “We wanted to bring in drama, but keep it earthy and vibrant,” Klecheski says. They sandwiched the den in warmth by adding white oak paneling and punctuated the office with a backdrop of books. And when it came to seating, the dividing wall leant itself to a built-in conversation pit. Well, at least a play on one, thanks to a low-slung, burnt-red sectional.
“All of these influences came together in a way that felt contemporary, functional, and very much Carolyn’s style,” Klecheski says. “We got the palette looking at some photos she showed us from a hike. The colors of the rug match some mushrooms she found.”
A Platform for Art
Throughout the den and office—from the inset in the dividing wall to the built-ins around the TV—Kohrman and Klecheski looked for ways to handle the demands of a family room with Surgent’s penchant for ever-changing vignettes. The closed cabinetry beneath the television hides things like board games and electronics, while a printer and files are concealed in the office. “What I really love about the millwork is that the open storage is treated like a stage,” Kohrman says.
The flat surface between the stairs and sofa resembles a platform for a sculpture, which is balanced by the almost totem-form of the closed storage beside the TV. The tiered shelving in the den echoes the duo of open shelves in the office, and they all have a spot for Surgent’s latest finds. In fact, next to the window is the lamp that originally kicked off this project. Seems like everyone achieved their goals, especially Surgent.