After This 1920s Upstate New York House Fell Into Ruin, This Designer Brought Back Its Glamour

"Beautiful things look beautiful together," was Tatyana Miron Ahlers' thinking for the restoration of her family's country homeIn the living room of Tatyana Miron Ahlers and Werner Ahlers upstate New York home, the 12 foot custom sofa is covered in fabric panels from Simrane Paris. The chicken stool is by Kansas City artist, Sally Linville. The interior design is by AD PRO Directory firm Pappas Miron, which Miron Ahlers cofounded with Alexandra Pappas. The architecture is by David Mansfield, the landscape design is by Mark K. Morrison and James Doyle, and the project construction is by Murray Craft Builders.To know Tatyana Miron Ahlers, says her friend Sarah Sanneh, proprietress of Brooklyn’s Pies and Thighs, is to know someone “out of her goddamned mind—always doing too much, always having fun, always with a twinkle.” It is this very vibe that resonates at her Carmel, New York, property.“There are no rules about styles and matching,” Miron Ahlers says. “It’s a story. I like the mix of style and material.” In the living room, Bento sits among custom sofas covered in a Claremont velvet, a rug by New England Collection, and a vintage coffee table. The artwork is by Domenick Capobianco and the 19th-century embroidered panel is from Millea Bros. Mathieu Matégot Metal Heart ChairTile Rug by Kroyer-Saetter-Lassen“For me, those kinds of perfect restrictions, where everything is perfect, don’t adhere,” Miron Ahlers says. “The lived-in part takes an element of the fear of ruining it out of the equation.” Miron Ahlers with her daughter Oona at the games table covered in a Rogers & Goffigon wool and topped with an antique lace coverlet. The Biedermeier chairs are antique, the lamp is from Arenskjold Antiques, and the artwork is by Simone Shubuck. “Who are the people crazy enough to renovate that derelict, old stone house?” Was a frequent and legitimate question amongst members of the adjacent Trail Club, an upstate New York enclave founded in 1924 around a radically simple idea: that life is better lived outdoors, together. Today the club’s roughly 125 families share hundreds of acres of woods connected by a trail system. The club boasts a lake (no motorboats), plenty of tennis courts, and a clubhouse. Its modest Adirondack-style cabins are not luxe, some with barely any kitchen at all. Children leave in the morning to play and return at night, somehow fed along the way. “There is a shared raising of children here that yields a closeness between people which is very appealing,” says longtime member Fritz Beshar.In the library, the walls and windows are covered in a George Spencer moss strié fabric from Claremont. The artwork from Steven Moore Antiques is flanked by custom sconces, and the custom sofas are covered in a Larsen fabric. The walls of the powder room are covered in Pierre Frey’s Au Bord Du Lac. The custom mirror is by Stephen Amedee and the sink fittings are by The Water Monopoly. Vintage Amber Cloud Column Vases by George Davidson (Set of 2)Antique Hand Carved Tramp Art MirrorFor years Miron Ahlers, who is the cofounder of AD PRO Directory firm Pappas Miron Design, and her family rented one of the small cabins (the children slept in one bed), gravitating to the club for its informality and outdoorsy-ness. Then during Covid, she passed a for-sale sign on the neglected stone house that sat just beyond the club and turned the car around. Her husband Werner Ahlers was less enthusiastic. “No way,” Miron Ahlers recalls, “The world is coming to an end. We can’t buy a money pit.”“People are overwhelmed at the idea of entertaining, Miron Ahlers says. “That’s why people like the clubhouse. But I love entertaining.” In the dining room, Miron Ahlers reestablished a door after seeing it in original photos. The carpet is from Double Knot, the table is from Regan & Smith Antiques and is surrounded by Cassina chairs Miron Ahlers found at the Parma, Italy, antiques market. The sconces are by Rayon Rosker and the pendant is a custom design. "Cab 412” Chairs by Mario Bellini for Cassina (Set of 2)McGee & Co. Archive PendantIn the sitting room, the sofa is by Mario Bellini, the vintage chairs are by Robert Haussmann for Stendig, and the vintage needlepoint ottoman is from Parma, Italy. The floors are cork and the vintage pendant is by GPA Monti from Furlong Antiques. Tela Pendant by Gianemilio Piero and Anna Monti for IbisVintage Tentazione Sofa by Mario Bellini for CassinaThe house had been a grand property in another era, complete with Welsh ponies whose riders once galloped through the surrounding woods. By the 1970s it had fallen into ruin, abandoned to mold, critters, and according to local lore, an unfortunate association with a minor drug scene. The Trail Club eventually acquired the property to prevent development on its considerable acreage. Then a friend on the board called Miron Ahlers: “You’ve got to come see it. You’re the only one for this house.”“I made everyone crazy about the cabinetry style,” Miron Ahlers says. The custom kitchen is by Murray Craft Builders and inspired by 1950s English kitchens. The narrow island was custom made to account for more space and is surrounded by vintage paperclip stools. The sink and fittings are by DeVOL, the range is by Aga and the hood is custom. The ceiling pendants are by Park Studio and the hanging antique plates Miron Ahlers collected over time. K700 Paperclip Stools by Haworth (Set of 4)Antique Majolica Plate in Wire BasketIn the bar, Miron Ahlers used an earthy, muddy palette grounded in the woods outside. The original cabinetry is painted in Farrow & Ball’s Broccoli Brown, the floors are cork, and the refrigerator and refrigerated doors are by Sub-Zero. The cupid chandelier is vintage. Romance prevailed. Miron Ahlers promised her husband a fast, inexpensive renovation focused on the basics. Sixteen months later she and Ahlers moved in while the contractors were still finishing. “I didn’t change a closet, I didn’t change the hardware, I didn’t change the floorplan,” she says. Instead, she removed the unfortunate 1970s additions, restored obscured architectural details, relined the fireplaces, and preserved the original floors—except for the kitchen and butler’s pantry where she installed cork tile. At every crossroads, she resisted the familiar “while we’re at it” impulse. The objective was simply to “pull the place into this century.”In the primary bedroom, Miron Ahlers didn’t move a wall but rather closed up two doors so that the bedrooms could all have a bathroom. The custom bed is upholstered in a Dedar silk print, the nightstand is from Christopher Cawley Antiques and the lamp is from Colonia Antiques. The custom rug is from Tangier and the bedding is from Jenni Kayne. In the primary bathroom, the marble countertops are Paonazzo Caldia from BAS Stone and the floor tiles are from Country Floors. The vanity, mirrors, and sconces are all custom. The vintage extension mirror is from Parma, Italy, and the sink fittings are by Waterworks. Nikari Perch Bar StoolVinta Workshop Brass Accordion MirrorFor the most part, the renovation was light. The kitchen, however, was more about getting what she wanted. On her journey to reestablish history, Miron Ahlers cajoled the millworkers into fabricating a very difficult-to-achieve rabbeted drawer front for the cabinets, which is neither overlay nor inset, “not that efficient, but I love the simplicity,” she says.In Oona’s room, Miron Ahlers painted the walls a subtle violet shade from Resource paint, per Oona’s desire to have a purple room. The bed is custom and flanked by a vintage chair and desk. The needlepoint artwork hung in Miron Ahler’s childhood bedroom. The bedding is from Le Château de Ma Mère in Paris. In Oona’s bathroom the tiles are from Country Floors, the vintage mirror is from Venice, Italy, and the vanity is an antique chest that was converted to a vanity with fittings by Waterworks. The sconces are by Flos and the Murano pendant is from Resiklo. Miron Ahlers approached the interiors with a mix of styles and materials as if she were telling a very personal story. The palette is earthy and muddy, grounded in the surrounding trails. For the cozy library, she originally selected a Rose Uniacke green velvet but ultimately decided it wouldn’t be seasonless enough, instead chose a linen and silk strié from George Spencer Design.In the guest bedroom on the first floor, the bed is covered in a Rogers & Goffigon linen and dressed in a linen coverlet from Nordic Knots. The window curtains are antique and the vintage wall sconce is from Holler & Squall. The marble sink in the guest bathroom is custom and was originally made for the 2019 Kips Bay Show House. Texture is the protagonist in the main living room as well. Rather than paint, Miron Ahlers chose to finish the walls in waxed clay lime plaster from Resource, a historic French paint and wallpaper manufacturer. “I love color and intimacy, but that room is so big and open, lime wash adds depth and beauty without being overwhelming, plus it draws your eyes to the architecture, the windows,” Miron Ahlers says.The second floor guest bedroom has walls covered in a Larsen fabric. The rug is from Nordic Knots. With so much entertaining, seating was critical. Two mushy nine-foot sofas flank the fireplace and convey old-world ease while a distinctly firmer twelve-footer “for the 80-year-olds who need help getting up and down,” is positioned under the windows, setting up a sight line toward the landscape. The sofa was inspired by an iconic photograph of a caftaned Lee Radziwill curled up on an exotic Mongiardino-designed sofa. “There are a couple images of rooms that you don’t forget,” Miron Ahlers says. “Finally, here’s a room in which I can do that sofa.” A tattered nineteenth-century silk tapestry and antique chandelier anchor the scene in heritage.In Otto’s room, the vintage bed is dressed in a vintage Pendleton blanket from The Company Store and flanked with sconces from In Common With. The chair is vintage from Finch and the walls are covered in Benjamin Moore’s Gray Owl. In the bathroom, the sink and fittings are original, the mirror is vintage, and the wall is covered in Taschen bookplates. Everywhere there are one-of-a-kind treasures, including an antique lace coverlet scored in Hampton Bays at James Maguire Antiques which tops a Rogers & Goffigon wool-skirted games table. “Everything that looks beautiful looks beautiful together,” Miron Ahlers says. “I really don’t care when things are a little broken. I love age.”A 1930s photograph of a pool party being held at what is now Miron Ahlers and Ahlers’ house. A vintage photograph of The Trail Club clubhouse. Miron Ahlers tried to restore everything as close as she could to the original. The screened porch is based on a picture from when the house traded hands in the 1970s. The vintage folding chairs are from Avery & Dash and the rattan furniture set is from Kamelot Auctions. The marble-topped dining table is from Parma, Italy. Serena & Lily Avalon Rattan DaybedMelin Tregwynt Welsh BlanketSanneh, who Miron Ahlers persuaded to join The Trail Club, sees the house as the next phase of the club. “Tatyana’s place reflects a worldliness that extends The Trail in a new direction,” she says. That energy has become part of the house itself. “Everyone is just completely impressed by Werner and Tat,” Beshar says. “Everyone is grateful for their gusto and bravery. I wonder if they ever sleep.”Miron Ahlers lounges by the pool with her children and friends from the neighborhood. The chaise lounges are from Dzine Elements and the vintage table is from Parma, Italy. Miron Ahlers and Ahlers entertain easily. Children run in and out and dinners stretch around a dining table that seats sixteen. They have even hosted the whole club at once. The house has become another gathering point for a club whose greatest luxury is, in fact, community. Beshar remembers when the property was nearly lost to neglect. Today, she says, everyone is thrilled when someone restores a house or fixes up a cabin. “It means The Trail stays strong.”In the pool house, the vintage chairs are covered in a canvas fabric and surround a coffee table from Parma, Italy. The artwork is from the Rhinebeck Antiques Fair. “I grew up in a 1927 beautiful Normandy-style house,” Miron Ahlers says. “Old houses are always fascinating to me.” The landscape architecture is by Mark K. Morrison and James Doyle. Not a subscriber? Join AD for print and digital access now.Sign up for our daily newsletter to get the best of design in your inbox.