“We love hosting,” says Ksenia Kagner, coprincipal of New York architecture firm Civilian Projects. “Throughout the pandemic, and with two young kids who also needed to maintain social connections, we shifted our socializing to the backyard, even in the winter.” Through various interiors and buildings, she and partner Nicko Elliott have curated a colorful and expressive yet restrained aesthetic that is reflected in their self-renovated Brooklyn townhouse.

“We value craft, material, and tactility and believe relationships between objects tell stories,” Kagner adds. “We try to create a home and work life based on empathy.”

The duo drew inspiration for memories of visits to Kagner’s family dacha in Kazakhstan before winter’s arrival. “Family vacation spaces have a beauty because of the generational layers,” Elliott says. When setting up for a party or dinner, they like to include a mix of things from their respective childhoods, durable items they’ve bought, and things made by people they admire.

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