Business & Tech

A House With Celebrity Status

Old World craftsmanship abounds in Watchung property.

It's a common belief that things aren't made as well as they used to be, but Watchung residents Mishka Kluk and Jan Kochanski prove that's nothing more than a hollow phrase.

The 6,000-square-foot house they designed and built on Crestwood Drive is a tribute to thoughtful design, artistic ambitions and traditional craftsmanship. Currently on the market at $2,000,000, this property comes with something else: celebrity.

Thanks to its beauty and innovative use of timbers, concrete and metal, the house has been garnering the attention of TV producers—its first appearance was on NBC TV's "Open House NYC" in 2009, but its also a key part of a new series on the TLC Network, "May the Best House Win," an American version of a hugely popular British series. The house is one of three to open the series, which will be broadcast beginning in May.

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The acknowledgement that their designs stand out in an era of cookie-cutter construction isn't too surprising to its creators. The house's European feel, from the open timber framework—pinned with wooden pins as one might see in the attic of 200-year-old Colonial house or barn—to the free-standing bathrooms in nearly every bedroom and its stone and stucco exterior, transports visitors to another time and place on the inside.

"Ninety-nine-point-nine percent of the people who into the house go 'Wow,'" Kluk said. "Then they kind of adjust to the color scheme and the vision I had."

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Working together on the plan, the house took several years to conceive and construct. Along the way, they crafted their own concrete tiles and countertops, received shipments of European walnut for flooring, designed and built furniture for each room (which is included in the sale). Huge south-facing windows made in Germany add to the airiness of the hill-top view, and easily glide open on tracks.

"We're looking for someone who will appreciate the little details," Kluk said.

Those details might include the artfully-sculpted chimney, which has just the right balance of stone and concrete.

"I like to mix materials—but you have to know when to stop," Kochanski said. "If you have all wood, or too much of anything, it's not good."

That also goes for the dining table Kochanski built, using tree sections as inserts surrounded by three-inch thick stiles, and all pinned together with wooden pins. The surface top is sealed, but not polished to a level gloss: you can see, and more importantly feel, the wood's texture.

Each of the four bedrooms has its own character, and three of the four have full bathrooms (although one skips a shower in favor of a whirlpool bath). Each room also has an independent radiant heating system for personal comfort.

Another facet that isn't immediately obvious, but was crucial to the couple: everything in the house is natural or handmade. They purposefully avoided using any plastics in the house—both dislike plastic and refuse to use prefabricated items in the house.

"This is a 'green house,' a healthy house," Kluk said. "And it's clearly unique."

Kochanski said the couple will build another house, perhaps using some of the same ideas and techniques—but perhaps not. He is constantly studying new techniques and ideas, and may try some different ideas out in their next project.

The house is listed with NJ Estates Real Estate Group's Paul Stillwaggon, who said the house is a "masterpiece," possessing "immeasureable charm"—and after the premiere of the new TV series, quite possibly fame.


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