home
A Seat at
the Table
D
uring the holiday season, Karen
and Steve Bowman’s grand Summit
home glows with such warmth that
many people would pay to tour it.
The residence was one of a handful
of estates featured on last year’s
annual fundraising tour on behalf of the Reeves-
Reed Arboritum, also in Summit. The couple and
their daughter, Breanne, now 13, moved to the
home from Hong Kong six years ago, and are “big
fans of Reeves-Reed and the things they do for
the community,” such as hosting talks and nature
hikes, says Karen. Local designer Sonja Gamgort
helped the family deck the halls for the public.
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HOLIDAY 2019 MILLBURN & SHORT HILLS MAGAZINE
Elegant Summit home
welcomes holiday visitors,
formally and informally
WRITTEN BY CINDY SCHWEICH HANDLER
PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRIS PEDOTA
LET IT GLOW
(Above, left) Karen Bowman, a partner at Deloitte, poses in the family room with
her daughter, Breanne, an eighth-grader at Summit Middle School; (Above, right)
The 9-foot Christmas tree in the foyer was inspired by a picture Gamgort found.
Steve Bowman, a Summit city councilman, built the tree using plywood, greens
and battery-operated LED lighting that brightens the 50 Department 56-brand
miniature homes supported on its “boughs.”
(Right) The décor in the Bowmans’ home mixes high-end and affordable
furnishings, and it can be hard to tell them apart. For example, Gamgort found a
Los Angeles carpenter whose work she admired on Etsy; she sent the man specifi-
cations for a custom-built trundle table and two 54-inch benches, and he shipped
them across the country. The chairs were easier to retrieve: They’re from a local
Pier 1 Imports. The fireplace is original to the kitchen, as is the wavy glass in the
cabinets (the old wood couldn’t be salvaged, so they are new). The E.F. Chapman
Classic Linear Chandelier in hand-rubbed antique brass is from Circa for Visual
Comfort. The arched windows are new, but give a nod to the style of the original
windows in the old butler’s pantry.
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