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Ready to redecorate and need some inspiration? We went through a year's worth of "at homes" to determine the rooms we felt presented the most interesting or drool-worthy styles. These are our favorites.
If your home is equally jaw-dropping, send us a photo at abertrand@post-dispatch.com.
Amy DeSart wanted the sleek, open living room of her Town and Country home to feel like a fancy hotel lobby. She had the glass-enclosed, temperature and humidity-controlled wine room put front and center because, she says, "I wanted it in my hotel lobby because that's where I like sit and have a drink." A wall of El Dorado stacked architectural stone is accented with a color-changing Dimplex IgniteXL linear electric fireplace. The velvet sofas and leather swivel chairs are from West Elm, and the piano came from the house DeSart grew up in.
Read the full story here.
In this dazzling parlor, Paula Haniszewski placed a vintage couch she found on Craigslist that she reupholstered with a drop cloth. She wanted to furnish the house with comfortable but age-appropriate pieces. “It’s not a museum to us,” says Paula Haniszewski of her 1885 home, known as Hartmann Manor. “We wanted to make it comfortable.”
See the full story here.
In the kitchen of Bridgette and Ian Fyvie's Holly Hills home, records from some of the couple's favorite artists hang above the cabinets. They painted the house’s original cabinets a bright red inspired by Fender guitars and 1950s automobiles. Vitrolite glass tiles line the walls below wallpaper Bridgette Fyvie installed herself. For a dinner table, the family uses a formica table from the 1950s.
Read the whole story here.
Becky Hollerbach and her architect husband, Tim, designed and built the fireplace surround in the living room of their stunning home in Imperial. They bought the steel from their supplier, chemically patinated it and hung it themselves. “We like natural and raw materials,” Becky Hollerbach says. The colorful artwork on the window wall by Chris Derubeis is titled "Elements."
See more photos of this home here.
On the second floor of their Kirkwood home, Jillian Flesh and Brett Dorrance brought new life to their 1920s bathroom, which features the original lime green tile on the walls and a black and white basket weave tile on the floor. The upper half of the walls were painted a dull shade of beige when they bought the house, which detracted from its vintage beauty. They offset the tile by repainting the walls in Benjamin Moore Hale Navy, making the green pop. Flesh found the banana leaf shower curtain online at Society 6.
See the full story here.
Suzanne Sessions added this solarium to her 1882 Lafayette Square home in 2006, expanding the house out into the garden and bringing the outdoors in year-round. She has many plants including orchids and orchid cactuses. Chaise lounge chairs in the center of the room provide a perfect spot to relax and enjoy the natural surroundings.
Read the full story here.
The main bath suite in the Compton Heights home of Stephanie and Cash Gill has a 6-foot-by-8-foot shower with double glass doors, onyx double sinks, travertine floors and a stained glass window. We love the size of it, and the chandelier.
Read the whole story here.
The rear window wall opens onto the pool and deck and allows views of the rolling countryside beyond in the home of Tony and Lisa Troglio. They built the home on the original site of the Hidden Valley Ski lift, which operated from 1960 until 1972 in rural Pacific. Unseen are a profusion of native wildflowers planted on the hillside beyond the pool. The floor is polished concrete and paintings and furniture are contemporary.
Read the full story here.
Though we could have included several rooms from the house of Maggie and Alex Pearson in the Central West End, we decided this stylish outdoor porch was great example of bringing the indoors out. The back covered porch, added on about seven years ago, is a favorite relaxing spot for the family, especially the hanging swing bed.
See more photos of this home here.
The dining room in the Clayton condo of Brian Chao includes a built-in gas fireplace with a marble surround that mimics the fireplace in his living room. The table was specially made so the table legs do not interfere with a wheelchair.
Read the full story here.
Walking into the home of Maureen and Jim Morris feels like stepping back in time. Fires crackle in wood-burning fireplaces. At the top of each hour, a 10-foot grandfather clock chimes in the foyer. Pine stairs lead up to the Morris home’s second floor. The staircase was designed to draw cold air up to the second floor during hot summer months.
Read more about the Belleville home here.
Built in 1883, the charming Victorian home of Kelly and Pat Judge in Kirkwood previously belonged to Kelly's paternal grandparents. Before moving in 2010, the Judges made some necessary immediate renovations, including adding central air, which the house did not have previously. Two years ago, they completed an addition on the back of the house including three stories and a finished basement that would more than double the house’s size from around 2,200 square feet of livable space to around 4,700 square feet. In the new, open kitchen, Kelly wanted a clean, modern farmhouse look with white cabinetry and quartz countertops. A large center island provides additional seating and workspace and glass-front cabinet doors display some of the Judges' antique serving pieces.
Read the whole story here.
Blake Hoel and Berit Nelson's family’s room is dedicated to their favorite band, X. Hung on the walls are original setlists, records and posters signed by members of the band. The couple bonded over their love of the punk-rock band on their first date and have been collecting X memorabilia for 40 years.
Located in the tiny Village of Westwood nestled between Frontenac and Creve Coeur, the home of Maxine and Stev en Mirowitz was built in 1955 by architect Bernard Blum. The Mirowitzes are only its third owners. The living room's vaulted ceiling is lined with birch beams and large skylights that bring in even more natural light. Some of the original built-in birch shelves were removed to install a large aquarium about 20 years ago, which Steven tends to daily. Maxine recently updated the space with a new midcentury modern inspired coffee table and velvet sofas from Wayfair.
Read more about the home here.
The formal dining room off the foyer in the custom-built home of Ashley and Trey Dorman features a beautiful recessed ceiling painted navy blue and lined with crown molding. The dining set is by Bassett.
Chef-musician-photographer-artist Tai Davis chose the Metropolitan Artist Lofts because of the creativity that would surround him there. While Davis’ home is a fine showcase for his art, his intentional choices in design work in harmony with the forces he believes shape his creativity. Surfaces glitter with silver and gold in a nod to his love of alchemy. "Fresh flowers each week" is a Davis dictum, as seen in his dining room.
Read more about him here.
The main hallway in the Lafayette Square home of John Herlihy and James Kristof features large Greek architectural murals, highlighted by companion wainscoting and a wallpaper border on the ceiling. The murals were the first décor added when the couple moved into the residence, and they set the tone for the design that would come.
The combination of elegant formality and comfortable conversation spaces in the second-floor open plan dining room and living room once functioned as Fred Carpenter’s art studio. Mildred Carpenter’s former studio is now the kitchen, through the open doorway under the catwalk. Andrew and Doug Mersman bought the Webster Groves home in 2020 and have worked to preserve the memory of its original artist owners.
A controlled fall of Ikea fabric anchors the tailored platform bed in the master bedroom in the colorful Ferguson home of Ben Sever and Michelle Wiegand. The design trick emphasizes the home’s unusual angles and planes.
See more photos of the home here.
The living room of the home of Robert and Suzanne Bruce is furnished in period appropriate décor. The room is highlighted by a wallpaper border and a recessed ceiling. Bruce’s family purchased the Compton Heights home in 1944 along with 50% of the original furniture, which remains. The dining room table was custom made for the expansive space. Table legs feature hand-carved lions, which also appear on each of the 14 chairs, and in the design of the fireplace mantel. There are seven bedrooms and 19 closets on three floors, with a generous 2,400 square feet per floor. A 1,100-square-foot ballroom is on the third floor.
Read more about the Bruce home here.
Some of Susan Lauber's complete collection of St. Louis Art Fair posters are on display in the main suite, which was an addition on the second floor. The carved wood four-poster bed is part of a set purchased locally at Shubert Furniture.
See more photos of the home here.
Amy Bertrand is the Features editor for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
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