For many of us, the ultimate luxury in life is having time to enjoy it fully and with intention. This sentiment certainly rings true for these longtime Clayton residents as they settle into their retirement years. Seeking to simplify their lives, they were thrilled to discover a penthouse on one of the top floors of Maryland Walk, a landmark 17-story luxury high-rise completed in 2012. With every amenity imaginable, including full concierge services, they knew this would be the ideal place to ease into their new chapter—and an even more perfect place to house their extraordinary art collection.
Built by Robert Saur with Conrad Properties, the soaring structure houses 101 units, with the floors above level nine offering limitless views of the city skyline and landscape beyond. The owners especially enjoy the beautiful views of the St. Louis Arch, Washington University, Forest Park and the tree-lined streets of Clayton. “The prior owner, whom we knew, had finished out the space magnificently,” notes the new owner, “filling it with great contemporary art, which was a passion of hers that we share. The space has great bones, as they say.”
The couple also selected the penthouse for its east- and north-facing orientation, maximizing natural light and unobstructed views, with no sun bleaching or heat that would impact their artwork or the dwelling’s refined finishes. “The design of our new restoration works to enhance the hand-selected raked white oak woods in the condo,” says the couple’s interior designer and project design manager, Garrison Salinas III, a principal at the firm Garrison Limited. He had previously worked with them multiple times, conceptualizing three different homes over the years. “The interior palette elevates the owners’ contemporary artwork and impressive collections of vintage tin signs and kaleidoscopes. Based on the level of high art, including original pieces by Jasper Johns, and the scale of their collections, every choice in finishes is intended to maximize impressions of the space and the calm it induces, without competing with the endless sky views.”
The penthouse offers the new owners everything they need to achieve a nearly stress-free lifestyle. Their most cherished luxury, however, is gaining the time to enjoy their lives fully. The quiet, serene and simple Zen atmosphere of the building focuses on anticipating the needs of all its residents. “We love the views, the ceiling heights and the walls of windows juxtaposed with entire walls of our artwork,” adds the homeowner. “Our art choices are not traditional in any way—certainly not for everyone, and more whimsical than serious. The principle we’ve been guided by for over 40 years is to collect what makes us smile.”
The renovation discussions began in October 2025 after several professionals connected the homeowners with the previous owner’s estate attorney, creating the opportunity for an off-market sale.
“Their unit originally had been designed by a New York team, and the aesthetic was modern with beautiful raked white oak millwork for all the cabinetry, flooring, wall panels and interior doors," says Garrison. The unique grey-green limestone in the entrance foyer, formal powder room and various areas of the penthouse specifies a soft matte finish. The overall aesthetic is reminiscent of sophisticated mid-century modern architecture.”
The overall boldness of the living spaces suggests a minimalist approach to furnishings, repeating the integration of custom-made pieces from the owners’ previous home, and maximizing space to function for both intimate and large-scale entertaining. “My primary goals were to make functional alterations to the existing millwork and wood accents without showing any scars,” notes Garrison. “The largest and most complex restorations involved accommodating a larger TV with audio needs and seamlessly restoring flooring in an area that required some reconditioning. The refined raked white oak was hand-selected to ensure there were no knots.”
Overall, the owners wanted a look that would complement the room interiors and harmonize with the color tones, all completed in less than 120 days. This ambitious effort included numerous master artisans involved in the painting and restoration of all the museum-quality furniture, the framing of artwork, faux painting in various areas to conceal electrical components, custom-made rugs and stunning lighting selections for the salon, primary bedroom and kitchen island.
The home’s previous lighting embodied a robust commercial aesthetic, contradicting Garrison's new approach of warm and serene modern finishes. Textured Phillip Jeffries grass cloth now adorns the den, primary bedroom and home office, and statement fixtures from Visual Comfort magnify the ceiling heights and provide warm, 3,000 Kelvin-rated dimmable lighting. Satin brass fixtures create a confident statement of minimal modern design combined with the visual energy of sculpture hanging from the ceiling in the salon, primary bedroom hallway, gallery and over the kitchen Island.
“We also had the honor and incredible experience to work with the owners’ parents, who were known in design circles as connoisseurs in English antiques and Early American,” notes Garrison. “We took extreme care to maintain their heirloom round brass-inlay dining room table and stunning Neoclassical gilded dining chairs. These family keepsakes are truly exquisite pieces of art amidst the modern backdrop of their main living and entertainment space. The clients were completely familiar with mixing both modern and traditional furnishings, and the contrast offers incredible beauty, amplifying every detail of the furniture and art pieces.”
The area rugs and wall-to-wall floor coverings spotlight Stark Carpeting’s latest designs and are available at KDR Designer Showrooms. The elegant, minimal textures in silk and wool-like fibers offer spot-on coloration, a subdued waterfall design and excellent sound-buffering for the dwelling’s large-scale spaces. The entire renovation and collaboration culminated in bright, sophisticated spaces full of inspiration, happiness and breathtaking views of St. Louis. Kids and grandkids are welcome to flop around wherever they want, and the kitchen is perfect for creating a family buffet line and hosting multi-generational holiday cookie decorating. “Another positive we hadn’t fully expected was to be surrounded by so many tasty restaurants within easy walking distance,” says the owner. “It’s also hard to overestimate how liberating it is to live on one floor—with no responsibilities for tending to gutters, lawns, snow or leaves.
Resources:
Granite fabricator & stone: Stone Fabricators
Tile: Mayfield Tile
Hardware: Immerse
Appliances: Autco
Lighting: Metro Lighting
Furniture: Charlotte---Williams Upholstery
Closet: Closet Factory
Millwork: LGT Custom Millwork
Flooring: KDR Flooring / Winchell Carpet Services
Wall coverings: Philip Jeffries
Technology: Fusion Tech
Painting: Rice Painting
Faux Painting: Charles Blood Artistic
