“The bulk of the back yard was a blank slate,” says Richard Poynter, president of Poynter Landscape. Lead landscape architect Bob Wilhelm did have a few pre-existing features to work around: Mature trees, for example, and a sturdy wooden deck. The deck created access issues during construction, but it was worth keeping, Poynter says, because it softens the surrounding hardscapes and adds linear aspects to the overarching design scheme, too, which is zoned for a kitchen, living room and pool. 

It took four years of searching — yes, four whole years — but after watching and waiting for the right property to come on the market, Dana Jones, owner of Flavor Dance Studio and professional home renovator, finally found her dream kitchen hiding away in a historic Clayton duplex. And all she had to do to make it perfect was figure out how to navigate the red tape that comes with remodeling a historic home and complete a total conversion of said duplex into one, big cozy home. With the help of interior designer Joni Spear of Joni Spear Interior Design, it was a piece of cake.

After 17 years in their O’Fallon home, Lisa and Todd Hatz were ready to rejuvenate a lower level that had outgrown its original purpose and outlived the trends of the time. By January 2016, it was time to bring the space into the 21st century and out of its cold demeanor.

If your aesthetic favors gleaming gold filigree, intricate tapestries, richer-than-rich textiles, and how-did-anyone-even-think-of-this attention to detail, you might lose your head over Marc and Cindy Moon’s recent bedroom renovation: a perfectly executed study in Louis XV. 

After years of gathering inspiration from stays at luxurious, neo-classical Parisian hotels, the couple enlisted their longtime interior decorator, Tom Manche, to turn their drab bedroom into a master suited for the King himself. And it all began with a desk.

“That’s Macy’s little room,” says homeowner Mary Jennings, referring to the 10-by-10-foot nook off her master bedroom — an area so tiny it might have been tricky for some designers to outfit. Knapp, though, created a cheerful design centered around Jennings’ 9-pound Bichon Frise, who naps daily on the custom 4-by-6 hand-knotted Jaipur rug. Jennings uses the room, too, mostly for reading on the contemporary – and comfy – chair-and-a-half by Sherrill Furniture. 

Homeowners Jim and Ann Lindeman have always had a passion for lofty living, but their love for the lifestyle was recently strengthened when the duo started calling a chic cabin in Tabernash, Colorado their home-away-from-home. Inspired by the alpine panoramas and natural aura of their vacation home, they were determined to transform their nonfunctional Chesterfield back yard into a cozy retreat worthy of a mountainous setting.