When an all-star cast of design professionals team up with thoughtful, engaged homeowners to imagine a home, magic happens.

Amanda Hehmeyer doesn’t describe herself as a midcentury modern aficionado. At least, she didn’t used to. Amanda, her husband Rob, their two daughters and beloved Weimaraner, Greta, lived in a traditional two-story brick typical of the architecture found in their St. Louis Hills community. Although the family had outgrown the 3-bedroom, 2-bath home, they were sailing along until the pandemic hit, shuttering Amanda’s business as a corporate event planner. 

The owners of this spectacular new home in Ladue are all about family. As the parents of five adult children and grandparents of six, the couple wanted a home with more room for everyone to spread out.

Most in-demand designers will attribute their popularity to two factors: listening carefully to clients’ objectives, then fulfilling—better yet, surpassing!— their expectations. St. Louis-based Youtopia Designs would certainly agree, but this full-service design firm takes the process a step further.

It was the setting that sold them. Two busy surgeons who found each other later in life were looking for a home to start their lives together. The large Creve Coeur lot featured a creek at the front of the property, a large pool in back and mature trees surrounding a 1950s ranch. “We loved it,” the wife recalls. “Other lots just didn’t compare.”

When Alana and Marc Bluestone decided to renovate their charming 1928 Tudor Revival residence, their main goal was to create a modern transitional interior that pays homage to the home’s original classic architecture. Tucked into the end of a quiet cul-de-sac just a five-minute walk from downtown Clayton, their dwelling offered an appealing neighborhood setting with proximity to running and bike paths, quaint restaurants, unique shopping boutiques and the tree-lined beauty of Forest Park.