Sometimes, it's all in the mix. For a St. Louis couple with distinct tastes, their ability to strike a perfect design balance within their whimsical Ladue home seemed to evolve organically. Over the past decade, the homeowners—both PhDs with demanding professions and two boys—have successfully blended the wife's self-proclaimed "impulsive" purchases and mid-century-modern style with her husband's more traditional preferences. Showcasing a diverse array of art and collections, their 1970s colonial home emanates a palatable, free-spirited vibe to all who enter.

Before Barbara moved into her new condo, she knew the interior needed a major makeover before it felt like home. The space had great bones, but it just didn’t fit with her style. “I am a very visual person. As soon as I stepped into the condo, I started to picture what I wanted it to look like,” says Barbara.

The first element of her vision was the color palette. “I dreamt of mixing shades of pink with black. Those colors felt dramatic and fun, which is exactly what I wanted for the space. They became the starting point for the rest of the design,” she adds.

Kansas City, Missouri

Renovating a historic structure takes a contractor who is both left-brained and right-brained, analytical and artist, pragmatist and dreamer. As specialists in historic renovations, Ladd Suydam Contracting demonstrated all those attributes in a full remodel of an 1880s brick beauty in Benton Park.

When designer Kathy Israel first sits down with a client, her top priority is getting a clear picture of how the family lives before devising a plan that fits their lifestyle and day-to-day needs. As owner and principal of the award-winning Accent on Cabinets Design Group, whose client list stretches nationwide, she passionately believes that the little things can turn an ordinary project into something spectacular.

    Delivering a cleverly modern, crisp redesign to a mid-century kitchen in Sappington allows utmost efficiency in its confined space, verifies Chelsea Smith, founder and principal interior designer of Chelsea Design Company. “I’d dreamed of ways I wanted my home to better function for my family of four. I’d even envisioned details. But I had no idea how to make that happen,” recalls homeowner Sara Hellwege. “Chelsea and her assistant, Christopher, made the picture in my mind come to life. What’s more, they helped me refine my vision and added things I hadn’t even considered.”