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.

Last year, Pat Perotti downsized from a large home to her mother’s recently vacated villa. Her villa was the same as her neighbor’s, which was the same as their neighbor’s and so on, but that was not Perotti’s style. She wanted to make her new home her own and give it a touch of her feminine class. When she decided to re-do her mother’s old kitchen, she trusted interior designer Ellen Kurtz, of Ellen Kurtz Interiors, to pull off the new look.

Remodeling is on the rise in 2015 as more and more homeowners are taking the steps to improve one, if not several, spaces in their homes. Careful planning, sticking to a budget and enlisting the help of an interior design, architect and/or remodeling professional will ensure a successful end result. If you are considering embarking on a remodeling project, we want you to be inspired. This special before-and-after section highlights innovation and clever design at its finest.

Like every stereotypical 1950s-era home, this 2,200-square-foot Des Peres ranch was immured with compartmentalized rooms and smothered by eight-foot ceilings, wall-to-wall carpet and linoleum. So, two brave homeowners renovated the entire floor plan, taking the space from stale to stylish. The crowning achievement: conversion of the segregated kitchen, living and dining rooms into a casual cooking and eating area that’s constantly begging for company.

As many homeowners gracefully age, their focus begins to turn from their current living situation to where they will live in the later years of their lives. For many, staying in their own homes is important. The ability to “age in place” and enjoy the comforts of their surroundings has many homeowners rethinking the current state of their homes and making modifications to accommodate life changes in the future so that they can live independently in their own home and community.

When the owners of a charming Lafayette Square residence moved in, they knew their outdated kitchen had to go. It just simply was not functional for their family that loves to cook. With a goal to create a more contemporary space with a functional layout, the homeowners enlisted the help of interior designer Tamsin Mascetti, of Tamsin Design Group, to help them achieve the look they desired while holding on to the historic charm of their new neighborhood.