This is the tale of two homes. One is designed as an intimately livable space for two empty nesters. The other was built to entertain, a structure frequently hosting large crowds for business gatherings and for extended family and friends.

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.

On the walls of Carolyn and Rick Dames’ bar area, you’ll see a young Lucille Ball and Judy Garland, along with many other stars of the early 20th Century.

Carolyn found the autographed celebrity photos about 25 years ago in the basement of her family home. When the couple recently remodeled and moved into a different condo unit in their building, Carolyn found the perfect placement for the photos on the bar area walls. “I have treasured them since (finding them) and have created special spaces for them in our last three homes,” she says.

In 1878, near the town of Malta Bend, a small city about 2.5 hours from St. Louis, architect John Daniel Walters, a Swiss immigrant from Berne Switzerland, built a home and impressive barn on the Henry Blosser Estate. But by 2014, both the massive mansion and barn were almost in ruins.

During the remodeling of Suzanne and Bryan Jurich’s home interior, their living space metamorphosed into a timeless, classic milieu. Yet, more importantly, Suzanne proclaims, “the house also finally became OUR home.”

Making a house a home took on increased importance in this case, given that Bryan’s executive career has prompted the family to relocate often. Suzanne says this is the first house they felt they would be able to settle into for a while. “Every other place we’ve lived felt temporary,” she recalls.

In interior design, a blank space can be a plus or a minus, depending on your point of view. Architects and designers Petr Lukyanov and Kirill Ustinov faced that challenge with their apartment in Moscow, Russia, where they were looking for a space with great views of the city and the opportunity to create a comfortable space unique to them.