Gina Lodike is a natural. An interior designer at heart, her innate sense of scale, proportion, texture and color has revealed an artistic passion that beckoned to be expressed. After designing her family’s own 6,200-square-foot home—along with a list of other interior projects she’s completed along the way—friends continue to push her to go into business for herself. This year, Gina says she may just take that leap. “My husband and I already have a family moving business,” she says. “But my friends keep telling me I’m good at this, so I’m really thinking seriously about pursuing it as a profession.”
Just one look inside her family’s new home and it becomes clear that Gina has an authentic natural talent for interior design. Nestled amidst a wooded four-acre lot in a quiet area just outside of Festus, Missouri, her home exudes a fresh and modern aesthetic that could only be achieved by someone with a keen eye for style.
“I feel like my overall design is modern farmhouse with hints of coastal,” says Gina, who claims she is far more adept at expressing herself through design rather than her own words. But step inside her home, and her descriptors are spot-on.
Upon walking through the front door, you are immediately swept away by an airy, open-concept living room and kitchen. Bathed in white, with a magnificent fireplace wall and sweeping vaulted ceilings, the space emanates a modern coastal vibe with generous white linen furniture offering extra-deep seating. Clad in natural oak flooring and accent walls throughout, this contrasting aesthetic creates a well-studied textural juxtaposition that lends a modern edge. In addition, wood furnishings, including the living room coffee table and a round pedestal table in the breakfast nook, lend a wonderful rustic beach feel to the home. “I love open-concept spaces and light breezy colors,” says Gina. “Most of the furnishings were custom pieces from Bassett—I like an assortment of styles brought together to make one beautiful space.”
From top to bottom, Gina carefully considered every detail in her home down to the lighting choices, which surprisingly all came from Wayfair. Every fixture is perfectly proportioned and stylishly supplies the jewelry for each room. In the living area, a magnificent circular black wrought-iron chandelier makes the perfect focal point for the grand scale of the space. “The lighting needed to be one of the main features of the room,” says Gina. “I thought it would complement the massive fireplace and the vaulted ceiling.”
In the kitchen, four clear-glass pendant lights illuminate a white marble-clad island accented with plush, charcoal-gray counter stools. A gray and white herringbone-patterned backsplash behind the stovetop creates visual interest with a compelling element of pattern. Directly behind the kitchen, the dining room features doors leading to a screened-in deck. A long dining table that can seat 10 required a modern touch to complement the contemporary floating fireplace as well as the length of the table. So, Gina added a linear-style chandelier with tiny pendant lights to illuminate the table and installed sleek black and white sconces to flank the fireplace. “I love the separation of the dining room from the rest of the home for a more intimate dining experience with the family,” she notes.
For the adjacent breakfast nook, Gina wanted to mirror the living room’s aesthetic to maintain the same vibe. Here, she installed a decidedly miniature version of the living room chandelier over the pedestal breakfast table surrounded by cozy, built-in banquette seating. White wainscoting encloses the space and creates a sense of warmth and intimacy. “My color scheme is light and airy with accessible beige walls covering most of the home and light French gray in the primary bathroom,” Gina adds.
In the guest bathroom, glossy tiled walls combine with woven decorative accessories and rustic oak open shelving under the vanity that strike a satisfying textural contrast. Slender white sconces lend an element of glamor to this spa-like oasis. “When I enter this bathroom, I immediately feel as if I'm on vacation,” says Gina.
The primary bedroom offers a sanctuary of warmth and coziness, with wood flooring extending up to create a wall niche behind the bed directly across from a large fireplace. A chic platform bed piled high with sumptuous pillows, throws and coverlets creates luxurious layers of softness. A gray upholstered bench accents the bed, and a plush area rug anchors the room and complements the rustic oak flooring. “I love the hanging lamps on both sides of the bed,” says Gina. “It gives you more room for other décor and space on the nightstands.”
In the primary bathroom, an elegant white soaking tub takes center stage amid an arched window enclave that captures views of the wooded landscape beyond. Clad in white herringbone-patterned tile flooring and French gray built-in cabinetry, the space emanates an air of tranquility and sheer luxury. But the real wow factor comes from a botanical-themed painted mural by Missouri artist Kenzie Wolk. A talented painter who is known for her compelling large-scale murals, Kenzie’s gracefully subtle work of art brings a custom, one-of-a-kind embellishment that truly personalizes this unique space. “Kenzie is an amazing artist,” says Gina. “I saw some of her work and had to have her do this piece for our bathroom, which surprisingly only took a couple of days.”
Completed in July of 2021, Gina’s new home has been the place of many treasured family moments. But her insatiable passion for design always has her thinking ahead and dreaming about what she’ll do next. With the new year unfolding, she says she’s looking forward to several future projects, including adding a pool and all the landscaping in the home’s front and back yards.
“We do a lot of entertaining throughout the year,” Gina says, “and we enjoy spending time with our children and our two King Charles Cavaliers, Max and Lucy. We love hosting gatherings with family and friends—from summer barbeques to holiday dinners. That’s the reason we built this home.” See stlouishomesmag.com for resources and additional photos.
