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.
The celebrities of long ago gave the photos to her grandfather, renowned St. Louis architect Preston Bradshaw, who owned the Coronado Hotel in St. Louis.
The photos fit in perfectly with the contrasting black and white shades she chose for the condo. “I am a neutral gal through and through and have always loved a good black and white color palette,” she says. Carolyn has a degree in design, and enjoyed designing the entire condo for her husband and herself.
She chose a wallpaper illustrating trees in black, white and gray for the kitchen walls. “Living in a condo, I wanted to bring some ‘nature’ into the space,” she says. She had used the wallpaper in the powder room of a previous condo she’d decorated and lived in, and loved it. “It just felt right to give it a little more presence as well as some ‘movement’ in the kitchen,” she says.
The couple has collected wine for years, so one essential item in the remodel was the vintage view wine cellar, which covers the top half of a dining room wall. “People almost know us for our wine. It’s a big part of our lives,” she explains. “When we first married, we moved to Paris. We started up a wine collection. We’ve built a wine cooler situation in every home we’ve had.”
Carolyn collaborated with a handful of people on the remodel, including Louis Rybacki of Marc Christian Fine Cabinetry, and architect Mark Critchfield of Mainline Group Architecture.
Drawing up detailed cabinetry plans and perspectives was part of the process, as were job site visits to check installation after ordering, Louis says. “The kitchen island was not only a different cabinet construct from the perimeter, but we used a stain on maple,” Louis says. “We then took a slightly lighter version of that stain to do the interiors of the glass front butler cabinetry, which is matte black uppers over white bases.”
Independent cabinet maker Robert Berendzen built the bookcases, wine room, bar top and moldings, Carolyn says. He also provided the piece of walnut wood—from a tree in his own back yard—that became the naturally-stained bar countertop.
Although the remodel had its challenges, Carolyn is happy with the end result. “My husband and I love our space, and feel like all the spaces fit our needs,” she says.
