Thomas A. Edison once said that good fortune often happens when opportunity meets with preparation. The prolific inventor wasn’t writing about building a custom home, but the missive would nonetheless resonate with the team responsible for designing and constructing this new home in Frontenac.
Architect Robert Srote says the homeowners arrived at their initial meetings with a stack of inspiration photos. “It’s both helpful and inspiring when homeowners come to us with a clear sense of what resonates with them,” says Robert, the principal of Srote & Co Architects. In this case, the empty nesters envisioned a space that would feel intimate and comfortable for everyday living as a couple, yet easily expand to welcome their grown children and extended family during visits. “Striking that balance between cozy and spacious was a key goal from the outset,” says Robert. “Creating a home that lives well at both scales without ever feeling too empty or too crowded.”
Homeowners Steve and Terri spent more than a year searching for appropriate lots in established areas of Town and Country and Frontenac. “We found (builder) Jim Tegethoff through friends he had built houses for,” says the husband. “Jim had his ear to the ground looking for lots and teardowns, and between us and him, we worked together to find a lot.”
The acre-sized lot of an existing home in Frontenac Forest held tremendous appeal. “I’ve always considered this neighborhood and its location to be very prime,” says Jim, owner of Tegethoff Homes. “And as we considered what they wanted with the property and their house, it just felt like a home run.” The existing house on the property was removed and plans proceeded for the new home.
Terri says that while they wanted more space than they’d had in their previous home, they were not interested in multiple, rarely used rooms. “I didn’t want a sunroom, a living room, six bedrooms, just a lot of extra rooms we were never going to use,” she says. Her husband, Steve says he wanted a study/home office where he could work comfortably at home, and they both wanted a first-floor primary suite and a large kitchen flowing into the family room. A screened-in porch leading out to a pool, expansive outdoor living spaces and lower-level entertaining areas to appeal to their adult children rounded out their wish list.
As they refined that list, “we spent an inordinate amount of time just driving around, taking pictures of things we liked on the exteriors of homes,” says Steve. “Many, many Sundays were spent doing that, and then we’d circle what we liked about an exterior, a certain kind of stone, a roof line or a peak, and shoot those photos to Robert. He took those ideas and melded them together into what we have now, which we really like.”
Robert describes the exterior as a blend of timeless French Country architecture with a modern sensibility. “Traditional elements, such as steep rooflines, timber columns, stone and stucco facades and classic proportions, are reinterpreted with cleaner lines, simplified detailing and a more restrained material palette,” Robert says. “The result is an elegant yet approachable home that feels rooted in tradition but tailored for contemporary living.”
The homeowners’ groundwork extended to the interiors as well. Srote & Co interior designer Kathleen Grim recalls their first meeting. “They were very prepared with stacks of inspiration photos they liked,” says Kathleen. “Overall, they wanted a lighter, brighter feel in the new home and to improve some of the functionality of the spaces compared to their previous home.”
An inspiration image of diagonal ceiling beams informed the design of the dining room’s ceiling treatment. “We took an idea and made it our own,” says Kathleen, noting the “fantastic experience” working with the Tegethoff Carpentry craftsmen in designing and creating the tongue-and-groove, beamed ceiling. “They are so talented,” Kathleen says of the carpentry group. “They made sure to capture the vision, but they also had really good ideas of how to do it. With several areas of the home, like the trim on the curved wall in the entry, they were thrilled to demonstrate what they’re capable of.”
On the opposite side of the entryway’s curved staircase, the wall bows outward within the husband’s study. A curved wall has some design limitations—Kathleen notes—so she chose a Phillip Jeffries wallpaper to make the wall a feature of the room. “The wallpaper’s rivets make a grid pattern for a menswear feel, and it also pulls the color palette together,” says Kathleen, referencing the hues from leather and brass on the cabinetry hardware, brass mesh in the cabinet doors and multiple colors in the map artwork. The walls and coffered ceiling are painted in Benjamin Moore “Night Train,” a blend of gray, blue and green that softens the room’s masculine and moody atmosphere.
Kathleen says every component—from paint color selection to trim detail to cabinetry hardware—received the “attention and thoughtfulness it deserved for a home of this quality,." She affirms: “That’s one of the things I’m most proud of.”
She points to the hardware on the family room cabinetry as just one example. “It’s a big piece and a dark stain, so it could have been a bit overpowering,” says Kathleen. “We also didn’t want it to look brand spanking new.” Adding functioning Cremone bolts—a decorative hardware first appearing in 18th-century French homes and palaces—gives the cabinetry a sense of history and character.
Thanks in part to their extensive and thoughtful preparation, the homeowners feel they accomplished their goals now that the home is complete. “At Christmas last year, we’d only been in the house a month and a half, but it felt good for our family to gather and be together,” says Terri. “Everybody had their own space, but it wasn’t overwhelmingly too much. The house still felt homey. We’re making new memories here.”
Resources:
Interior Designer: Kathleen Grim, Srote & Co
Builder: Jim Tegethoff, Tegethoff Homes
Appliances: Ferguson
Artwork/Antiques: Kristin Groner, Ed Nash, Winston
Cabinetry: Wright’s Cabinet Shop
Carpet / Wood / Floor Coverings: Boardwalk Hardwood Floors (Wood and Tile), Carpet Art (Stair runner binding, media room rug), Design & Detail (Rugs), KDR (Rugs), Clark Floor
Closet: New Space
Fireplace: Forshaw
Interior Furniture: KDR, Design & Detail, Arhaus, RH, Pottery Barn, Williams Sonoma
Granite Fabricator: Stone Fabricators
Granite Supplier: Triton Stone, SFI
Technology: HD Media
Staircase: Kirkwood Stair
Kitchen/Bath Designer: Denise Deen, Detailed Designs by Denise
Interior Lighting: Villa Lighting
Plumbing Fixtures: Ferguson
Tile Supplier: Flooring Systems, Clark Floor, Tiles of Distinction, MSI
Window Treatments: Sew Soft Draperies and Alta Window Fashions via Hilson Inc.
Window/Door: Pella
Wallpaper: KDR, Design & Detail, McGee & Co, Philip Jeffries, Thibaut, Paul Leicht
Pool & Water Feature: Oasis Pools
Outdoor Furniture: Selections by Kathleen Grim, Kinglsey Bate, Summer Classics, Williams Sonoma
Outdoor Lighting: Bevolo
Outdoor Kitchen: Appliances from Forshaw, Tegethoff & Oasis built
Outdoor Pavers/Patio: Earthworks (Pewter Mist pavers), Francois & Co (black limestone pavers on screen porch)
