History Revived

Walking through the gracious front door of the whitewashed storybook brick home is like immersing yourself in the pages of a gripping love story. You are immediately swept away to another time and place. A place rich in heritage. A place where the fullness and spirit of the past grab you and make you never want to leave. A place brimming with love, warmth and passion for a simpler time. For its owners, this home is all about embracing history and celebrating its significance in their lives today.

The Ladue couple, who share this special space with their 6-year-old son and two canine companions, are antique aficionados extraordinaire. They have filled their home with antique furnishings and objets d’art that make the Early American experience truly come alive.

A prime example of a home decorated in the Colonial and Federal Revival style of the late 1700s and early 1800s, the homeowners strove to make every inch of their residence ring true to this important period of American history. “This home, which was built in the 1920s, is fairly simple,” say the homeowners. “It could easily accommodate a variety of decorating styles. The antiques are really what establish the period feel. With the renovations, we just wanted to give them a suitable background, one that would let the antique furnishings, rather than the architecture alone, create the period style that we enjoy.”

“We have always loved this particular style,” say the homeowners. “In fact, our previous home was a more authentic representation of the Early American period. With this home, however, we took what we had done before and added a bit more elegance and polish to suit the size, scale and architecture of the house, while making it function with all the conveniences of any other modern home today.”

Working closely with architect Lauren Strutman, the homeowners expanded the kitchen and added a hearth room to increase and enhance livability. Next, they turned to renowned craftsman, David T. Smith of Ohio, to transform this new space into something “old.”

“David is a master at what he does,” say the homeowners. “Not only is he absolutely the best craftsman out there when it comes to the quality of his furniture and kitchen cabinetry, especially his surfaces, but he is an excellent space planner and designer to boot. David certainly deserves his well-earned reputation in craft circles.”

Consulting with David, not only at his workshops in Ohio, but also through the use of sophisticated three-dimensional colorized drawings via the Internet, David indeed worked magic in this space. The kitchen is state-of-the-art, yet the “newness” is completely concealed behind gorgeous painted cabinetry made of poplar, with a “Paint History Finish” that replicates wood that has been painted over and over again throughout the years, but never stripped. There are also cabinets made of curly maple and cherry that are stained and finished with a “TimeWorn” clear finish. “Antiques with original paint are extremely valuable and much desired by antique lovers,” says David. Flag rattail hinges, forged by the blacksmiths at The Workshops of David T. Smith, and reminiscent of those used on cabinetry by the Pennsylvania Germans in the 18th century, adorn the cabinets, too.

David also constructed a brand-new wall cupboard to flank the farmhouse sink. “David's artistry is amazing,” reflect the homeowners. “The cupboard looks like a unique antique piece that we found at an antique shop on one of our trips to New England. It blends so well with the rest of the kitchen, but doesn't match exactly. It's the perfect complement!”

Flowing from the kitchen, the hearth room is a cozy, warm spot to gather and relax with family and friends. Architect Lauren Strutman brought extensive expertise in the field of authentic period architecture to the project and was instrumental in the home's hearth room addition. She worked in conjunction with David, who designed, built and then applied his best “Museum Painted Finish” to the fireplace “room end” wall that cleverly conceals the large media cupboard spaces behind it.

That careful consideration continues to the beautiful historic floors that set the tone and lay the foundation for the entire look. Steve Lauer of the Historic Floor Company in Chesterfield developed floors that are not only historically accurate but stunning as well. “The floors in this home are very New England,” says Steve. “We used a 14-inch, 16-inch and up to 18-inch random wide-plank floor from our SugarPine™ collection, exclusive to the Historic Floor Company, with real Portsmouth black wrought forged antique square nails on top.” These floors are the exact color of the floors in the famous Drayton Hall House, the only plantation on the Ashley River in South Carolina that survives today. The edges of the planks were blackened and glazed by hand to resemble aging and simulate the look of antique “pumpkin” pine from the New Hampshire region. “The end result was a floor that took on the natural amber and patina of a very old, antique floor,” says Steve.

And the homeowners couldn't be happier. “The wide-plank SugarPine™ floors are perfect,” they say. “Steve Lauer and his crew are total professionals, and the only source we could find in this part of the Midwest who understood what we were trying to achieve. Their ‘Antique Matte' polyurethane finish provides the durability and easy maintenance that a modern family requires, while still having that soft, low-luster look of a 200-year-old pine floor.” It is the kind of attention to detail that has transformed this home into a work of art that pays tribute to the fine craftsmanship of our forefathers, applauds the artistry of today's masters, and exemplifies the love that can exist between a home and its family.