Picture Perfect

Curb appeal is certainly an understatement. This is the kind of house that makes you do a double-take as you drive past. The charming white clapboard with its large wraparound porch, complete with a romantic gliding swing, is indeed enchanting. It’s the kind of house that looks as if it were plucked from another time and is begging folks to remember when life was simpler and a tall cool glass of lemonade, a porch swing and a home filled with family love were really all that mattered.

For homeowners Casey and Brent and their four children, this 1892 Queen Anne-style Webster Park gem is all that and more. The magical ambience that exudes from the home’s every pore captivated Casey way before she ever knew that her family would someday be its lucky caretakers. “We actually attended a party here,” she says, “and I just couldn’t get this place out of my head.” But Casey and Brent had just finished a renovation and were settled in when their dream home came on the market. Fortunately, some dreams really do come true, and four years later Casey learned that the house might indeed be up for sale again. “At that point,” she says, “I contacted the homeowner, we worked out a deal, and we bought it. The rest is history!”

Soft hues give the home a relaxed and happy persona and are an ideal backdrop for treasured European antiques.

Although the home was exactly what she and Brent wanted, as with many older homes, the interior spaces didn’t quite work for a modern family of six. The exterior needed a makeover, as well, to recapture the distinctive character and original details that had been buried under 117 years of countless renovations. Contractor Bob Robben of Robben Contracting, Inc. says, “The couple was a pleasure to work with and gave our team the creative license to create something very special for them. Their project was challenging, fun and so rewarding.”

Eight months later, after a sweeping restoration that touched nearly all of the home’s spaces inside and out, the charming white clapboard became a sparkling window to the past, while allowing its owners to live with the conveniences of today. “It was very important to us,” say the homeowners, “to maintain the historical and architectural integrity of the home. After all, that’s what made us fall in love with it in the first place.”

The original ten rooms grew to 13 with five bedrooms, four and a half baths, a cook’s dream kitchen, mudroom, expanded family room, convenient second-floor laundry and a large playroom on the third floor. Eight-foot ceilings were raised back to their original 10 feet. Gleaming hardwood floors were installed to match existing flooring in the foyer. And a carriage house garage became a charming haven for guests.

All plumbing, electrical, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) were completely redone throughout, and a home automation system was installed by Integration Controls™, LLC which monitors and maintains the home’s lighting, security, home entertainment and HVAC. “Having this system was key to making our home as energy- efficient and livable as it is,” say Casey and Brent. “We also replaced almost all of the original windows with new energy-efficient ones.”

With the guts of the house in perfect order, Casey was now able to put her design eye to work, creating an interior that truly reflects the sunny personalities of the family that lives there. In concert with local design professionals, she created a home that radiates warmth and happiness.

Soft hues of yellow, sage, rose, blue and cream give the home a relaxed and happy persona and are the ideal backdrop for the homeowners’ treasured European antiques. In contrast, the dining room pops with rich raisin-colored walls, enveloping its guests in warmth. Truly, each room in this wonderful home is a place where family and friends can relax and enjoy the surroundings and each other.

Perhaps one of Casey and Brent’s most favorite spaces, however, is outside. The rebuilt and expanded porch, with its lacy spindles, complex columns and intricate latticework, has often been the gathering spot of choice for family and friends. Wrapping around to the side of the house the new “old” porch now features speakers and recessed and rope lighting. Classic white wicker furniture, colorful pillows and planters abundant with greenery await guests, offering a cozy respite and perfect perch to admire the lush garden’s symphony of color.

Working with Annette Smith of Blooming Decorator, the homeowners desired a garden that works in perfect harmony with their historic home. Believing that the bluestone walkway leading to the home’s front steps was “too pretty to hide,” Annette selected dwarf varieties of boxwood and holly that would enhance, but not obscure, the walkway. Interspersed among the shrubs, nepeta – with its blue blossoms and gray-green leaves – picks up the color of the stone.

In front of the home, bright pink Knock Out roses, ‘Lady in Red’ hydrangeas, ‘Pink Velour’ crape myrtle, ‘Stargazer’ lilies and a succession of annuals in “warm and welcoming” pink and rose tones draw the eye through the front landscaping and into the side yard. There, splashes of pink and yellow flowers, grasses, and chartreuse and gray-green groundcover reflect the colors used in the décor of the lovely, wraparound porch.

A restored brick wall centered with a wrought-iron gate opens to the totally redesigned backyard. It was a project that involved, among other things, moving 130 hosta plants. All-important in the re-landscaping project was to keep the eye moving through the garden by repeating the colors from the patio furniture throughout the landscape.

“The first thing to do is to select the color palette, then look for interesting plants within that palette,” explains Annette. To create visual movement, colors were repeated while varying the shape and texture of the plants. And with Casey, Brent and their active family in mind, plants were chosen that, while beautiful, can also stand up to the vagaries of the St. Louis climate.

Not far from a group of ‘Sun Power’ hosta, for instance, a shrubby, jagged-leafed, golden ‘Tiger Eyes’ sumac was selected. To literally highlight a dark corner of the garden, the decision was made to combine a white-blossomed ‘Annabelle’ hydrangea, green and white ‘Night Before Christmas’ hosta and silver-leaved ‘Jack Frost’ brunnera.

Casey admits that the landscaping could not be more perfect. And this hands-on homeowner was thrilled to have such a magnificent bird’s-eye view of the garden transformation from her master bedroom window. Annette notes, “Casey was very involved in the garden redesign – she really has an eye for it.”