A River Runs Through It

There’s something almost hypnotic about being there. The tumbling water of the Big River, composing a peaceful cadence, lifts you from the mundane and transports you to a place where everything is good and right with the world. Towering trees keep watch over proliferous, flowering gardens and ponds rife with colorful fish, drawing your eye upward to a remarkable three-story home just off the river’s edge. For Jim and Jeannie Lalumondiere, this idyllic paradise is home.

But paradise wasn’t always perfect. What began its life in the mid-1800s as a grist mill (a building in which grain is ground into flour), the Byrnesville Mill was suffering from years of neglect. In 1974, the Lalumondieres resurrected this former center of commerce from its sorry state, breathing new life into its soul and giving it renewed purpose as a home to raise their family.

Needless to say, Jim and Jeannie are visionaries. They saw the pearl hidden deep within this shell of a building and were willing to take the time to uncover its treasure.

“I believe that our limited financial resources at the time we began the renovation of our Mill home proved an advantage in the long run,” says Jeannie. “We were forced to use our ingenuity and repurposed materials that lent themselves to the character and age of the building and its surroundings,” she adds.

Truly, preserving the past and respecting their natural surroundings is one of the homeowners’ core beliefs. “Recycling, or ‘repurposing’ as it is called now, is so popular today,” says Jim, “but we were repurposing long before it was fashionable.” Their exquisite property is an eclectic creation that keeps evolving as Jim and Jeannie stumble upon new finds. “We love the thrill of the hunt,” beams Jeannie. “It’s wonderful to find something and say ‘what can I do with this?’ It forces you to be creative, and we love that.”

Jim Lalumondiere has always found great joy in making something out of nothing. He began his career as an apprentice, living upstairs in the upholstery shop in which he worked. “I told the owner that he didn’t have to pay me until I started making him money,” says Jim. “I loved to sew, and it showed in my work. I even made Jeannie’s wedding dress!”

It was that same creative passion that gave Jim the impetus he needed to build a home and gardens that so clearly reflect his and Jeannie’s belief in the value of using what you have. “Jim is a natural born salvager,” Jeannie says with a smile. “He finds architectural pieces from all over St. Louis as buildings are being torn down. We always have an amazing amount of stuff, but sooner or later, it all gets used, and I always end up pleased with the results.”

The outdoor oases that surround Jim and Jeannie’s home represent some of their most significant ecological achievements. Multi-level patios and gathering areas are terraced throughout the 7-acre property, offering unparalleled views of the Big River and the natural landscaping that surrounds it. “We plant very little, except containers and window boxes,” says Jim. “We just let nature be, and this is what we got.” What they got was an organic utopia that could never have been planned had they tried.

Jim has enhanced his and Jeannie’s gardens with unbelievable salvaged finds. “The things I use have  stories to tell,” he says. One of their favorite areas is what they call “the ruins,” which showcases stone pieces Jim collected from some of St. Louis’ finest structures as they met their demise.  “There’s something so intriguing about walking into a ‘ruin,’” says Jim. “You can’t help but imagine what used to be right there.”

Luckily, Jim and Jeannie understand and value what is “right there,” respecting their natural surroundings and giving new life to little pieces of history. After all, isn’t that what “green living” is really all about?