After 20 years in their spacious Frontenac home, the owners were ready to scale down, savor their achievements and enjoy a less-demanding lifestyle. Privacy, easy-maintenance living and “good neighbors” were at the top of the couple’s list as they searched for a new location. 

Ultimately, the country-club atmosphere of a luxury-villa community, under construction by custom builder Simon Homes in West County, met the couple’s qualifications.Decision made, “We hired Eddie first,” says the husband.

Miller’s house wasn’t exactly on the market when she and her husband made an offer. The duo heard the University City property was coming soon, and they jumped at an opportunity to buy the residence designed by Thomas P. Barnett, the St. Louis architect famous for the Palace of Liberal Arts for the 1904 World’s Fair, along with a number of important religious buildings, including the Cathedral Basilica.

A plant that grows without soil… sounds impossible, right? Not so. Air plants actually grow and thrive without soil as their leaves absorb water and airborne or waterborne nutrients. Air plants need constant air circulation to keep them happy. They also need some moisture through daily or weekly misting, depending on how dry your climate is.

With little maintenance required, these plants look great alone or in air-plant terrariums. Here’s what several local landscapers had to say about air plants.

What better way to cure cabin fever than to design next season’s garden and landscape plan? The Kemper Center for Home Gardening is a tremendous inspiration to both the budding gardener and seasoned pro. This eight-acre portion of the Missouri Botanical Garden features an 8,000-square-foot enclosed pavilion, which contains displays, a reference library, the Plant Doctor clinic, a classroom, indoor gardening displays, a monthly gardening-calendar display and much more.

It may be a bit of a cliché to say this, but there’s no better way to spark romance at Valentine’s Day (or any other time) than with some bubbly. Since nearly every wine-producing country in the world makes sparkling wine (traditional or otherwise), what is not the same old, same old are the many languages in which you can fill your flutes to toast everything from a budding romance to a lifelong love story.

Open and Bright
Faced with a kitchen that had been updated with misfit appliances, poor lighting and used cabinets, the homeowners of this mid-century brick ranch wanted to open up the sight lines and let natural light into the kitchen, while making the space feel like the rest of the house. Other things on the wish list included a walk-in pantry for storage, butler’s pantry and island. Designer Chris Berry of brooksBerry took on the renovation.