The impact of COVID-19 motivated many of us to reassess our priorities. For Julie, a young wife and mother living in Chicago diagnosed with cancer during the pandemic, family became even more important. Considering their young family’s needs during Julie’s illness and with no immediate family in Chicago, Julie and husband Chris decided to move to St. Louis where Julie’s dad and stepmother reside. 

    Perhaps best known for Ted Drewes in the summer and the holiday lights of Candy Cane Lane in the winter, the community of St. Louis Hills offers one of the city’s most charming and desirable neighborhoods. Dotted with an eclectic mix of gingerbread-style homes from the 1930s to the 1950s, the quaint town centers around the beauty of Francis Park, an especially appealing attraction for families with kids.

     When Phyllis Weidman arrived in St. Louis 30 years ago from Columbus, Ohio, she brought along a house full of furniture and a number of small green friends. They had names like “Paul’s Glory” and “Edge of Night” and they were tucked in a U-Haul truck of special possessions she and her husband Jim drove to their new home in Kirkwood. The move to St. Louis came about when the St. Louis Art Museum hired Jim as its new development officer. And Jim, who loved hostas and gardening almost as much as Phyllis, was more than happy to have them on board.

    Homeowners Casey Davison and Chris Jennewein wanted to use more of the space in their 1920s downtown Kirkwood home, while retaining the house’s historic charm. “In the old configuration we'd spend almost all our time in the family room/kitchen side of the house,” Chris explains. “By designating each half of the first floor to a single purpose, we felt we could make the home feel larger, and more comfortably host friends and family.”

   Locales like California and Florida harbor tropical climes nearly all year-round. But the Midwest of course has no such luck. Principal designer and creative director Marcia Moore of Marcia Moore Design was hired to transform a new St Louis build into a tropical paradise that reflects the vibes and feel of an island resort. 

1. By IRG and designer Sarah Hoover. Every couple’s dream comes true in this primary bathroom designed by Sarah Hoover using IRG’s spectacular Azul Macauba Quartzite. This project is a perfect example of how using a slab of natural stone as an accent wall can be a wonderful complement to tile in a bathroom setting. Photography by Jean Bai Photography.