If ever a vintage house could be described as a “survivor,” this might be the one.  Built in the mid-1800s on nearly 60 acres of land in Kirkwood, the stately Gothic Revival two-story was locally known as the “Couch House,” so named for a prominent early owner. By 1909, the residence was still imposing, but most of the surrounding property had been sold off, and the town had begun to grow around it.

Homeowners Amy and Todd Krentz know high design. Throughout their Town and Country home it is, quite literally, 10 feet above their heads.

Their ceiling treatments are a pristine example of some of the latest architectural details that ambitious and on-trend builders are offering to clients with an eye for whole-home design. And because they aren’t structural, treatment styles like beams, planking and coffering are starting to span the ceilings of living rooms, dining rooms and — in the Krentz home — kitchens and patio settings.

Building a custom home allows homeowners to design their new residence to meet all of their wants and desires. During the blueprint phase of construction in Town and Country, builder Jim New of Monterey Custom Homes called on kitchen and bath designer Anne Boedges of Anne Marie Design Studio to ensure the homeowners’ kitchen was the perfect design for them and complemented the elegance of the rest of the home.

It was an ambitious project—to say the least—for a St. Louis couple who took their original kitchen down to the studs and subfloor while inhabiting the rest of the house. Because the age of the home caused many challenges in the structure and overall design of the remodle, the project took eight months. Yet, the homeowners knew the final outcome would be well worth the wait.

one: By Reid Architects. Photography by Daniel Hopkinson.

two: By FINNE Architects. Photography by Benjamin Benschneider.

three: By Kirkwood Stair & Millwork. Photography by the Loft.

four: By SAK Designs. Photography by MonikaSathe Photography.

five: By Andrew Dunning, London Contemporary. Photography by Paul Craig.

six: By Design First Interiors. Photography by Metropolis.

seven: By Axis Mundi. Photography by Adriana Buffi.

Surrounded by towering trees, some more than 200 years old, “Many Oaks” had been a Ladue landmark since 1907. The formal gardens once reflected the grandeur of the World’s Fair era and, in 1911, the imposing Bavarian Tudor residence was among the region’s first to convert from gas to electricity. Owned by a succession of prominent St. Louisans over the years, the historic home had been updated in the 1980s, but still retained its original character.