Husband-and-wife team Keith and Jeanne Liston share their wisdom on the remodeling process.

Today Michael Bauermeister is one of the finest wood artisans in the Midwest and the country. He has been featured in countless magazines, art exhibits and even the Smithsonian. You can find his work anywhere from residents on either coast to local hospitals where they provide a much-needed calming, natural presence for patients. So, would you believe that he spent the bulk of his early career building furniture? Bauermeister explains, “When I graduated, I couldn’t figure out how to make a living as a sculpture artist, so I made furniture for 15 years.

Don’t call Sub Zero Vodka Bar a bar, or a restaurant for that matter—it’s so much more than either. Yes, it’s the go-to for any and every vodka a heart could desire, but it’s also the kind of eclectic eatery where the sushi connoisseur can sit elbow-to-elbow with a dining partner who craves a classic American cheeseburger.

A sprinkle of hers and a dash of his finished with something new is the perfect way to describe the design philosophy of a charismatic couple combining their belongings into one grand residence after years of single living in separate homes. Newly engaged, she moved in several years ago, while he has owned the home since 1998. Since combining households, they have been hard at work removing wallpaper, stripping woodwork and rearranging each room to refresh the traditional decor. 

Describing the owner of this stunning custom residence in Creve Coeur as “hands-on” would be an understatement. Co-owner and vice president of KCI Construction, a multi-disciplined large-project contracting company, he’d always wanted to build his own home and was an enthusiastic participant in every facet of its architectural and interior design.  

In the early 1800s, a young Henry Shaw used to ride west on horseback from his fledgling hardware store on the St. Louis riverfront to the prairie that surrounded the burgeoning city. Awed by the beauty that surrounded him, he wrote home to England describing the splendor of the tall prairie flowers and grasses that engulfed him as he rode. He was, in fact, so enamored and inspired that, as his fortunes increased, he began buying the land he traversed, later transforming the property into the Missouri Botanical Garden and Tower Grove Park