For our October Design issue, we asked local interior designers if animal print is a classic or a craze. Here's what the professionals had to say.

“Classic. Whether it is a real or faux hide, I feel animal print brings nature, interest, pattern, and in some cases, texture, into most design styles. Usually a splash goes a long way. That being said, the print may not always be for everyone.” Pamela Calvert, ASID.

Keep your home clean and organized with simple, stylish storage solutions. From baskets to bins and cabinets, storing away household items doesn’t have to be boring.

one: Graphic printed baskets, available at West Elm.

two: Hammered bowl, available at The Jeweled Cottage.

three: Decorative wire basket with linen insert, available at Savvy Surrounding Style.

Nesting tables give you endless options for arranging a room. Whether stacked together or pulled into a variety of configurations, nesting tables were designed with flexibility in mind.

one: Lotus nesting tables, available at Savvy Surrounding Style.

two: Giorgio consoles, available at Amini's.

three: Bassey nesting cocktail tables, available at Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams.

You can change the entire look of a landscape or mood of an entertaining space through outdoor lighting. Frisella Outdoor Lighting has been lighting St. Louis area homes since 2006 with their combination of thoughtful design, friendly, personal service and quality lighting products on the market.

Nettie White’s stock in trade is transformation: designing high-end, custom artistic spaces that breath new life into just about everything in your home.

“My specialty is color. I started out doing walls and had to be creative with what was there,” she says, “and that turned into ‘What about our cabinets?’ and ‘What about the bookcase, and what about floors?’ We do everything.”

When Rich and Terri LoRusso opened LoRusso’s Cucina almost three decades ago, many of the recipes came straight from his mother’s kitchen. “This restaurant emulates how I was brought up,” he says.

Nothing unusual in that, except the matriarch of this Italian restaurant was Irish.“My grandmother taught my mom to cook,” LoRusso explains. He, in turn, always loved to hang out in the kitchen, soaking up knowledge from his mother and his paternal aunts.