hink Cinderella, My Fair Lady and the story of The Ugly Duckling. Joe and Cara Reinberg can totally relate to these transformational tales.

In their case the Ugly Duckling was the over one-acre yard of their Frontenac home. Not only was the back yard open to the street traffic of a main road, a Metropolitan Sewer District creek/culvert designed to channel run-off rainwater bisected the property.

When a project begins with partnership, both the homeowner and designer share equal satisfaction in watching the vision come to life. Julie Abner and her client have spent years creating spaces that lead with both function and beauty. 

“This is a client I have worked with for many years, and it has been very fun and rewarding to get to know them,” Abner said, having helped them design their previous home. “When I met them, their family was young, and I have gotten to see how their home has changed and grown with their evolving needs.”

The intention for every room is to create a dreamy escape that also brings functionality to everyday life. This attic in a 1938 St. Charles home was once a cluttered, forgotten space and now beams with eclectic warmth, seamlessly matching the rest of the house. In a compact room, the inspiration was to construct a functional area that corresponds with the owner’s lifestyle. In older St. Louis homes, ripping down walls is not always the solution.

It’s a tremendous opportunity in life to help make something right that had been very wrong. That was the opportunity for St. Louis-based designer Gigi Lombrano, ASID, NICDQ, in helping restore a client’s Florida home to the architect’s original intent.

Layering, texture and a nod to organic shapes drive the look of modern lighting. These traits stem from an innovative use of pendant lights to create simple accents or complex clustered chandeliers. We most often see these statement pieces mounted above bathtubs, kitchen islands, dining tables and in grand living rooms, designed to be the crown jewels of the space.

1. Cluster chandeliers consisting of spherical forms can be low hanging or higher mounted in grand bathrooms and above dining room tables. Talia large chandelier, available at Visual Comfort.

1. HSH Interiors