The homeowners of this Award Winning Mid Century home in Creve Coeur, MO are a young architect and his wife and their young sons. They purchased their Modern home, built in the late 1960's, and saw in it a perfect future vessel for their lifestyle of entertaining and design. The house was in relatively poor condition as the previous owners had let it fall into neglect and renovation was the only option.

As part of the renovation, the walls separating the kitchen from the dining, living, and entry areas were removed in order to create an open floor plan. During this process, it became apparent that the beam supporting the roof that ran the full length of kitchen and dining room was, in actuality, not being supportive at all. The beam stopped short of the kitchen wall by a good 6 feet and was being held up by the nails attaching it to the rafters. The heavy timber beam had to be replaced by 26 foot long laminated beams. Not willing to let good timber go to waste, the architect repurposed the beam and with a little help from local craftsmen, turned it into the dining room's table and benches.

Being foodies, they knew they wanted a gourmet kitchen. Being a designer, he knew they couldn't afford one. So beginning a few years before the project even broke ground, they began to scrounge and gather all of their appliances whenever they could find a good deal. They found a five foot wide sputnik chandelier in a Hollywood prop-house. They purchased their Sub-Zero from an out of business showroom. Their 48" range and double oven was bought from an outlet site, and the hood above it was a cast off from a builder supply company.

This couple loves to do things themselves. They know that the only way to truly have something unique is to make it themselves. For this reason, and because they love the craft, they have done much of the customization of the spaces themselves. The throw pillows in the living room and children's rooms were made by her. The mural in the nursery was made by him. And in the toddler room, he built the chair and wall panels while she did the curtains and pillows.