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Photography by Alise O’Brien
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It’s not that life wasn’t copacetic. Scott and Susan Jones had a lovely house in Lafayette Square, but—well, with three kids, it was hard not to wish for a bigger back yard. Or a pool. Yet they didn’t want to leave the neighborhood, or even this corner of it. So when a dilapidated mansion across the street came on the market in 2008, they jumped—and finished work in July 2012. Susan whips out a “before” photo, which shows a grand but rather scabby-looking building. “We had to replace all of the floors,” she says. “But at least they all match!”
The reclaimed pine floors are new but look old; the elaborate woodwork, moldings, and fireplaces are original, and they’ve been lovingly restored. The centerpiece of the house—the kitchen—is unapologetically 21st-century, but with elegant nods to the past. Jones says she wanted a “living area in the kitchen or a kitchen with a bar area. My goal was to make it look like an entertaining area.”
The kitchen is in its original spot, but it’s now adjoined by an airy living room (an addition) overlooking the spacious back yard and saltwater pool. The Joneses worked with Randy Middeke of City Lights Design + Build (citylights-stl.com), architect Paul Fendler (fendlerworld.com), and custom cabinetmaker Steve McMillan (mcmillancabinetmakers.com) on the kitchen proper, a process that took a little more than two months. Susan knew exactly what she wanted and was able to explain it thanks to handmade scale models and her “book,” where she cut and pasted ideas.
At first, she had her heart set on an AGA stove, before discovering it’s always on. “That’s great if you live in England,” she laughs. “But in St. Louis…” Happily, she discovered AGA’s Six-Four Series, which can be turned off. Hidden behind cream cabinetry is a Sub-Zero fridge, an ice maker and beverage center, a coffee nook, warming drawers, and a microwave. “The baby sitter’s afraid of the oven,” Susan explains, “so that’s what she uses.”
The kitchen island is topped with satiny walnut, with a demure copper sink in one corner. The countertops are pale quartz. Susan also had a granite slab made into a cutting board, so she could put a pot down without leaving a burnt half-moon mark in the wood. For the cabinetry’s hardware, she scoured the Internet for months, seeking something “traditional, but not fussy.” She found the perfect pulls—glass, just a touch Deco—at Pottery Barn. “I bought 10 extra and stashed them, just in case,” she says.
Across from the center island is a nook where the family eats informal meals. “At our last house, our kids were pretty little, but they hated booster seats,” Susan says. “So I made cushions to give them extra height—I did that here, too.” They’re covered in Sunbrella outdoor fabric, “so when they spill their spaghetti, it wipes right up.”
But the most kid-friendly part of this kitchen? All the space, one reason they tackled this house in the first place. “We have a lot of casual get-togethers, where everyone brings their kids,” Susan says. “Sometimes it will be 10 adults and 25 kids! But this space is where everyone can be.”
Web Exclusive: Click here for more photos of the Joneses’ home.
