🎧 You may also enjoy this episode of the House of Lou podcast with designer Brett Clark.
Zen Modern
Ash Leonard uses texture to create cohesion in a new kitchen design
The owners of a traditional two-story home in Ladue wanted to give their kitchen a fresh look without changing its footprint. They enlisted designer Aisling “Ash” Leonard, owner and principal of Ash Leonard Design, to thoughtfully blend existing architectural elements and modern materials.
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“The kitchen is modern but has a soft feel with patina and character,” says Leonard, who worked with Eyman Kitchen & Bath to carry out the vision.
Here are the elements the designer incorporated into the project.
Cabinet Curiosity
Solid walnut slab-door cabinetry by Shady Creek Woodworking features clean modern lines but is also warm and natural. A coffee station is hidden in a drawer, and an ice machine and wine chiller/cooler are built into the cabinetry. Open glass shelves float above it all.
Hardware Hue
Leonard chose solid brass and matte black pulls from the Signature line at St. Louis-based Locks & Pulls. “They feel like leather when you touch them,” she says. Black gooseneck faucets with knurled brass accents by Brizo complement the cabinetry hardware. The backsplash outlet covers, done in brass, are a step above the ordinary. Brass–and–black leather stools by CB2 at the center island continue the theme.
Read More: Kitchen inspiration from 7 St. Louis neighborhoods
Wow Tile
With windows flanking the range, Leonard wanted a backsplash tile that would blend into the views. Wasabi Green, by Spanish firm WOW Design, gets the job done. “I wanted it to feel like it had been there a long time and had a patina,” says Leonard. Walnut shelves pick up the color of the cabinets beneath.
Loads of Lighting
A long, cylindrical glass fixture with brass accents by TEC Electric runs the length of the island. Hanging it from two different ceiling heights was a challenge, but the team got it done.
Floor Fabulous
Leonard’s goal for the floors was to impart a country house feel with lots of texture. Gray-washed wood-like porcelain tile in a traditional box-and-crosshatch pattern imparts the appropriate style for the space.
Counters/Backsplash
To balance the room’s darker elements, Leonard went with slabs of Super White marble in a suede finish.
Brick and Beams
The wood ceiling beams, white-painted brick, and white wood paneling in the dining area are original to the house, and Leonard wanted to keep them intact. The custom-made range hood mimics the existing paneling, says Leonard, marrying old and new.
Made to Order
Colorful Cabinets
Jenny Rausch, designer and owner of Karr Bick Kitchen & Bath, is designing kitchens with such custom colors as greens, blues, and even pinks in the tile, wallpaper, and cabinetry. Black is technically a neutral, but it makes a bold statement. Howard is seeing the use of black-painted cabinets throughout the kitchen. At Karr Bick, Rausch likes to grace a black-and-white kitchen with gold accents. Whatever the color, says Howard, today’s cabinets are extending to the ceiling, a trend that’s popular in both new construction and remodels.
Warming with Wood
All three experts say wood tones are in high demand for kitchens. Wood adds warmth to a space, says Rausch. Homeowners like to mix wood tones with neutrals or color—perhaps an island with a wooden base, or a furniture piece in the kitchen, like a hutch or sideboard. In St. Louis, walnut has been a strong trend, in tones that range from a natural medium brown to very dark, almost black stains, says Howard. Coming in a close second is rift-sawn white oak, he reports: “This is a very straight-grain wood. You can go anywhere from a natural-looking color to very gray stains or even black and still get the visual texture of the grain.”
The Kitchen Suite
Consumers keep buying specialized appliances—coffeemakers, wine coolers, a second refrigerator, pizza ovens—and they need extra space to house them. “We’re starting to see all these ancillary rooms—butlers’ pantries, dirty kitchens, walk-in pantries, beverage centers,” says Howard. “It’s turned into what I call a kitchen suite. I liken it to the primary suite, where the rooms are connected yet serve different functions.” The bulk of the cooking occurs in the dirty kitchen, sometimes called a caterer’s kitchen. “You can make a mess here,” says Howard, “and the core kitchen that the guests see stays clean.”
Doubling Down
Howard says kitchen spaces in general are getting larger as people invest more in their homes. “We’re seeing a lot of double islands,” he says. “You can only make a single island so big before it becomes such that you can’t walk around it or reach over to the other side, so we split the same concept into two islands. This helps traffic flow and functionality.” To top the island (and the rest of the counters), consumers have more choices than ever before. A few years ago, it was all granite, all the time. Now, choices are all over the board: marble, dolomite, soapstone, quartz, and quartzite, as well as granite. In the end, though, the design should drive the decision-making process.
Master Metalwork
Howard says metals first appeared in range hoods, often incorporating such contrasting finishes as a copper hood with brass strapping or perhaps a dark steel with pewter. “Now you see metal accents built right on the cabinet doors, and it’s usually brass to bring high contrast,” he says.
Curbing Clutter
Howard says clients are asking for specialized storage: “You see a lot of pull-out pantry storage, where you pull the door out and get total access to the interior.” In some instances, cabinet doors open to reveal a pull-down shelf, a feature taken from ADA-compatible or universal home design. Other design elements include the use of concealed doors—for instance, the door to a walk-in pantry concealed between two cabinets. Adequate storage, when carefully designed, helps keep a space organized and streamlined.
A Pretty Scene
Classic design in a West County kitchen
The clients, who are empty nesters, wanted to create a feeling of spaciousness in their kitchen without enlarging its footprint. They solicited the advice of designer Chelsea Smith, of Chelsea Design Co., to help them achieve their desired outcome. Early on in her planning, Smith made key decisions to produce a sense of space. First, she installed the largest possible windows in the kitchen. Then she removed a heavy wall of cabinets that crowded the room. These two moves, plus the room’s subtle yet striking palette of colors and materials, helped turn a small, confined kitchen into a stylish, relaxing hub.
Tile trick
“The kitchen feels calm and balanced, but it didn’t start that way at all. The backsplash tile was the solution to tying it all together,” says Smith, who designed a look with many interesting elements without overwhelming the space. The Calacatta marble mosaic is variegated in monochrome shades from white to black tones, making for an arresting visual element. (Luke Spain of Pristine Tile installed the tile, purchased at the Tile Shop.) In electing to tile all the way to the ceiling, Smith generated that much-desired open feel. “It was a way to give the impression of expanding the kitchen without making it larger,” she says.
Window wonders
The kitchen originally held two double-hung windows positioned several inches above a small corner sink, limiting the view. “It was a standard builder-grade kitchen from the ’90s,” recalls Smith. Moving the sink from the far left-hand corner to directly beneath one of three new 50-inch Pella windows allows the homeowners to enjoy the wooded landscape beyond.
Paint palette
The wall color is Natural Choice, by Sherwin-Williams. “It’s my go-to color when I want something neutral and warm. In some lighting, this color can appear gray, while at other times it feels warmer,” says Smith. “It is the softest and prettiest of whites.” The kitchen cabinets are a starker white, offering a subtle layering effect and visual interest.
Countertop cool
To offset the kitchen’s lighter elements—the light fixtures, cabinets, and tile— Smith chose Silver Pearl granite from Global by Custom Stone Interiors in a “leather” finish. This granite presents a clean matte finish that “feels like the modern farmhouse style,” Smith says. “I wanted contrast in this mostly white kitchen.”
Island vibes
The island was originally installed parallel to the oven, placing a barrier between the kitchen and the rest of the room. To open it up, the designer had the island trimmed on each side and elongated to 27 inches. At the oven-facing end of the island, Smith added a storage unit and a walnut butcher block cutting board. The island doubles as a table for four. Note the shape of the legs; they call to mind those of an old farmhouse table.
A Bespoke Beauty
Jenny B opts for handmade details and nature-inspired flourishes.
This kitchen renovation isn’t the first time the homeowners and designer have worked together. Ron and Jessie Mueller collaborated with Jenny B on the design of their previous home. That experience, resulting in an eclectic, colorful design scheme, provided a strong foundation for working together and bringing out the best in the new home.
“[The homeowner] had items on his design bucket list, and I had some as well,” says Jenny B. “Together we pared everything down to what worked the best when placed next to each other.”
From the stylish light fixtures to the gleaming hardware, surprising and delightful moments are found throughout the space. See how it all comes together inside a historic Georgian Revival home.
Countertops details
The brass pot rail, from deVOL Kitchens, holds copper utensils chosen for their one-of-kind aesthetic. “These, like the rail, are definitely not factory made,” says the designer. The honed Danby marble backsplash features a pretty black-green hue. “While marble is known for its softness, Europeans do marble in their kitchens all the time, so we just went for it,” says Jenny B. “We didn’t want to be afraid to use it.” Although Ron was initially reluctant to use marble, he agreed that the timeless material would be the best choice for the kitchen: “Its beauty outweighs the work of cleaning and maintaining it.”
Lots of light
The pendants, from Restoration Hardware, are a modern take on vintage Parisian streetlamps. “I wanted something French industrial,” says Jenny B. The beehive-shaped sconces to the right of the oven were designed by Kelly Wearstler for Stoffer Home. “I liked the hive shape and the glow of them,” she recalls, “but the best thing about them is that they come in a trio, which creates an impact in the kitchen.”
Oven matters
Chosen for its traditional look, the oven from Italian brand Bertazzoni makes a statement. “We went with black to provide a more masculine touch to the kitchen,” says Jenny B. The Muellers love to cook, making the oven and its range of options—six burners, an electric griddle, seven interior shelves—a great choice.
Patina pretty
Jenny B chose slightly distressed chestnut cabinets to contrast with the room’s dark-veined marble and dark-stained bar cabinets with smoked-glass fronts. The designer is a fan of English homes, and so she sourced elements of the kitchen from the U.K. The hardware, for example, in both antique brass and unlacquered brass, is from Mark Lewis Interior Design, in London. “Everything from Mark Lewis is not only handcrafted; even the tiny brass nails in the hardware are beautiful and offer layers of patina as they age,” says Jenny B.
Pantry plus
Though much of the kitchen leans heavily on the English country aesthetic, the 12-foot pantry with insets of rattan has a subtle Midcentury modern look. (The bar stools, backed in rattan, also mirror the style.) The pantry’s striking woodpecker door handles are by Schaub and were purchased at Locks & Pulls in Rock Hill. “The woodpeckers spoke to me,” says Jenny B. “I don’t generally try to match things, but it does fit with the beehives and hollyhocks [found in the breakfast nook wallpaper].”
Wallpaper wow
Jenny B aimed for a rustic Old World vibe in much of the kitchen, and the breakfast nook that looks out onto the landscaped gardens was no exception. “I love things that feel bespoke and biophilic—having a love of nature, and bringing the outdoors inside,” she says. The bright colors of the hollyhock wallpaper from House of Hackney offer a pop of color that gives the room a design moment steeped in the wondrous beauty of the English countryside.
Just the Essentials
Top pro tips for making your kitchen and bathroom shine.
Bathrooms and kitchens, some of the most heavily used spaces in our homes, have their purposes, but that doesn’t mean they can’t also be warm and beautiful. We talked to Jessica Senne of Studio Lark and Jenny Rausch of Karr Bick Kitchen & Bathto get their best tips for creating luxury and comfort in these essential spaces.
Make the kitchen faucet a centerpiece.
“If there’s one luxury plumbing fixture in the house, make it your kitchen faucet,” says Senne. This piece not only gets extensive daily use but is also usually the centerpiece of a wall of cabinets or a kitchen island. Senne recommends splurging on a high-end fixture that feels both ergonomic and substantial.
Focus on textiles.
Cast off the labels “kitchen rug” and “bathroom rug,” says Rausch, and choose a floor covering that you’d be happy to see in any room of your home. She’s partial to an antique or Turkish rug, but personal preference rules. Stock up on high-quality towels with interesting patterns or textures to “add another layer of interest” to the space, she says.
Make it personal.
Creative patterns and well-curated items make a big impact. Rausch likes to incorporate antique and vintage finds, which, she says, “give you a sense of age and evoke nostalgia, helping make your kitchen or bath warm and cozy.” She also says she can’t overstate the impact of good wallpaper, which decorates a room without having to add any new items at all.
Remember that it’s your space, not a future buyer’s.
Senne says she often hears versions of, “Well, I hate bathtubs, but what if someone wants one when we sell the house?” She hears the same in regard to sink choices and other big-ticket items. Senne’s advice? Forget what the theoretical “next homeowner” might want. “Trying to predict what some future buyer will think when looking at your home is absolutely impossible,” she says. “Kitchen and bath projects always require serious investments of time and energy. When you’re at the end of that process, you want to love the space. Put your own priorities first and stop worrying about other people.”
Steer clear of clutter.
Once you’ve turned your kitchen or bath into a space you love to look at, be sure the focus stays on your lovely fixtures, not utensils or toiletries scattered around the countertops. “Take the time to put everything away after you’ve used it,” says Rausch. “Make sure you design in spaces that can easily hide your clutter so, when you decorate, you enjoy what you’ve accomplished.” Says Senne: “In our studio, we’re mindful of delivering kitchen designs that feel spacious and uncluttered.” She recommends grouping tall appliances and storing them together. Balance height with lower cabinets so that everything has a place. Also, think about placing open shelves in front of kitchen windows. This will not only create added storage but also show off your glass and dinnerware.
Historic Charm
In 1958, the former owner of Katy and Dan Thomas’ stately Central West End home installed her dream kitchen. When the Thomases bought the house, three years ago, that kitchen remained, untouched by time for 60 years. What was a dream in 1958 was not functional for modern family living, nor did it fit in with the 1910 house’s architectural style. “We wanted it to fit with the Edwardian period of the home,” Katy says.
Cabinet cues
The couple engaged Cristian Saleniuc of Intelligent Design Woodwork for the cabinets. Custom was important, Katy says, for “working around oddities.” She chose full-inset cabinetry rather than overlay for a more period-appropriate look and had it painted in Benjamin Moore’s Onyx and fitted with unlacquered brass hardware. Church Hill soapstone countertops complete the look. “We debated on the paint color,” Katy recalls, “if black would be too stark—but I wanted to pick up the black from the leaded windows.”
Double ovens
The new kitchen features a KitchenAid wall-mounted double oven with separate range, harking back to its Midcentury predecessor. “We were initially planning to keep the Midcentury kitchen, so we bought our appliances a year before we did the renovation. We had to make it work,” Katy says.
A Baking bar
A separate baking station provides deeper counter space for rolling out dough and features a pullout KitchenAid mixer and a microwave for easily melting butter or chocolate. “My daughter loves to bake, so it was a way to keep her contained in one area of the kitchen,” Katy says.
Dining details
The Thomases were hunting for a long, narrow table. “They have these old tables, called drapers’ tables, that they used for ironing or laying out draperies,” Katy says. After several unsuccessful bids on antique models, they decided to have one made. Turntech, a custom table leg turner in Pennsylvania, made the legs to their specifications; then they had local woodworking company WunderWoods create the top from reclaimed wood. The rustic table is paired with comfortable white Chippendale chairs from Restoration Hardware. Three hanging fixtures from Rejuvenation cover the length of the table, and track lighting on the ceiling illuminates the work areas.
Fashionable Floor
Greek key railings around the house inspired the border of the hexagonal tile floor. The Thomases wanted rectified tile that would lie perfectly flat, which posed a challenge because most of the hex tile produced today is pillowed. They found Heritage Tile, a company near Chicago that is one of the few manufacturers in the U.S. to still produce it. It took Northwest Tile Co. five months to complete the installation.
Slightly Industrial
Designer Jessie Miller, of Jessie D. Miller Interior Design, spent nearly three years working on a new home in Edwardsville. It was a huge undertaking. The open-concept kitchen alone is almost 1,000 square feet. “With new construction, it’s important for it to feel aged, to feel like it’s been collected over time,” Miller says. “I wanted to create a vintage, slightly industrial feel.” To turn her vision into reality—she was aiming for an Old World factory look—she layered whites for depth, added woodgrain accents throughout, and selected icebox-style handles for the cabinetry. “With such a massive scale, I needed to find a way to make it a more approachable space to use on a daily basis,” she says.
Big Island
Like everything else in the kitchen, the island is enormous. It’s 11.5 feet long and nearly 4 feet wide. Miller chose the butcher block ends to add variety and functionality to the expanse of white marble countertops. She enlisted Christopher Peacock Cabinetry to create the cabinets and hardware. It was “a game-day decision” to decide to paint the island the same olive green as the butler’s pantry, she says: “I felt like I needed a dark color to anchor that massive island.”
Two Pendants
The light fixtures hanging above the island were fabricated by Los Angeles–based lighting company Paul Ferrante with design input from Miller. The pendants, custom made in heavy iron, were inspired by vintage factory pendants that the designer noticed in a magazine.
Barrel Vault
Miller knew that the cavernous space called for a unique look rather than the typical coffered ceilings. The barrel vault, however, presented design challenges—for instance, how would the cabinetry meet the ceiling? “With the angle, we had to retrofit the cabinets on site,” she says, “but I love to try new things, and I think it turned out great.”
Subway Backsplash
The clients originally wanted an all-white kitchen, but Miller soon realized that the space would require layering of materials, colors, and textures to impart warmth. One of her first decisions was to go with handmade tiles from Sunderlands. Each tile is a faintly different shade of white. A mason created slightly imperfect grout lines to build age and heritage into the new home.
Window Frame
The homeowners requested the statement arched window, allowing them expansive views onto their property. “They wanted it to be the focal point of the kitchen, so we took that idea and ran with it,” Miller says. She hired Kirkwood Stair & Millwork to help build and install the custom three-piece stunner. The center window is 8 feet tall in the middle, and together the three windows stretch about 11 feet across.
The Extras
“The butler’s pantry can function as an entire kitchen,” says Miller. The space features a coffee bar, as well as its own refrigerator, oven, and microwave. She chose to paint the cabinets Aegean Olive, by Benjamin Moore: “It’s a green color, but it has a lot of strange brown undertones and also some gray. I love to work with colors that can reflect cool and warm. They just add an interesting sense of age to a space.”
Say It With Sage
While many homeowners still opt for all-white kitchens, one Kirkwood resident decided to buck that trend. Wendy Kuhn, lead designer at Karr Bick Kitchen & Bath, helped transform the appearance and functionality of the space. In her design, the refrigerator was moved into what had been the breakfast nook, and the space was turned into a butler’s pantry. This provided more room for counter space in the kitchen and allowed an awkwardly placed bathroom door to be shifted. The result is an airy kitchen accented with brushed brass hardware and beautiful hardwood floors. “Pulling that color in better reflected the feel of the rest of the house and [the homeowner’s] personality,” says Kuhn.
Cabinet Color
“We do a lot of research and pay attention to trends. We knew that color was something that was coming in after so many years of people wanting all-white kitchens,” Kuhn says. She and the homeowner were drawn to a misty green shade for the cabinets, and they looked at several shades before deciding on Farrow & Ball’s Mizzle. “Going with that light-green color tied back to the rest of the house,” Kuhn says, “and it was just a more interesting color choice.”
Counter Views
The team elected to go with white quartz for the countertops. The homeowner appreciated both the material’s brightness and its functionality. “She wanted that look of white marble,” Kuhn says, “but of course with small children she didn’t want the maintenance of marble.”
Makeover Move
An island doesn’t always need to be big to be functional, and Kuhn managed to fit a 3-by-3-foot island into this tight space. One side holds the microwave drawer, and the other provides a place for the homeowner’s two children to sit. Note the island’s decorative legs. “We wanted to make it look as much like a table as we could in the middle of the room,” Kuhn says.
Modern Perch
The homeowner sourced a pair of stylish barstools that fit the needs of her children. “They’re just really simple tuck-under stools that don’t cause a lot of bulk in that tight space,” Kuhn says, “and they have that Midcentury Modern flair that goes so well with the rest of the house.”
Beautiful Details
“The backsplash is one of my favorite elements in the entire kitchen,” Kuhn says. “It’s a small detail, but I just think it really makes this space.” The tile, from Country Floors, has an interesting picket shape and a slightly undulating texture. “It’s not just your standard white subway, but it gives you that same kind of effect with a little bit more design detail to it.”
Butler’s Pantry
“Using the breakfast nook area as a butler’s pantry turned into a really cute design feature,” says Kuhn. In addition to providing ample storage, the space includes a beverage center that makes entertaining easy. Kuhn extended the same green cabinets into the pantry but incorporated glass-front upper cabinets and chose countertops of black walnut to bring in warmth.
Breakfast in Style
A breakfast room is the perfect place to explore a creative and personal design aesthetic.
Breakfast rooms, those cozy casual dining spaces within or adjacent to the kitchen, are not only functional but also allow for some design daring that isn’t as easy to pull off in larger, more formal areas of the home. Typically reserved for the family, the breakfast room is a great place to inject fun and personality. But, because it’s an extension of the kitchen, an aesthetic link should exist between the two spaces even as the breakfast room is allowed to show off its own identity.
“I like to be creative in the connection I make between both spaces, which can mean selecting furniture and materials that are complementary but not having to match the kitchen,” says interior designer Brett Clark of Savvy Design Group. “It’s not your formal dining room, so you have permission to be a little bit more personal with it or even quirky. That could be a breakfast table with a really interesting pedestal base or a chandelier that’s more of a surprise. I wouldn’t be afraid to go beyond your normal comfort level.”
Designer Danielle Kalish of Parklyn Interiors has a few rules for creating a cohesive flow between kitchen and breakfast room. She advises using the same countertop material in both spaces, as well as the same cabinet fronts, and selecting an overall palette that’s consistent and ties the spaces together.
When it comes to material selection, Kalish says, “I love to create a layered, lived-in look. For example, mixing a linen fabric with a soft cognac leather for your bench seat or chairs will provide a great contrast. When it comes to picking hardware, it’s a must to mix metals. If you used warm brass for the pulls or lighting in your main kitchen, don’t be afraid to use wood, black, or silver in your breakfast nook. Think of lighting as jewelry. I love a statement light over the breakfast table in addition to arm lights or library lights over your built-ins.”
Clark and Kalish agree that wallcoverings are a great way to create impact and define adjoining spaces. Clark notes that in addition to high-performance fabrics, many manufacturers make vinyl wallcoverings that mimic such natural materials as grasscloth and sisal but can be easily wiped down if spattered with food or wine. Says Kalish: “I love the idea of adding a bold wallpaper that ties in the colors from the kitchen, unique hardware/lighting, or an eclectic gallery wall with some of your favorite artwork.”
Are you renovating a kitchen or thinking about embarking on one? Hold on to this list of pros.
APPLIANCE REPAIR
1st Choice Appliance Repair: BBB-accredited and A+-rated, 1st Choice repairs refrigerators, washers, dryers, ovens, stoves, and garbage disposals and also does deep-cleaning of appliances. Same-day service is available. 314-243-5390.
American Appliance Service: Family-owned and operated since 1961, American offers affordable repair of all major appliances. 12025 Manchester, 314-965-8310.
The Appliance Guys: This small family-run business, with locations on both sides of the Mississippi, works on all major appliance brands and offers service calls for just $69. 314-390-0404, 618-297-4200.
ASAP Appliance Repair: BBB-accredited and A+-rated, ASAP offers a 30-day warranty on all diagnostics and a 100-day warranty on parts and labor. Same-day service is available. 314-831-0383 (North and South St. Louis County), 636-466-2863 (West County and St. Charles County, 636-791-1224 (Warren and Lincoln counties).
Mid America Service Appliance Repair: Mid America services all major-brand appliances and is a factory-authorized premier servicer of GE Appliances, Viking, Samsung, and Fisher & Paykel products. 328 Jungermann, St. Peters, 636-928-4131.
St. Louis Appliance Repair: This BBB-accredited, A+-rated business has been in business since 1958 and provides factory certified service on such premium brands as Sub-Zero, Bosch, Dacor, and Scotsman. 1692 Larkin Williams, Fenton, 636-389-9851.
ELECTRICAL
Accurate Electric: In addition to offering a wide range of residential and commercial electrical services, Accurate specializes in completing electrical work for pools, patios, and hot tubs. 512 Marshall, 636-225-1020.
AMF Electrical Contractors: AMF assists residential customers with new lighting and appliances, adding circuits, rewiring, cabling, upgrades, and anything else electrical in the home. The company’s expertise also extends to commercial, industrial, and telecommunications services, so its technicians come equipped with a wide range of installation skills. 1627 Sublette, 314-647-4066.
Born Electric: Owner Kevin Born is experienced in projects that fall into the residential, commercial, new construction, prefab, voice, data, and low-voltage categories. 6265 Highway 61/67, Imperial, 636-461-2400.
Baldi Electric Co.: Baldi specializes in indoor and outdoor electrical needs, whether in a historic home or a new commercial building. The company also offers 24-hour emergency service, maintenance, storm repair, and safety inspections. 10723 Baur, 314-968-9999.
Streib Company: Since its founding, in 2005, the company has expanded its areas of expertise to include media and security services, though it began as an electric services firm. Customer service is a priority at Streib, which earned a BBB TORCH Award in 2012 and a 2019 Super Service award from Angie’s List. 9225 Watson Industrial, 314-487-7474.
Wesling Electric: Owned and operated by father-and-son team Bob and Robert Wesling, the business offers 24-hour emergency repairs, amperage upgrades, and installation of wiring for pools, hot tubs, and spas. The firm earned a 2019 Super Service Award from Angie’s List, where it garners strong reviews for professionalism, price, punctuality, responsiveness, and quality. 1150 Birdie Hills, St. Peters, 636-240-6060.
FLOOR INSTALLERS & REFINISHERS
Blake Flooring: With more than 40 years in the hardwood flooring business, Blake is known for its attention to detail and top-notch customer service. 271 Larkin Williams Industrial Court, 636-680-2300.
Champion Flooring: Champion employs Bona Certified and trained craftsman in its refinishing projects for the highest quality finish and dust containment. Winner of the Outstanding Retailer Award by Wood Floor Business. 2312 Centerline Industrial Drive, 314-665-2889.
Evans Flooring: Brad Evans and his team are known for their customer service and quality refinishing and staining. 11674 Gravois, 314-722-3047.
Just Around the Corner: This family owned and operated business has been in the St. Louis area since 1989. Their Crestwood showroom carries a large assortment of hardwood, carpet, luxury vinyl and tile, and is open to the public. 9401 Watson Industrial Park, 314-487-9909.
JW Hardwood Floors: John Warner’s family-owned company is loaded with decades of experience. 12051 Colonial, 314-22-01054.
PLUMBING
Aries Plumbing: Aries offers repair and remodeling services; sewer services, including camera inspections; and basement bathroom installation. In business since 1977, the company has earned several Super Service Awards from Angie’s List, the latest in 2019. The company’s detailed website features several specials, including a 10 percent discount on a first service call. 5100 Heege, 314-351-2302, 314-832-6233.
Aqua Vitae Plumbing: Operated by brothers Shawn and Ken Behrle, Aqua Vitae specializes in bathroom remodels, additions, commercial kitchens and basement baths for residential and commercial clients. While its website is under construction, potential clients can visit the firm’s Facebook page for additional information. 314-665-6000.
Joshua Plumbing Co.: This father-and-son team offers new construction installation, water services, drainage, and replacement of aging stacks and pipes. Free estimates. 6809 River Hollow Court, 314-246-0080.
Loveland Home Solutions: Technicians here offer both plumbing and electrical repair, serving St. Charles and its surrounding areas since 1972. The company earned a 2019 Super Service Award from Angie’s List and maintains an A rating from the BBB. Discounts are available for veterans and seniors. 995 Broadmoor, 636-734-2745.
O.J. Laughlin Plumbing Co.: BBB-accredited and TORCH Award Winner for 2015, O.J. provides plumbing services, and sewer services such as cabling, camera inspection, line location, hydro-flushing, and hydro-evacuation. The company is a certified “Green Plumber.” 636-225-0992.
Performance Plumbing Inc.: Owner Rick Rolwes started working in his father’s plumbing business at an early age and founded his own firm in 1991. He offers a range of services, including repair and remodeling; maintains an A+ rating with the BBB; and earned the organization’s TORCH Award in 2012. 1104 S. Callahan, Wentzville, 636-323-3104.
Tony LaMartina Plumbing Co.: Family-owned and -operated, LaMartina’s staff has more than 100 years of combined plumbing knowledge. Since 1982, the company has specialized in high-end fixture installation, historic plumbing, and age-in-place modifications such as grab bars and curbless showers. 1337 Hughes, 314-965-9377.
