On April 1, St. Louis Magazine announced the 2025 Architect & Designer Awards winners during a cocktail party at Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, presented by Design & Detail. Winners are featured in the April issue of St. Louis Magazine. See photos from the event.
Keep up with the latest on the Architect & Designer Awards by subscribing to Veronica Theodoro’s weekly Design+Home newsletter and listening to the House of Lou podcast on your favorite podcast platform.
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Apartment Living (less than 2,000 square feet)
Brett Clark and Ellen Lancia, Design Collective STL
In a historic building that dates back to 1922, this apartment stands out for its dramatic, artistic design that balances traditional décor with modern details. A wall of windows draws natural light into the rooms, while dark tones on the walls and ceiling impart warmth. The rust-colored, velvet-covered armchair, contemporary curved seating, and a striking black-and-white storage chest add interest.
Best of Outdoor Living
Caryn Boultinghouse Design Studio
Inside an English Tudor pool house, palm-royale-inspired wallpaper and whimsical pink splashes set the tone for sophisticated playfulness. In keeping with the vintage look, the design team repurposed an antique dresser into a vanity and introduced artwork—framed baby swim clothes belonging to the owner’s daughter—to add a touch of nostalgia.
Hear an exclusive interview with Boultinghouse about her winning outdoor living project on the House of Lou podcast.
Children’s Room
Ashley Obradovits, Karr Bick Kitchen & Bath
This charming children’s room is bedecked in pale-pink, block-print wallpaper and trimmed in a dark green hue. The custom-designed bunk bed comes complete with whimsical features that spark the imagination. Rattan accents found in the ceiling light and dresser nod to nature, while scalloped details in the rug enhance the room’s sweet atmosphere.
Commercial Restaurant Space
Tao + Lee Associates Inc.
Biophilic design concepts were thoughtfully woven into the Missouri Botanical Garden’s quick-service café and restaurant. Blurring the boundaries between inside and outside, garden views can be enjoyed from multiple vantage points, and the main rooms feel like extensions of the outdoors. A partial-height screened wall separates the areas for grab-and-go and sit-down dining, and an undulating ceiling plane floats above the space like a cloud. A tree—which took two years to be felled, dried, and shaped—has been transformed into a bench. One of the log’s offcuts was made into a community table for the main dining room.
Commercial Space Other
The Lawrence Group
The new Ronald McDonald House in the historic Forest Park Southeast neighborhood is located between two pediatric hospitals to better serve more families of children receiving medical treatment. Designers worked with the neighborhood association to construct a contemporary building with two façades that each complement the area’s architecture: a historic front that faces the main thoroughfare and a modern side on a secondary street that serves as the main entrance. In addition to 72 guest rooms, the location includes themed playrooms, technology areas, and spacious lounges for guests of all ages. A high-end commercial kitchen provides meals to families, and family kitchens—including one that’s within the facility’s immunocompromised wing—help create a home away from home.
Custom Furniture Design
Martin Goebel, Goebel & Co. Furniture
The Pershing Oval table draws inspiration from the art nouveau and Queen Anne periods while incorporating sleek, modern lines. Its central oculus—an aperture in the table’s oval top—is a defining design element. It can be left open to channel light and reveal the table’s base or serve as a space for customizable inserts to meet various lifestyle and organizational needs.
Dining Room
Ashley Obradovits, Karr Bick Kitchen & Bath
This dining room celebrates vibrant color and texture, and is punctuated by a lively backdrop of chinoiserie wallpaper. A hand-painted trellis mural adorns the window bay, and coral, blue, and green tones flow harmoniously throughout the space. A crystal-feather-motif chandelier casts a glow onto the vintage mahogany dining table and the lacquered china cabinet, painted in a cheerful coral. In the window niche, a settee covered in a playful pink version of the classic Les Touches pattern beckons. A traditional tassel finish on the custom drapery echoes the color on the china cabinet and credenza.
Great Room
Lauren Sweet-Schuler, Studio Sweet-Schuler
The homeowners never fully utilized their formal great room, so they opted for a more casual living space. Artwork from the homeowners’ collection helped set the vibe, and custom furniture and accessories—including a hand-knotted rug and locally made coffee table—added personality. The fireplace originally featured an oversized painted mantel made of dark green marble; it was converted into an understated, tailored piece that better suits the room’s more intimate design.
Historic Residential Renovation/Restoration
Brett Clark and Ellen Lancia, Design Collective STL + Troy Duncan, PK Construction
This renovation transformed the first floor of a century-old home designed by architect Gale E. Henderson in a way that both honored the home’s architectural heritage and created a functional space for contemporary living. The color scheme embraces black, white, and gold—as well as infusions of pattern and texture—through grasscloth wallcovering in the foyer, a mural in the dining room, and a butler’s pantry inspired by the rosette motif in a nearby terrazzo inlay.
Home Office/Library
Ashley Obradovits, Karr Bick Kitchen & Bath
All six surfaces of this upper-floor library were coordinated to foster an inviting atmosphere. Blue animal-print carpet balances the blue-and-gold hued ceiling. Backed in a gilt wallpaper, the bookcases make a perfect backdrop for the family’s collectibles, and a chandelier reminiscent of the night sky is a striking focal point. Vibrantly colored bench cushions, pillows, and window treatments—as well as a railing that references art nouveau design—coax relaxation and inspiration from this creative, comfortable space.
House of the Year
Laurie LeBoeuf, Castle Design
This 10,000-square-foot residence was gutted and renovated to create the client’s glamorous, light-filled dream home. After an earlier remodel resulted in a choppy, inconsistent layout, the design team decided to open walls to emphasize the windows and bring in light. The living room’s symmetrical furniture layout, refined design choices, and pink pattern play exude elegance. To make entertaining both festive and fabulous, the bar room evokes a posh cocktail lounge, and the large kitchen, with ample room at the island, encourages friends to stay a while. Calming colors and textures continue upstairs in the primary bedroom and bathroom, where the look is clean, simple, and luxurious.
Lower Level
Ashleigh Schroeder, Nest Kitchen, Bath & Home Design LLC
The original basement’s finishes were dated: a small round bar, a drop ceiling, a mismatched laminate floor. The goal was to turn the space into a modern, multifunctional area with a large bar, areas for television viewing and gaming, a small desk, and storage for whiskey and wine. The designer’s layout maintains an open feel for customized quality products, as found in the shelving, uplighting, plush seating, and premium entertainment technology.
Millwork
Maria Hogrefe and Channing Krichevsky, C&M Interiors
Each element in this space, from the cabinets to the doors, is crafted to create cohesion and a seamless fit within the overall design. The millwork’s rich blue hue also serves as a bold backdrop to highlight classic features, including the brass fixtures and the sumptuous footed tub.
Modern Bath (greater than 150 square feet)
Janelle Helms, Karr Bick Kitchen & Bath + Lauren Strutman and Stephen L. Endsley, Jr., Lauren Strutman Architects + Compass Design Build
This primary bath imparts the look of a peaceful retreat through its use of organic textures and its embrace of natural light, which now floods the room, thanks to a walk-in shower lined with full-glass windows. Vertical oak wall panels hug the room in warmth and texture; reeded alder wood doors enhance the vanities’ limestone countertops and integrated limestone sinks. The custom plaster towel niche provides subtle, built-in storage, and a hidden door leads to the toilet area. A concrete tub is the room’s centerpiece and affords an expansive view of the home’s secluded outdoor space.
Modern Bath (less than 150 square feet)
Nistenhaus Design
After issues arose during a kitchen remodel on the lower floor, renovating this bath became a necessity. A reconfigured layout and new privacy wall, made of repurposed stone slabs from other parts of the house, create the impression that it had always been there. The new look introduces vibrant color, on both the custom vanity and étagère, offsetting the reserved tones of the walls and ceiling. Feathered wallpaper wraps the room, and the gilded driftwood mirror and warm brass bath fixtures unite color and neutrals to infuse the space with warmth.
Modern Interior Design
Susan Bower, Bower Leet Design + Nathan Markway, Markway Construction
The midcentury wood interior with low ceilings in the main house is contrasted with a 21st century addition, featuring white walls and high ceilings. The interiors in the house are spare and uncluttered. They feature primitive furniture from Kentucky mixed with precisely fabricated European furniture. Natural light floods the house through large windows, further enhancing the home’s inviting atmosphere.
Modern Kitchen (greater than 300 square feet)
Lauren Sweet-Schuler, Studio Sweet-Schuler + Jennifer Gossow, JG Design Studio + Okaw Valley Woodworking
The goal of this kitchen redesign was to maintain the home’s Craftsman-style architecture and celebrate the owners’ passion for modern interiors. The room’s largest working space is its 22-foot-long countertop, surrounded by 7-foot-high casement windows. The double-wide stainless sink with two faucets allows more than one person to work at a time, and two full-sized dishwashers make clean-up twice as fast. Other elements include an AGA Mercury range and limewashed white oak cabinets that lend uniformity from floor to ceiling. The far end of the kitchen showcases cabinets in wenge with an ebony stain. This area, primarily for bar use and display, contains a beverage refrigerator and storage.
Modern Kitchen (less than 300 square feet)
Aisling Leonard, Ash Leonard Design
The designer worked around five different ceiling heights, multiple archways, and two types of floors within an existing footprint to create a timeless and family-friendly space. The new layout removed a door, created a feature stove wall, and added more floor-to-ceiling cabinets. New appliances bring modern function and convenience but are paired with vintage pendants and an antique radiator cover—an acknowledgement of the home’s historic character.
New Build
Cori Dyer, Cure Design Group
The floor plan in this custom new build unites open-concept living and luxurious details. The bar, dining room, and kitchen with a hidden wraparound pantry all open onto the living room, where beams delineate the space without compromising the floor’s open concept. The second floor’s primary bedroom and bath conjures a spa-like feel, thanks to separate floating vanities and custom tops, wall-mounted faucets, and a glass-enclosed wet room with a shower and deep soaking tub.
Powder Room
Nistenhaus Design
A new powder room was carved out of this century home’s existing footprint. But space constraints did not deter designers from using bold materials—including patterned marble for the floor and base trim, as well as in the construction of the sink and apron, which evoke the original stone panels seen throughout the home. Custom millwork in dark colors make the walls less porous in tight quarters and create a framing device for botanical wallpaper, giving the illusion of a midnight garden.
Primary Suite
Ashley Obradovits, Karr Bick Kitchen & Bath
Distinctive yet delicate Bowood fabric in the custom canopy and drapery establishes the mood in this primary suite, infusing the space with easygoing elegance and charm. Bathed in a soft peach hue, the walls impart warmth and character. The room’s antique mirror and ceiling light reflect and illuminate other décor in the room, such as the playful papier-mâché art, a gilt dresser, and custom bedding and coordinating bench.
Remodel/Addition
Susan Bower, Bower Leet Design + Nathan Markway, Markway Construction
This contemporary brick addition features a mudroom with built-ins made of particle board, a gallery niche that holds an arrangement of 20th century Italian light fixtures, as well as a primary suite that will allow the owners to age in place. All clothing is hidden behind built-in cabinets and sliding panel doors hide a variety of functions, from laundry to mechanical room. The bedroom looks onto a shade porch with brick-patterned screen walls that filter light and views of neighboring houses.
Specialty Room
Liz Basler, Castle Design + Alspaugh Kitchen and Bath
Bringing together beauty and functionality was essential in this “she shed,” designed to be a multifaceted space that serves as an office, meeting place, and off-the-clock respite. The designers heeded the client’s request for copious color, installing blueberry-hued custom cabinets and pairing them with a vibrant floral, emerald-green Thibaut wallpaper. A pink-and-green tweed banquette, a hot-pink armchair, and patterned tile floors lend even more color, while a pomegranate-colored bamboo chandelier anchors the pink hues in a sea of blues and greens.
Traditional Bath (greater than 150 square feet)
Nistenhaus Design + Sitelines
Adding a bathroom to the primary bedroom was a top priority for this reimagined home, a feat creatively accomplished by converting a redundant parlor on the second level, closing doors to adjacent rooms and hallways, and leaving a large pocket door connected to the primary bedroom. To maintain the feel of a relaxed sitting room, the design called for curated antiques; repurposed furniture instead of built-ins; and wood floors in a two-toned, stained finish applied in a diamond pattern, all of which helped soften the look of traditional finishes. A walk-in shower and vanity area round out a bathroom that brings style to everyday routines.
Traditional Bath (less than 150 square feet)
Janelle Helms, Karr Bick Kitchen & Bath
The homeowners wanted to change the layout of an existing hall bath to add an entry from the primary suite so that the space could serve as both an en suite and a guest bath. The new floor plan accommodates large vanities on either side of the hall door, a separate toilet room, and a spacious shower opposite the vanity wall. Updated finishes are true to the age and style of the home, while gleaming green wall tile, black-and-white patterned floor tile, and floral-and-caramel wallpaper prove it’s possible to use color and pattern even in modestly sized spaces.
Traditional Interior Design
Ashley Obradovits, Karr Bick Kitchen & Bath
This dining room employs traditional design but injects a strong dose of whimsy through its vibrant colors and textures. A stunning crystal-feather-motif chandelier casts a glow over the lacquered china cabinet, painted in a cheerful coral color. The scalloped, mahogany dining table is paired with upholstered chairs in greens and blues. In the window niche, a settee is dressed in a playful pink version of the classic Les Touches pattern. Traditional tassels finish the custom draperies, echoing the detail on the china cabinet and credenza.
Traditional Kitchen
Nistenhaus Design
This stately home’s original kitchen and back rooms felt disconnected from the rest of the house, until several dividing walls were removed to create a more open layout. Warm woods and saturated color help blend the old with the new, as do the handmade wall tiles that reference the home’s existing fireplaces and the refrigerator’s cladding, which was designed as an homage to classic ice-box units. A large island with an integrated butcher block and a mirror-wrapped hood make this a functional, family-friendly kitchen.
Use of Color
Caroline Kerckhoff, Stone Hall Cabinetry
Painted in high-gloss green, the reeded front bar is taller than the back bar in an entertainment area that opens onto both the entry hall and living room, so it’s ideal for either standing or sitting. The cabinets flanking the sink on the back wall are fitted with custom cremone bolts for visual interest, and their metal mesh doors lend visibility and storage. The room’s paneling is painted the same deep green as the bar, giving it an almost jewel-box feel.
Use of Fabric or Wallcovering
Ashley Obradovits, Karr Bick Kitchen & Bath
This children’s room radiates joy at every turn, beginning with the 11-foot ceilings adorned in vibrant, custom drapery, and continuing with a bedwall niche that’s ensconced in energetic orange grasscloth. Look up to discover the delightful Greek key wallpaper: It not only introduces an element of surprise but also envelops the room in sophistication. Don’t miss the ceiling light with its modern flair, or the playful wave design on the custom bookcase showcasing trophies and treasures.
Congratulations to this year’s honorees! See the work of all finalists here. Make sure to check out our tips for submitting projects to prepare for next year’s competition.
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You may also enjoy:
- Photos: St. Louis Magazine’s 2025 Architect & Designer Awards
- House of Lou: Inside the Architect & Designer Awards with designer Caryn Boultinghouse
- Ask Veronica: What are your best tips for submitting projects to the Architect & Designer Awards competition?
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