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Photo by Alise O'Brien
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How do you make a house into a home, in less than six weeks, for a couple whose work keeps them on the road most of the year?
“I put my other clients on hold. I didn’t take on any more staging projects and dedicated 24/7 to making this happen. It was off the hook!” says interior designer Sandra Long, recalling the time three years ago when she first met her clients to discuss the scope of the project.
“With so little time off,” says Long, “if they could just have their home ready for the holidays. That’s what I kept hearing, and we did it.”
Joe Buck and Michelle Beisner had recently purchased a rambling two-story house in the heart of Ladue. They were planning their wedding, the World Series had just started, and football season was underway. Between her field reporting duties for the NFL Network—she is currently a features reporter for Sunday NFL Countdown and a host of NFL Live on ESPN—and Buck’s play-by-play broadcasting role at FOX, the couple was longing to spend Thanksgiving at home.
“When people walk into the house, I want them to feel like they can actually sit down and not just look at the furniture,” she says. “I didn’t want a show house.”
Before beginning the design process, Long had just two in-person meetings with Beisner (now Beisner-Buck), during which she discussed her preferences for a casual-yet-elegant shabby chic aesthetic.
“I knew what I wanted, but at the same time I had no idea what I was really doing,” says Beisner-Buck, who was moving from Los Angeles to St. Louis. “This was the biggest house project I’d tackled. In L.A., I was living in an apartment. I didn’t care about creating a livable space because I was always on the road.”
But, at home in St. Louis, she wanted the house to feel open, comfortable, and relaxing, nothing too formal.
“When people walk into the house, I want them to feel like they can actually sit down and not just look at the furniture,” she says. “I didn’t want a show house.”
Long says she listened to what the homeowners shared with her and then let the house talk to her, “show me what it’s all about—what its capabilities are,” she says. “I also took what I knew about them, that they’re well-traveled, that the family has impeccable, exquisite taste.”
Long decided that the term “Euro chic” would guide the décor and “hit the ground running.”
“It took 10 days to scout about 30 stores,” she says. Because the house needed all-new furnishings in a short amount of time, Long shopped locally for most of the pieces. Too much custom work would require a longer lead time.
“We have very good vendors in St. Louis,” says the designer, “and they make great partners. They’re willing to step up and help.”
At Emporium St. Louis, Long found pretty painted pieces for various rooms, including a trestle table and three rush-seated chairs for the kitchen. Sally Scott, Emporium’s owner, offered to have a chest painted gray and delivered to Long by the next day. Long says, “I told her three days would be fine, that it was OK to let the paint dry! They get major kudos.”
When Long walked into Kaim-Kisner Showroom and ordered five custom area rugs, owner Larry Kisner asked, “How many weeks do I have?” “Larry knows me from previous projects,” she says. “He was so accommodating, just the perfect guy to go to.”
Photo by Alise O'Brien
In addition to the conveniences of shopping locally, Long liked the flexibility of being able to borrow pieces to see how they looked in the house. “There aren’t a lot of people who will let a $4,000 mirror go out on loan,” she says, referring to her experience shopping at Maplewood Galleries, “but these people are phenomenal.”
Between shopping expeditions and sessions spent editing her selections, Long stayed in constant touch with her client, who was on the road for football season, by way of email and text.
“She’d send me a picture of a light fixture; I’d either love it or it was back to the drawing board,” says Beisner-Buck. On days when both women were in St. Louis, the two met for what they call
“power sessions.”
“We were trying to get as much done as possible,” says Beisner-Buck. “We would go through plans for each room with a fine-tooth comb.”
For some of those rooms, just a few key pieces—most notably the white sofa in the living room—needed to be sourced out of town. “That was the missing piece,” says Long. “I knew I wanted white; I knew I wanted it to be distinctive; and it was important that it span the length of the room’s window. If it had nail-head detailing—even better!” When she found it, Long sent movers to Chicago’s Merchandise Mart to pick it up for her.
“When you’re finding things, not having them created for you, I had to ask myself: ‘How rustic do I want to go? Where does the sophistication come in?’ It was all about finding the right balance,” Long says.
By all accounts, she found the perfect balance.
Up until about an hour before the couple arrived home for the Thanksgiving holiday, Long and her team were installing furniture, placing light fixtures, and making sure every pillow and picture was in its place. The TVs in the house—there is one in every bedroom, in the master bathroom, in the study, and in Beisner-Buck’s closet—were up and running. “It’s a very important component,” says Long. “For them, television isn’t just entertainment. It’s their work, and they’re very good at what they do.”
One of Long’s proudest moments, she says, is the phone call she received from the couple telling her that they loved the design of the house.
“Have you walked through every room?” she remembers asking them.
“Sandy had a great vision,” says Beisner-Buck. “I want to spend money on the things that matter—a comfortable sofa, a comfortable bed. I don’t like to throw money around for the sake of throwing money around. You have to be able to have a mix of expensive pieces with not-so-expensive pieces. She did it brilliantly.”
When the couple is at home in St. Louis, they love to swim; spend time in the yard playing catch with their dog, Finley; or hang out in the outdoor living room, where they grill, entertain, and watch TV.
“It’s a completely functional outdoor space,” says Beisner-Buck. “Our outdoor area serves its purpose and then some.”
Often, while she cooks—it is a favorite pastime—the couple will listen to music on a vintage record player that Long tracked down for them in Waterloo, Illinois.
“We’re on the road so much,” says Beisner-Buck, “that being home is the best vacation.”
