Photography by Alise O’Brien
Twenty-six years ago, when Loraine and Gary Budke moved to their newly constructed home in Town & Country, bordering Queeny Park, their children were small.
“We have four kids, and when we built the house, it was perfect for their ages,” Loraine says. “But as the kids got older, their needs changed. They got bigger, and we needed more space for the grandchildren.”
So the Budkes tore down walls, eliminating the butler’s pantry, the dining room, and a hallway. “It was simple, because when you live here, you know what you want to do after a while,” she says. “We always had a bar in the living room, and we knew we wanted to keep that. It all suits the house really well, because we are isolated back here. I don’t have any drapes. [The remodel] just let so much more light in, and it lets the kids ride their bikes in the house.”
Loraine summoned vice president and designer Melissa Rozell, ASID, and owner Jane Ganz, ASID, of Directions in Design (1849 Craig, 314-205-2010, didstl.com). Among other duties, they tackled the problem of how to make plain, exposed support beams beautiful. Their solution was to design columns in various forms, such as those pictured above with wainscoting at the base. Replications Unlimited of Hazelwood made the most creative one, shaped like a tree.
“The column is in the center of that tree,” Ganz says. “It is very textural, and it looks like a real tree.” Since the photograph at right was taken, Loraine has added a swing made out of an old merlot wine barrel.
“It is a fun house,” Loraine says.
The materials used throughout the home are natural, and more often than not, they evoke the Budkes’ summer home in Elkhart Lake, Wis. The living-room floor, for instance, came from a mill in Appleton, Wis.
“We were very fortunate, because when we called them, they said, ‘All we have is hickory,’” Loraine says. “We said, ‘OK.’ When it arrived, it was beautiful. We didn’t do anything to it but put on a clear coat. It is nice hardwood, and with the dogs and kids, nothing hurts it.”
The bar, which backs up to the kitchen, is fronted and sided in copper with wood trim. The top is made out of cement; the back wall comprises backlit onyx glass with shelving for glassware and a natural-stone surround. The center, which looks like a TV, is actually a photograph Gary took.
Continuing the natural theme, the manzanita branches in the living room were brought in from twigs & MOSS, as was the tree base of the small table in the family room. The two chairs with that table once belonged to Loraine’s grandmother. Loraine also included two eclectic pieces, matching French Provincial tables that she bought at The Merchandise Mart in Chicago. “Those were mine prior to everything,” she says—even before the walls came tumbling down and the outside was welcomed in.
“I’m crazy for my house,” Loraine happily concludes.
