Photo by Alise O'Brien
From the curb, Suzanne Miller Farrell’s charming three-story home in the Central West End stands out among its neighbors with its pale brick and French-inspired façade. It’s a distinct departure from the traditional redbrick houses on the block, but in 1898, when it was built, it was a mirror image of the more typical St. Louis house next door.
The home’s exterior facelift and interior renovation were the vision of its most famous former resident, Grace Ashley, a prominent St. Louis fashion designer and dress manufacturer in the 1930s. Ashley gained notoriety for her design of the “Grace Ashley Jewelstud Frock,” a stylish shirtdress offered in a variety of fabrics with signature interchangeable jeweled stud buttons.
Though Ashley moved out of the house in 1989, her ahead-of-its-time design sensibility remains in the gorgeous millwork she had installed throughout the home, as well as in the layout of its second floor, where she merged two bedrooms to create a spacious master suite, an uncommon feature for that era. For the exterior, Ashley even consulted a former curator of the Saint Louis Art Museum on the design, which included the addition of French doors and expansion of the front porch. The renovated house was featured in the September 1945 issue of House & Garden magazine. Farrell has a copy, left in the house by previous owners along with an album of photos of Ashley and the home.
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Photo by Alise O'Brien
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Photo by Alise O'Brien
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“She really reinvented the house,” Farrell says.
Farrell—a writer who’s penned a forthcoming children’s book featuring the Central West End—and her husband, Paraig, who works for Wells Fargo, purchased the home a decade ago. The couple was living in Dublin, in Paraig’s native Ireland, at the time, but planning to return to Farrell’s hometown of St. Louis to start their family.
“We knew we wanted to come back from Europe. It was nice to see the city through fresh eyes after being away,” Farrell says. “Paraig was impressed with the architecture.”
Vacationing in France when the house came on the market, Farrell recruited her mother and sister to scout it: “They said, ‘I think you need to take a look at this,’ so I flew in for 24 hours to look at the house and went back and talked to Paraig.”
The Farrells found the house, well maintained and neutrally decorated, a perfect clean slate for the next chapter of their lives. Now, they are happily raising their two children—7-year-old daughter Margot and 6-year-old son Rory—in the comfortably stylish home.
With high ceilings, large windows, and white-painted millwork, the house feels fresh and airy.
“I am a Francophile, but I like to mix it up with things we’ve bought on our travels,” Farrell says. “I don’t like just ‘accessories,’ so most things have a story behind them.”
In the formal living room/dining room, pale-blue walls and light upholstery are offset with pops of bright green (a nod to the family’s Irish heritage) in accessories, artwork, and a modern Parsons table purchased secondhand. A black-and-white table lamp and zebra-patterned rug add a touch of contemporary flair and tie in to the adjacent foyer and staircase, where black-and-white family photos taken by Farrell are displayed gallery-style.
At one time, the house had five working fireplaces. Farrell’s favorite is in the master suite. “I cozy up there in winter,” she says. The large street-facing bedroom carries over the soft blues of the living room and beloved wooden furnishings, including a pair of matching wardrobes brought over from Ireland and an antique chest that was part of Farrell’s great-grandfather’s bedroom set.
Farrell works out of the bright and open study on the third floor, just down the hallway from the kids’ playroom. Decorated in shades of blue with pops of bright orange, it boasts two cozy window seats and a daybed for guest space.
“Working from home, you’re really in it. We use every aspect of the house,” says Farrell. “We have a lot of visitors, so we have plenty of room.”
The outdoor space is as splendid as the home’s interior, with a serene and private backyard patio, expansive shade garden, and small circular splash pool that’s perfect for hot summer afternoons. Ashley left her design mark here as well, in the lovely brickwork of the fence and patio. Though just steps away from the action of Maryland Plaza, it feels like a quiet, green oasis.
