Photography by Carmen Troesser
The small but striking Midcentury Modern home of architect Susan Bower, principal of Bower Leet Design, and her husband, architect and Washington University professor Stephen Leet, was built in 1955. It was designed by architect Nolan Stinson as his own family residence. Bower and Leet purchased the house in 1996 from Stinson himself, updating such key areas as the bathrooms and kitchen while preserving the home’s unique original details, including rich wood paneling and ceiling beams.
Stinson, who worked for prominent St. Louis architect Frederick Dunn, was inspired by the easy living enabled by Frank Lloyd Wright’s Usonian homes. This house, which sits at an angle on a wooded lot, includes walls of plate glass windows designed to bring the outdoors in. “When we saw it,” Bower says, “we knew it was the one.”
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Photography by Carmen Troesser
A favorite piece is the low square wood-and-glass coffee table by Patricia Urquiola, a Spanish designer. A long porch bench that belonged to a great-grandfather of Bower’s is made of one huge slab of poplar. Leet created the modern artwork that hangs above the bench in lacquer with a hand-rubbed finish.
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Photography by Carmen Troesser
The master bedroom/studio is a large open space that was originally two separate rooms. A bed by German designer Konstantin Grcic “floats” in the middle of the room above an engineered cork floor.
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Photography by Carmen Troesser
On the studio side of the bedroom, mismatched chairs from different eras surround a glass table by Alberto Meda. “They have a dialogue,” says Bower. The chairs include a model PL19 armchair by Franco Albini in red velvet and a pair of wooden chairs, fashioned by a group of Leet’s students modeled on a design by artist Donald Judd. The couple’s design library fills an IKEA shelving unit. In the center hangs an antique American painting that belonged to Bower’s late sister. A yellow hanging light by Paolo Rizzatto adds a pop of bold color.
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This Toio by Flos floor lamp, designed by Achille Castiglioni, was featured in an exhibit on lighting design curated by Bower in New York. The base is a transformer attached to part of a fishing pole and topped with a car headlight.
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Photo by Carmen Troesser
With floor-to-ceiling windows taking center stage in the living room, Bower and Leet turned to a mix of designer and functional pieces to keep the look modern and minimalist. “We tried to not be historically perfect,” says Bower. “We didn’t want to do all Midcentury furniture, because we live in a different time.”
The dining table is by German furniture maker e15. A mix of complementary chairs includes an aluminum pair from the Frame collection by Alberto Meda, a white 646 Leggera by Gio Ponti from Cassina, and an ash Piuma chair by Livoni. The hanging fixture is by Italian designers Paolo Rizzatto and Alberto Meda.
Another piece of artwork by Leet in metallic paint with metal edging follows the lines of the credenza. The sleek slab doors of the credenza, a 1960s piece by German designer Dieter Waeckerlin, hide small drawers for storage.
