Inside the 2021 Most Beautiful Homes issue

In dedicating this year’s Most Beautiful Homes feature to city houses, I want to draw attention to the artistry and innovation of our shared history, as well as to the homeowners whose commitment to St. Louis is the foundation on which we build a better tomorrow.

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When my husband and I moved back to St. Louis, 15 years ago, we had no doubt about where we wanted to live. Though neither of us had grown up in the city, we hoped to start the next phase of our lives there. As was the case for so many suburb-raised St. Louis–area kids, the architecture of the city’s historic neighborhoods made a lasting impression. 

Our first house, a white-brick home with a columned porch, was on Washington Place, a street on the precipice of a renaissance when we moved in, in 2005. We loved that house for everything that our New York City apartment was not: old, spacious, full of character. When we decided to move, 10 years later, we vowed not to go far. Our next house—like the first one, a bit of a fixer-upper—was just one block away. 

But beautiful homes shouldn’t distract from challenges that are real and in need of our attention—to start, the notorious Delmar Divide (two blocks from our house), racial division, housing inequities, and declining population. 

In dedicating this year’s Most Beautiful Homes feature to city houses, I want to draw attention to the artistry and innovation of our shared history, as well as to the homeowners whose commitment to St. Louis is the foundation on which we build a better tomorrow. The portfolio, which begins on page 50, draws from nine neighborhoods in a range of ZIP codes. 

Also in this issue, senior editor Nicholas Phillips interviews Jim and Mary Dierberg on page 36 about their 50-year investment in Hermann. They discuss their plans for the area, which include the recent hiring of Cat Neville, a passionate thinker, organizer, and foodie with her own Emmy-nominated television series. With her mandate to make Hermann more attractive to tourists, I can’t wait to see what Neville has in mind for it. 

Our cover story, on page 42, took us west to Kristi and Trevor Pinkham’s home. It was a delight to spend time with the Pinkhams and their three children this summer. I like Kristi’s creative spirit, her talent for mixing high and low, vintage and new. Her playful yet elegant ways are evident in everything she does, from her work as a stylist to the decoration of her home and her role as mom to Dixie, Bode, and Milo. She’s an inspiration for keeping life light and fun.