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Photography by Alise O'Brien
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This design project was different. There were no Pinterest boards to click through or magazine clippings to consider, no significant others to help guide the vision. Instead, interior designer April Jensen of ADJ Interiors called on the homeowner’s aesthetic as her inspiration.
“He’s got a great overall fashion sense,” says Jensen of her client, Dr. Lyndon Gross, an orthopedic surgeon in private practice, “and because he’s a bachelor, the look needed to be masculine but also appeal to a woman, should he marry sometime in the future. Would she like the kitchen? Would she like her bathroom? Because he was investing so much of himself into the house, we didn’t want him to have to change anything in five years. This is definitely not a man cave.”
The rapport between designer and client was an important component in the success of the project, which took approximately two years to complete. “We clicked right away, but it was a unique situation in that there was no premise, no direction,” says Jensen. “We began by talking about elements that appealed to him: colors, woods, textures. I wanted to know how he wanted the home to feel, how he would use each room, what colors he liked. Function drove form.”
Early on, the team—which also included Bruce Korn of Higginbotham Custom Homes & Renovation and Gross’ personal assistant, Jen Booher—worked to establish the overall tone. “It may seem counterintuitive to select things in a new build that you’re not ready to use, but a lot of the time the schedule leads you to make decisions,” says Jensen. “We had to know what the house was going to turn into. The builder needs his schedule to continue, whether or not you have your design done. The biggest challenge was always thinking about the big picture.”
To that end, Jensen presented Gross with three main options and laid out storyboards for the furniture, fabrics, and colors in each room. “You could really get a sense of what the house was going to look like,” she says. Establishing the design rules up front helped everyone stay focused.
When there’s too much leeway, Jensen notes, it can be costly to adjust the design. Too many choices would have been problematic for Gross as well. “I’m simple with regard to that,” he says. “I prefer when someone says, ‘Here are three or four choices that I think you would like.’ April made the process very easy.”
In the kitchen, Jensen selected Calacatta marble and custom Shaker-style cabinetry in an urban charcoal shade. “It’s a simple look but with a modern twist,” says the designer, referring to the color. The island is composed of rift-cut white oak, stained in a medium-brown accent color. A five-step liming technique was used to lend the wood depth and aging. “We didn’t want anything to look too new,” says Jensen.
The kitchen island stools are a simple saddle style in aged leather, and the appliances include a Wolf range, Sub-Zero refrigerator, and two freezer drawers hidden behind doors with brass finishes and wire detailing. “Dr. Gross doesn’t cook a lot, nor does he keep a lot of frozen foods, so we didn’t think it was necessary to add a freezer,” says Jensen. The 2-by-3-inch shaped tiles on the backsplash, made of recycled material from Fireclay Tile, are hand-placed in a herringbone pattern. The kitchen’s coved ceilings inspired the shape of the custom hood, which mirrors the arches in the room.
Off the kitchen is a small but functional butler’s pantry. The cabinets are similar to those in the kitchen. “Things look better in multiples, so we repeated a lot of the same elements.” The light fixture in the pantry has neither a fully rustic nor an urban-industrial look. “I didn’t want to go all the way with the trend,” says Jensen, “but crystal never goes out of style—that’s what we were shooting for.” The ceiling is painted in the same shade as that of the kitchen cabinets, this time in a glossy finish to dress up the room.
In the adjoining breakfast room, Gross wanted the option to open the casement windows and allow fresh air into the house. “Dr. Gross was very aware of the exterior being an important part of the interior,” says Jensen. So the team kept the design simple: no window treatments but a playful light fixture above the table.
Having some fun is key to good design, but Jensen aimed for a soft, soothing ambience in the living room to give Gross a place where he can relax after a long day. The monochromatic color scheme features different shades of black and white. In the absence of color, texture was key. The couch, with its modern silhouette and furry textured throw pillows, is upholstered in a washed velvet that will take on a patina over time. It was Jensen’s decision to vary the types of wood. There is a cocktail table with a glass top and carved patterns, and two chests in the alcoves are constructed from reclaimed blond wood. The custom area rug features a geometric pattern, and its wool/nylon blend is environmentally friendly. Although the furniture is new, Gross wanted to incorporate two pieces of artwork that he owned. Again, the window treatments are simple: iron rods, a European pleat, and a small break at the floor. The room’s 11-foot ceiling allowed Jensen to play with the height. She added two wingback-style chairs upholstered in a small tweed fabric.
“You have to like your designer and they you,” says Gross. “Sometimes it’s not so easy to say, ‘That’s not really me’—but you have to. You have to have that trust.” Gross was present at every meeting, sharing his opinions and ideas. “But he was the perfect client in the sense that he allowed me to do my job,” says Jensen. “He trusted the people he hired, which made me more intent on making sure his vision was seen.”
Get the Look: Store-bought finds that inspire a soft, soothing ambience
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Savoy Adria chandelier, $698. Metro Lighting, multiple locations, 314-963-8330, metrolightingcenters.com.
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Alder Pedestal dining table, price available upon request. KDR Designer Showrooms, 11660 Page Service, 314-993-5020, kdrshowrooms.com.
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Kite Kilim rug, $479. West Elm, 1155 Saint Louis Galleria, 314-863-5287, westelm.com.
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Ultra faux fur pillow cover, $39. Restoration Hardware, 1196 St. Louis Galleria, 314-863-7566, rh.com.
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Lee Industries sofa, price available upon request. KDR Designer Showrooms.
Resources
ADJ Interiors
April Jensen, 314-805-5784, adjinteriors.com
Autco Home
314-373-2000, autcohome.com
Carpet Art of America
636-978-8440, carpetartofamerica.com
Centorbi Custom Cabinetry
636-949-5438, centorbi.com
Classic Metal Craft
314-535-2022, classicmetalcraft.com
Crescent Plumbing Supply
314-727-4200, crescentsupply.com
Delaina Katubig
636-233-4951, delainakatubig@att.net
Fireclay Tile
800-773-2226, fireclaytile.com
Higginbotham Custom Homes & Renovation
314-993-0079, homesbyhigginbotham.com
Immerse Plumbing
314-375-1500, immersestl.com
KDR Designer Showrooms
314-993-5020, kdrshowrooms.com
Metro Lighting
Brenda McCalla, 314-963-8330, metrolightingcenters.com
Phillip Jeffries
973-575-5414, phillipjeffries.com
Stone Fabricators
888-451-5902, sfistone.com
