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Photo by Alise O'Brien
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Photo by Alise O'Brien
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Photo by Alise O'Brien
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Photo by Alise O'Brien
Among their friends, Jay Perez and Bill Donius are known for two things: art and parties. When the couple downsized from a large Ladue home to a condo in the Central West End, they didn’t want to lose sight of either—their collection of contemporary art, or their reputation for throwing spectacular bashes.
The couple worked with interior designer David Deatherage to incorporate their art into the 2,700-square-foot apartment that occupies half of the second floor of a 1907 building on Waterman Boulevard. “We were attracted to the big common rooms, and the home’s age called for a classical look,” Perez says. Instead of repeating the stark modernism of their former residence, the couple gravitated toward layers of soft fabrics and more natural touches.
The large foyer’s floor is covered with a zebra skin rug and opens onto the dining room, where the colors are warm and inviting. Grasscloth wallpaper glimmers with a slight metallic sheen. An abstract painting by St. Louis artist Arthur Osver hangs on one wall; a Frank Stella lithograph adorns the opposite wall, above a blue lacquered buffet.
“Instead of taking the approach where the furniture is neutral and minimal to highlight the art,” Deatherage says, “I pulled inspiration from the art itself and used those colors throughout the home.”
He sourced furniture and accessories from dealers in Denver, Los Angeles, Chicago, and St. Louis, as well as the website 1stdibs.com. A set of Midcentury Milo Baughman dining chairs has been reupholstered in yellow velvet and the dining room windows are framed with yellow satin drapes to tie them to the surrounding art.
“I like fabrics that interact with each other,” Deatherage says of the textiles. “Dense velvets, silk, animal hides, supple leather—the textiles in the space are sensual to the touch and contrast to metal frames and polished woods.”
Photo by Alise O'Brien
Past the dining room is a large living room that is broken into east and west sections. To the east, four cushy Cassina chairs from Centro Modern Furnishings have been updated with blue-and-ivory woven Pierre Frey fabric and custom pillows. They encircle a coffee table set atop a gray Brazilian cowhide. To the west, custom bookcases line the walls, illuminated with warm LED lighting to show off a collection of photography and Andy Warhol prints. This is the heart of the home, where couches, a daybed, and French-inspired Oly Studio chairs upholstered in goathide invite friends to sit and stay awhile. (Perez estimates that throughout the apartment, 40 people can be seated at the same time.) “They’ll either sit on the lounge or the velvet blue sofa that’s padded all over,” Perez says. (The sofa’s silvery-blue–and–yellow Hermès pillows are some of his favorite pops of color in the apartment.) “You have people sitting on the armrest, chatting with someone else.”
When it’s time for a cocktail refresh, guests walk over to the butler’s pantry, which doubles as a bar during parties. “It’s a small room, but I wanted to make that space really special, because it’s one they walk through constantly,” Deatherage says. “It’s an entryway, a passageway, and a bar when people are over.” Deatherage removed the wood flooring and replaced it with marble inlaid with a Greek key motif he saw on the building’s original elevator.
“I don’t feel like I’ll see these details anywhere else,” Perez says. “We have Midcentury pieces, contemporary art, this personalized Greek key design, and even new items. I like that we were able to merge all those styles and still make our home look timeless.”
