Photography by Alise O'Brien
In Ladue, a charming two-story Tudor Revival building on Clayton Road, just east of Price Road, has long held a special place in the collective heart of the surrounding community. The new home of custom cabinet maker Stone Hall Cabinetry, it was built in 1928 as Meyer’s Market, later known as Ladue Market. A small grocery and wine shop, it served for decades as a neighborhood landmark, operated by four generations of the Meyers family until its closing in 2020.
When designer and owner of Stone Hall Rebekah Moore Murphy first entered the building, she knew it was the perfect place to create a showroom in which to work and inspire her clients.
"It’s like meeting the man you want to marry and he’s perfect," she says.
In 2021, Murphy began a renovation of the former market, working closely with general contractor Period Restoration to bring to life her vision. The space, she says, would “feel anything but retail.”
The first step? Bring back lots of natural light and a feeling of openness into the dark and cramped building. An exterior overhang that blocked the front windows was also removed, allowing sunlight to flood the interiors. A dropped tile ceiling was torn out to reveal the original 14-foot ceiling. Starting with a blank slate, Murphy designed the showroom like a beautiful home—a place for her clients to relax as they moved through their own renovation projects.
“I took everything I knew from being in residential design for so long, and my European travels, and used it to create a space that when you walk in it feels like it’s hugging you,” she says.
Rather than install multiple displays around the showroom, Murphy elected to go with quality over quantity, designing only a few fully realized “rooms” to demonstrate the best of the company’s high-end products, particularly the high-gloss lacquer and inlaid brass cabinetry, for which the company is known. The building also serves as a place to entertain clients. Through the showroom’s side door, guests encounter a beautifully appointed and fully functional bar.
Other areas of the redesigned space include a cozy living room with fireplace and surrounding built-in cabinetry; a dining area with built-in banquets; two very different yet equally beautiful kitchens; and separate men's and women's powder rooms that illustrate the range of the firm's design work, from traditional and whimsical to sleek and modern.
