Alise O'Brien
Karen Kelly went straight from a dorm to a starter apartment in Brentwood Forest with her new husband. By the time they divorced, years later, they were living in a big house crammed with stuff. About to live alone for the first time, Kelly went apartment hunting—and fell in love with an 850-square-foot one-bedroom in Clayton on the Park.
“You can make this work,” promised the community director, Penny Wagner, who lives there herself—and loves clothes and shoes every bit as much as Kelly does.
And so began the Great Purge.
Luckily, Kelly, who’s the general sales manager at KMOX-AM, is a whiz at organizing: “I go to my friends’ houses and wind up cleaning out their refrigerators.” She went up, adding high shelves in her three closets (one of which contains a small washer/dryer). Then she went low, adding a pole to hang her boots. For off-season and formal clothes, she made the inspired purchase of three high-gloss white IKEA armoires. Side by side, with handles changed out for slender bars of Grecian gold, the set’s chic enough for the living room.
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Alise O'Brien
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Alise O'Brien
Kelly’s style, she decided, was Hollywood glam mixed with California cozy. Bit by bit, she created an entire apartment that expresses that mix, and nothing feels crowded. The silvery gray velvet couch rests your eyes, but it’s surrounded by enough pattern and personality that there’s visual interest everywhere you look. A mirror leans against one wall, expanding the space, and light fixtures add sparkle as neutral lamp shades keep the light soft. Windows are huge (and coated for privacy); not once has she pulled down the shades.
The kitchen has ample space for the pots and pans Kelly rarely uses, and between a dining nook that seats four and two barstools at the counter, she can entertain easily. If guests want to throw darts or shoot pool, there’s a game room and bar off the lobby. But Kelly’s favorite place is the rooftop, which has a catering kitchen, a big area for grilling, views of the Arch and Shaw Park, and a “birdbath” pool with a fountain, wading area, and surrounding deck chairs. “On the weekend, that’s my reset place,” she says.
Alise O'Brien
Social life is easy here. The lobby is so lavishly decorated for the holidays, Kelly feels no need to schlep in her own trimmings: “On Christmas morning, there’s Mistletoe & Mimosas, and we go downstairs in our cozies.” Herbie’s catersa happy hour on the roof once a month, and residents (from college kids to Cards players to corporate execs) just threw their eldest neighbor a 98th-birthday party.
“I love this lifestyle,” Kelly bubbles. “I don’t think I’d ever go back to a house. Life here feels like a vacation. There’s such freedom–no mowing the lawn or worrying about a leaky roof. Deliveries show up at your door; Goodwill comes to us for pickups.” In the lobby, she can sip freshly brewed Kaldi’s coffee and read the newspaper. She can hop on one of the community bikes, or grab emergency concessions from a tiny shop or a chilled bottle of wine from a small vending machine. Colleagues come over for offsite meetings in the first-floor conference room.
Kelly’s out too much to have a dog, but she can always find one to pet; they trot happily through the lobby for their walkies in Shaw Park. Adjacent to the free large-capacity washing machines and dryers is a special dog spa room, its deep stainless steel sink complete with a walk-up ramp.
Three years in, Kelly doesn’t miss a single thing she pitched or gave away. “In the house, it was just stuff,” she says. “Here, you can’t display or store everything, so you really get down to what you actually need and want and love.”
Her tips for anyone downsizing? Storage containers, courage, and generosity. “Be honest with yourself. Do you really need clothes from 10 years ago? Own the size you are, own the clothes you love, and give the rest away. Pay it forward.
“You kind of get your life back.”
