With the Old World charm imparted by painted brick and shutters, the French-inspired Town & Country home of interior designer Laurie LeBoeuf would fit nicely in the Central West End or University City—which is precisely the point. Though the house is a new build, completed in April 2021, LeBoeuf and her husband, John LeBoeuf, took inspiration from historic homes they admired.
“We love the Central West End and the architecture there, and for the longest time we were looking for an old home to rehab,” LeBoeuf recalls. “We just weren’t finding the right house.”
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Though building wasn’t in their plans, that changed when the couple found the perfect site. LeBoeuf was cruising through Town & Country with her daughter, Charlotte, now 7—who at the time would only nap in the car—when she spotted a small ranch on a corner lot for sale. The fact that both LeBoeuf’s mother and brother live nearby was a plus.
“I kept driving by and thinking, It’s such a great yard,” she says, “so that’s how it started. We decided to go a different route and build.”
The LeBoeufs purchased the lot three years ago and took their time with the design, engaging local builder Jeffrey Bernstein of Jeffrey Homes, and architect Robert Srote of Srote & Company, with whom LeBoeuf had collaborated on client projects for Castle Design, where she works. Both she and John were involved in the process, from the layout of the exterior elevation to the choice of interior details.
“We luckily have similar styles and like the same things,” says LeBoeuf. “The goal was to make the exterior look like an older home.”
Another must-have: an open floor plan—but not so cavernous that the home’s character and charm would be lost.
“It was important to still have some definition. I wanted those private, separate rooms,” she says. The house is formal in many ways, with its traditional millwork and beautiful lighting throughout. A fan of symmetry, LeBoeuf was also focused on creating balance.
The couple broke ground in early 2020, just before the first cases of Covid were reported in the U.S. With the unavoidable delays posed by the pandemic, the building process took just over a year. But the delay had a silver lining: It gave the LeBoeufs and the builders time to lavish attention to detail on the house.
Custom arched double front doors by St. Louis Sash give way to a stunning checkerboard foyer floor in polished gray stone and Italian Calacatta Extra porcelain tiles. The arches are repeated in the doorway to the living room and again above a pair of French doors connecting the living room with the back yard.
“I wanted a beautiful line of sight from the entry to the back,” says the designer.
Recessed squares trimmed into the crown molding were designed to accommodate three gold-tone Thayer lantern fixtures from Generation Lighting. A walnut breakfront cabinet with brass locks by Modern History Furniture warms the front entry’s white-and-gray scheme.
Above the cabinet hangs a colorful Hermès scarf, designed by Alice Shirley, from LeBoeuf’s personal collection. The scarf, printed with feathers and a butterfly wing, floats in a double-panel acrylic frame from Wexel Art.
“My grandmother passed away—she and I were very close, and she had a thing for butterflies,” LeBoeuf explains. “After she passed, I started seeing butterflies constantly, so when I saw this abstract wing, I just knew I had to have it and feature it somewhere I’d see it every day.”
An Hermès Etriers Remix scarf, designed by Françoise de La Perriere in shades of denim and turquoise, hangs behind LeBoeuf’s desk in the study off the foyer. LeBoeuf picked it out on a trip to Paris while the new home was being built. The framed piece pops against Benjamin Moore’s Polo Blue paint, which she selected for the study. The wall trim, custom built-ins, and ceiling are also painted in the deep shade of navy, carried inside from the exterior shutters.
The moody atmosphere of the study is balanced by the lighter décor of the dining room. The walls are clad in Lewis & Wood’s Beech wallpaper, designed by Alexander Hamilton, in a soft blue colorway. Visual Comfort’s Cadence waterfall chandelier, in antique brass with antique mirrored glass panels, makes a statement above the dining table, a family heirloom.
Interior designer Laurie LeBoeuf on the five most important things she learned from building her own house:
1. BE PATIENT.
“The process is worth it, but it can be long and slow. It’s important to be present during the building process and to check in on all of the trades as the home is coming together. Plan to spend a lot of time at the house once it’s framed and construction starts moving along.”
2. KEEP TALKING.
“Maintaining a dialogue among all parties involved is key to a successful outcome. I always remind my clients that there is a solution to everything. Hiccups will happen, and it was an important reminder going through my own custom build.”
3. HIRE THE RIGHT TEAM.
“You will be working closely with your builder/architect/designer, and all of the trades, throughout the process. Your overall building experience can largely be determined by your relationship with them. Make sure that the team is best suited for your design style and needs. Do your research.”
4. TRUST YOUR VISION AND INSTINCTS.
“Luckily, my husband and I are very much on the same page with the design style we wanted. It’s important to develop a plan and design that encompasses everyone’s style, needs, and wants. Throughout the building process, I made sure to keep in touch with the original design intent to ensure that we were still moving in the right direction.”
5. USE LOCAL RESOURCES.
“Going through the design process for our own personal project helped me grow in my own knowledge of building, materials, the process, and vendors available to us in St. Louis. We are blessed to have some really wonderful artisans in town, and utilizing those resources and homing in on those relationships was key to getting a great end result.”
An antique china cabinet, purchased from The Resplendent Crow and lacquered in Benjamin Moore’s Chantilly Lace, serves as the focal point of the room. A pair of chests by Modern History in French walnut with olive ash burl veneer and solid brass accents flank the doorway, providing contrast and the symmetry LeBoeuf favors.
“This room was fun to design and important to me,” she says. “I know a lot of people don’t really do formal dining rooms anymore, but I’ve always loved them from my childhood, when I used to help my mom clean the crystals in the chandelier.”
The large open kitchen/living room space, at the back of the main floor, is the heart of the home. It feels fresh and contemporary in bright white offset by black window and door frames and complemented by such traditional details as custom millwork, built-in shelves, and cozy window seats.
The kitchen features traditional inset cabinetry by Beck Allen. Perimeter countertops and a backsplash of Brazilian Carrara marble add classic sophistication; the large island is topped in a granite slab, Elegant Gray, from Global Granite. “I’m a sucker for natural stone, and I love layering textures and patterns,” says LeBoeuf.
In the living room, LeBoeuf designed the mantel in the same Brazilian Carrara marble, working with Stone Fabricators to create the one-of-a-kind piece by layering various edge profiles to get exactly the look she wanted. An oversized abstract mixed-media canvas in soft blues by Carol Benson-Cobb hangs above the mantel.
“I love to incorporate strong art, mixing modern art into a traditional interior,” says LeBoeuf.
She also designed a modern square cocktail table in a high-gloss light-gray lacquered finish. A portion of the top is slightly raised for styling coffee table books, trinkets, and other meaningful objects. Traditional soft seating balances the table’s clean modern lines.
The second-floor main bedroom suite is another dramatic space loaded with custom details, many inspired by a boutique hotel the couple stayed in on their Paris trip. LeBoeuf chose Sherwin Williams’ Upward—a pale blue that, she says, “feels optimistic”—for the bedroom’s walls and trim. Flanking the bed’s tufted headboard are two oversized chinoiserie prints embellished by local artist Susan Greene of Paint Imagery.
“I wanted to go bolder and more unique in here,” LeBoeuf says. “This was another fun space [in which] to layer the textures.”
Whereas the light fixtures and hardware on the main level are all gold, LeBoeuf switched to polished nickel for a subtler look on the second floor. The primary bath includes a custom double vanity, designed by LeBoeuf and created by Beck Allen, topped in polished Carrara marble. Large inset mirrors above the two sinks are framed in custom molding and accented with polished nickel wall sconces with fluted stems from Hudson Valley. LeBoeuf fell in love with an elegant freestanding bathtub by Kallista, and it now sits under a row of three small windows. Framed photos from the couple’s Paris trip are a nod to the room’s inspiration.
All of the bathroom’s tile—walls, floors, shower enclosure—is Firenze Carrara marble, carefully installed by LeBoeuf’s expert tile setter, Piero Zito. The shower walls feature marble wainscoting, designed by LeBoeuf and executed by Stone Fabricators to mimic the applied molding at the vanity mirrors.
“I knew I wanted natural stone—all marble,” says LeBoeuf.
Having worked through countless designs with her clients, LeBoeuf says managing her own expectations was a big part of working on her own home.
“I think there are a lot of benefits—obviously, having the experience and knowledge and knowing what to expect and look for,” she says. “Being on the receiving end of what my clients go through has helped me understand [what it feels like] when things don’t run smoothly. What I tell them is that there’s always a solution.”
Throughout the process of building and designing her own home, LeBoeuf was quick to remind herself of just that when her project hit its own small snags.
