The Perfect Balance

Designer Laurie LeBoeuf combined seemingly disparate elements to make this house a work of perfection.

- Stefene Russell

 “You’d better fly in for this one.” That’s what Tom and Brigette McMillin’s real estate agent told them back in 2006, as they were trying to relocate back to St. Louis. They’d suffered through months of weary house-hunting in a tight market, so they held their collective breath. But they were not disappointed: The first occupant of the 1939 Frontenac home, a finish carpenter, had lovingly handmade one-of-a-kind millwork and molding. There were stained glass windows, original crystal and brass doorknobs, and French doors opening onto a covered porch. The house was unique, filled with details almost impossible to reproduce in the 21st century.

Fast-forward a decade, and the McMillins had fallen out of love with the house, partly because early–20th-century architecture sometimes felt like an awkward fit for 21st-century lives. They began to wonder: Should we move? “We looked for a year and a half and couldn’t really find anything,” Brigette says. “We just kept coming back to this house—so we decided to make it our own.” Brigette met Laurie LeBoeuf of Castle Design—who, as it turned out, was the perfect designer for the job. “We walked through the house, and I showed her what pieces were important to us to keep,” Brigette says. “They may not be totally on trend right now, but they have special meaning to us. She kept them and incorporated them into a brand-new design for the house.”