Christine Smith is remodeling with her mother in mind.
“My mom really, really loved this house,” says Smith, who lost her mother 14 years ago and inherited the Kirkwood home she’s fixing up when her father died, in 2018.
“She thought it was something special, and there were things she wanted to do that she never got a chance to,” says Smith, who’s installing hardwood floors, modernizing the master bath, and refreshing the landscaping on the half-acre property. “I’m finding a lot of value in being able to do some of those things. There’s peace in knowing I’m taking care of something they worked so hard for.”
According to the National Association of Realtors, fewer than 5 percent of Americans inherit homes each year, but arrangements in which people purchase property from family members keep homes, and their occupants, connected. Statistics on such deals are hard to come by, but the trend meshes with data from an analysis by The New York Times showing that Americans are moving less often than they have in previous decades and that the typical American lives just 18 miles from Mom.
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Cut from the Same Cloth
“Turkey Tracks” is a 19th-century quiltmaking pattern that has the appearance of little wandering feet. Patterns like the tracks, and their traditions and myths, have been passed down through the generations, from their frontier beginnings to today, where a generation of makers has embraced the material as a means of creating something new. Olivia Jondle is one such designer. Here, she’s taken an early turkey track-pattern quilt, cut it into various shapes, and stitched the pieces together, adding calico and other fabric remnants as needed. The result is a trench coat she calls the Pale Calico Coat. Her designs are for sale at The Rusty Bolt, Jondle’s small-batch fashion company based in St. Louis. —SAMANTHA STEVENSON
Color Block
A background in sculpture trained artist Aly Ytterberg to see objects more fully.
A Modern Story
How a little log cabin went from being a home to a guest house
IN GOOD TIME
With the help of interior designer Robert Idol, a Kirkwood couple creates a home that pays homage to the past, yet feels just right for their modern young family.
Let's Dish
"Food Raconteur” Ashok Nageshwaran wants to tell you a story.
The Right Move
New shops and showrooms bring exciting opportunities for local designers, makers, and arts organizations to sell their wares to home enthusiasts here and everywhere.
Green Dreams
Painter and gardener Lauren Knight branches out.
Cultivating Kokedama
Chris Mower of White Stable Farms discovered the Japanese style of gardening in Italy. Now, he’s bringing it to St. Louis.
Graphic Mood
Letters, icons, and illustrations that speak in a hand-drawn language
AUDRA's New Digs
Audra Noyes, of the Saint Louis Fashion Fund Incubator’s first class, opens an atelier in Ladue.
