My father was my biggest fan. He loved it that I worked for St. Louis Homes & Lifestyles magazine – a publication that focused on the home. I rushed over with each new issue and he always announced, soon after, that he read it “cover to cover.” My father wholeheartedly believed that you build a life in your home. Saying often, “Invest in your home, it is where your heart should be” – he practiced what he preached.
When my father and mother remodeled their home, with a lower-level rec. room, spectacular sunroom and free-form designed pool, my father would often say, “If we build it, they will come.” And we did. My parents’ home was the gathering place for birthday parties, holiday celebrations and on any given fall or winter Sunday, a place to watch the football game on dad’s big-screen TV – the best being the Super Bowl game and a party to match. (My mother loved to “toss” a party!)
In this issue, we are bringing entertainment ideas to the table, and in this case, a dazzling table for a Super Bowl party at home. With home entertainment options from The Screening Room and mouthwatering cuisine prepared by Chef Ken Hayden from the Veranda Café, you are guaranteed to turn heads with a party that is sure to score points with your friends!
With entertaining in mind, designer Bob Steckenrider of Cosmopolitan Designers, Inc. shares expert design tips for dinner parties overflowing with hospitality. In the home of Rosemary and Michael Wick, all the details are considered for entertaining with style. And in the suburban home of Jodi and Rick Gordon and family, making a house a home has been a labor of love.
We also offer you departments that bring color, organization and pizzazz to your winter days. Let us inspire you with ideas for an eco-friendly heart-of-the-home in our Green Guide, a surprising secret pantry and kitchen gadgets galore.
And to top it off, we are thrilled to bring you our SLHL winning Kitchens of the Year – each unique and all with creative solutions and use of space. Our judges were impressed with the exceptional finished design of these great rooms – design that considers the whole space. Thank you for starting your new year with St. Louis Homes & Lifestyles and letting us help you build a wonderful life in your home. I’m so thankful for the lessons I’ve learned – with family and home at the heart of it all.
