Pattern Play

Written by Jessen O’Brien / Photography by Alise O’Brien

When it comes to traditional design, bespoke details can make all the difference in ensuring a home feels not only timeless, but also fresh and functional. This balance between modern comfort and historically inspired elegance lies at the heart of Ken Stuckenschneider’s design philosophy - and it’s why he takes such care in making sure that every inch of space is just right for the homeowners he works within his role as the principal designer of Stuckenschneider Decoration and Design.

“Ken’s very talented and easy to work with,” says one of the homeowners of this St. Louis condominium. Having recently sold a house in Charleston, South Carolina, the couple had decided to turn their second residence in St. Louis into their full-time home. However, there was a problem. “The decor is traditional, which fits the style of the home and the way we use it. But we’d had the condo for 14 years, and that’s how long ago it had been decorated. It was tired looking and needed an update.”

Ken’s task was to enhance the home and pull together the major spaces - from the living and family rooms to the master bedroom and dressing room - in a more complete way. Take the front entry hall, where the simple act of lowering the chandelier quickly transformed the space and helped set the tone for the rest of the home’s design.

“The homeowners had this beautiful Murano glass chandelier in the entry hall. It’s one of my favorite pieces in the home,” says Stuckenschneider. “But it was hung way too high, so you couldn’t see it.”

“Ken has an amazing eye for scale and height,” says the homeowner. “He suggested lowering the chandelier, which I would have never thought to do. It made a huge difference.”

To further brighten the space, Stuckenschneider had an orange bench painted blue and reupholstered in a Fortuny fabric that tied into the chandelier and the block printed wallpaper. “The homeowners’ had this lovely artwork that we moved into the entryway to provide a jolt of color,” says Stuckenschneider. The finishing touches were a rug, which repeats the home’s classic color scheme of red, blue, and gold, and a Fortuny pillow for another pop of color and pattern.

The Koch Brothers painted a faux finish on the mirrored paneling to give it an Old World finish.

“There’s an underlying theme that starts at the front door with the Murano glass chandelier and the damask patterns, which are very typical of Venetian design,” says Stuckenschneider. “I lived in Venice for six months studying Venetian art and architecture. I noticed that the space had a similar light quality to Venetian homes, because the light comes in from each end and not from the sides.”

Stuckenschneider used Venetian techniques to brighten the space. He used a mirror and pattern to make the entryway walls look crisper and lighter. In the windowless dining room, he replicated a series of antiqued mirrored panels hung in the living room and treated the walls with a Venetian waxed plaster, which scatters the light even more. “The more light you get to scatter throughout a space, the happier and more alive it will feel,” says Stuckenschneider.

The formerly red dining room was painted a pale, bird’s egg blue. “It’s so much more inviting,” says the homeowner. “We like to entertain - something we’ve done more of since finishing this project.”

Stuckenschneider removed the draperies that flanked the dining room’s corner built-ins and reupholstered the 18th century Chippendale chairs in a subtle, English linen bird print. To complement the outdoor theme, he gathered the homeowners’ collection of Audubon prints and hung them in the dining room.

In the neighboring living room, Stuckenschneider hung an abstract painting by Phil Slein that contains the colors of the home over the fireplace. He reupholstered a set of chairs in a red and blue garden print to coordinate with a pair of French needlepoint chairs and added red Fortuny throw pillows trimmed in blue to the neutral sofa.

“The home has layers of pattern, upon pattern, upon pattern, which is very Venetian,” says Stuckenschneider. “We rejected hundreds of fabrics for this project. You have to find elements that connect from pattern to pattern. The eye picks up on those connections and, somehow, it all starts to work and flow.”

Another example of the home’s traditional pattern mixing can be found in the wood-paneled family room. The sofa was reupholstered in an elaborate linen print by Geoffrey Bennison and decorated in damask and embroidered pillows. Nearby, an ottoman features the same red-and-blue color scheme, this time with a floral print and flounced skirt.

The family room’s indigo-and-tan striped carpeting picks up the colors of the original Tom Huck woodblock hung above the side table.

These patterns play off the homeowner’s collection of Chinese and Armorial plates, which Stuckenschneider grouped above the sofa. “We’ve been collecting for the last 25 years. We love Majolica plates, Wedgewood porcelain, and Chinese export,” says the homeowner. “Ken incorporated a lot of the pieces we had into his design.”

He also added new items made specifically for the home, like the green, tufted ottoman that serves as the seating area’s coffee table, “We spend most of our time in the family room, and our favorite piece of furniture is the ottoman Ken designed,” says the homeowner. “It’s very unusual; I’ve never seen anything like it.”

In the master bedroom, Stuckenschneider centered the design around an existing custom piece, one with great sentimental value: two needlepoint panels made by the homeowner’s mother and sewn into the headboard.

Pieces from the homeowners’ collection of Majolica and Chinese porcelain are displayed in the dining room’s corner cabinets.

“We found prints and fabrics that worked with the needlepoint panels and lifted up the room: a pretty garden linen for the draperies edged in blue; framed, 19th century hand block printed French wallpaper fragments which brought that blue to either side of the bed; and an English Axminster carpet, which connects the bedroom to the dressing room,” says Stuckenschneider.

“Ken found wonderful fabrics for us, like the drapes in our bedroom,” says the homeowner. “I have worked with a number of designers. No one else has had his selection of wonderful and unique materials: John Rosselli, Loro Piana, Fortuny. When you hire Ken, you have access to the best.”

Stuckenschneider hung curtains trimmed with blue ribbon to close off the closet, softening the transition from the bedroom and master bathroom which lie on either end of the dressing room. The choice was inspired by the women’s locker room at Kiawah Island Golf Resort in Charleston - bringing a piece of the homeowner’s former primary city into their new full-time home.