Designed by Annie Brahler, founder and principal of Euro Trash, Inc, this 1920s home evokes a centuries-old manor nestled within the French countryside. Annie’s clients and dear friends, Melissa and Colin Smith, had been searching for the perfect place to raise their young family for nearly four years. They had always loved the beautiful Picardy neighborhood; one of the most charming in all of Ladue, Missouri, with old stone bridges, deep front yards and huge mature trees.

When this estate was rumored to be coming on the market, Melissa and Colin knew they had to make a decision quickly, as these addresses sell almost immediately. The property was exactly the dream, but the house in its immediate state, was a different story. It was hard for them to visualize it as something that was capable of becoming their family dream home. They asked Annie to tour the house with them for her opinion on whether to move forward with the purchase. After seeing the property, Annie’s answer was an absolutely breathless, “YES!”

Photography, unless otherwise noted, is by Shannon Duggan.

The house was built in 1926 and set far back from the road with a front yard boasting a beautiful park-like atmosphere. Annie and her team began by removing the dead trees and overgrowth from the property that was hiding the beautiful stone porch, and a charming swing was hung from one of the huge shade trees. They designed a 16 foot tall rose trellis on the front of the house along with flower boxes under every window that could possibly accommodate them. A storm door hiding the original Dutch front door with sweet leaded glass window was removed and was given a fresh coat of beautiful blue paint. Striped awnings and drapery panels were added above the front door and porte cochere, and electric lighting was replaced by beautiful gas lanterns.

The vision for the project was a relaxed and happy aesthetic that honored the historic architecture of the house and celebrated its inherent charm. “The Midwest can, oftentimes, be a place where homeowners tend to downplay special architectural features and have a propensity to blend in with their neighbors,” said Annie. “We wanted nothing to do with any of that. We went for all the charm and indulged in all the chintz, velvet and crystal we possibly could.”

Annie was given free reign in the design and execution of the project. “Melissa and Colin trusted me throughout the process, even when they came home to a dining room painted what is possibly the brightest blue I’ve ever seen and definitely the brightest I’ve ever used,” Annie said.

The dining room paint is Benjamin Moore Surf City in Flat. The huge dining room table, side board and secretary (put to work as a bar) are French antiques from French by Design antiques based in Kansas City. The dining chairs are vintage Maison Jensen upholstered in Schumacher Blush velvet.  The dining room crystal chandeliers are from Renouveau Antiques in Round Top, Texas

The house had suffered from long deferred maintenance and was covered inside and out in a sad beige. Beyond those things that are somewhat easy fixes, there were other problems that the team chose to see as opportunities. The living room fireplace, that had originally been a grand scale firebox, had been filled in with firebrick creating a very small firebox that was topped with a single rough hewn beam in place of what had been an ornate fireplace surround when originally built.

“In the living room, one of the very first things we did was to take the firebox back to its original glorious scale,” said Annie. “Thankfully, it was all there waiting for us under the added brick. We dressed it in a gorgeous antique carved stone fireplace surround and added a large crystal chandelier in the center of the room.”

Living room paint is Benjamin Moore Snowbound, flat on walls and ceiling, satin on trim. The fireplace surround is antique carved stone from Show Pony antiques in West Palm Beach, FL. The pair of blue tufted sofas trimmed on bullion fringe are Jonathan Adler. The antique crystal chandelier is Italian from Janet Wiebe out of Italy.Vintage chintz chairs are from Forsyth Art in St. Louis and MPolk. The McGuire game table and bamboo chairs are from Brittany’s Bamboo Barn in Ft. Myers, Florida. And the Milo Baugham pink velvet sofa, upholstered in blush velvet, is from Modern Love in Chicago.

The Smiths love to entertain family and friends, and Colin is a gifted musician. The team created several conversation areas in the room by placing two sofas back to back with a skirted console in between them. Two pairs of chairs complete those separate areas. A third sofa runs alongside the fireplace wall that creates another more intimate grouping. On the other side of the fireplace, a white baby grand piano was installed and Colin’s guitars were hung on the wall in easy reach. Another family passion in the Smith family is jigsaw puzzles. Annie dedicated a table and chairs for puzzling and installed a hidden pin light at the back of the ceiling beam to illuminate the game table top.

A beautiful collection of antique silhouettes grace the foyer. To learn more about The Glam Pad’s passion for decorating with silhouettes, click here.

And a glimpse from the children’s rooms…

We adore this home so much and couldn’t help but envision Sofia Coppola’s production of Marie Antoinette! Truly a home fit for a queen!

To learn more about Annie Brahler, please visit eurotrash.us and follow @eurotrashannie on Instagram for ongoing inspiration. And stay tuned, because we will be featuring more of Annie’s work! We simply cannot get enough of her European-inspired interiors!