Weekends inWeston

Above and le : The kitchen is a functional powerhouse—and beautiful, too, with open shelves for displaying her collections. The marble countertops and backsplash are from RockTops. “When you get a pot filler, you’ve made it,” Jo Marie says with a laugh.

Far le : Jo Marie makes use of every inch of tall, open cabinets. While they are showy, each item gets regular use. A wood table adds extra prep space and fits in with farmhouse charm.

Words by Andrea Darr | Photos by Brynn Burns

ITis well-known that running a restaurant is a stressful career choice. Jo Marie Scaglia runs three: two locations of The Mixx, and Caffetteria at The Shops of Prairie Village.

While her primary residence is in KC near her work, on weekends, she and her daughter, Star, make the 45-minute drive up to Weston, where Jo Marie renovated a century-old farmhouse with as much ease as she makes a salad.

Both chefing and designing are natural extensions of her love for entertaining and the good life. In fact, she launched a third brand to merge the two passions—Midwest Maven.

“For me, creating food and spaces are whole processes of being surrounded by wonderful things—and the moment something is created, I can share it with others,” she says.

The same is true of her private getaway, although itʼs more of a respite for her to recharge.

“I never relax, but here I can,” Jo Marie says.

She knocked out every wall in the four-room footprint to modernize the house while salvaging its essence.

“I was originally just going to raise the kitchen ceiling, but if Iʼm doing one, I might as well do them all,” she shrugs, adding, “When I get an idea in my head and see a carrot, thereʼs no stopping me.”

She also ripped out all the old wiring, plumbing, systems and floors so that itʼs essentially a new house. The newly reorganized floor plan includes luxury lifestyle elements like a mudroom/laundry room and a large screened-in porch across the back of the house.

“It was an organic process that moved quickly,” Jo Marie says. “It took about 10 months during COVID.”

Built in 1922, the house is not listed on the historic registry—as so many homes in the vicinity are—but Jo Marie is active with the Weston Chamber of Commerce and local community.

Chamber vice president/director Lorri Stanislav, who puts together many of the cityʼs homes tours, has taken note of the extensiveness of Jo Marieʼs renovation. “No one has done it to this level,” Lorri says.

The dining room is clearly important to a foodie, and Jo Marie serves up stylish vintage chairs paired with a modern table under a MCM Nelson Saucer Bubble Pendant. Floral arrangements by Midwest Maven; the bentwood chairs in the corner are from Knoll. A milk glass fixture stored in the basement for 20 years finally reemerged into the light, hung at the entry.

Below: A suspended steel fireplace from Fire Orb is a central feature of the open living space, vertically matching the painting and dri wood mixed media behind it. Jo Marie and Star relax here, surrounded by color and comfort. Stools tuck under the chinoiserie co ee table from 200Main Vintage for additional seating.

White oak floors and gallery-white walls support Jo Marieʼs varied art collection, which runs the gamut from local artists like Jennifer Janesko and the late art dealer Tom Deatherage, to found objects, such as spoons dug up in the yard preserved in a shadow box and an aged map of Missouri framed in the living room. The prominently displayed Opera Singer, made of Lake Superior drift wood by artist Amy Lansburg, nearly matches the kitchenʼs painted cabinets around the corner.

Jo Marieʼs objects collectively and individually tell stories about her, and about the past.

“Thereʼs a lot to absorb here,” she acknowledges. “Thereʼs something from every decade, every era, all in one place. If it didnʼt belong to my parents or grandparents, itʼs reminiscent of that.”

Jo Marie brought up nightstands from her old house, worked in her grandmaʼs wedding gift s, and gave new purpose to things discarded or forgotten. She is a major collector of pretty tea cups and vintage glasses that showcase beautifully in open shelves in the kitchen. Whereas many former brides are releasing these delicate dinnerware items, Jo Marie scoops them up—and uses them on a daily basis.

Above: “The best part about the bedroom is when the sun comes up. I don’t set an alarm here,” Jo Marie says. The room has its own private bath and French doors to the covered porch. A slider closes o the room from the gallery-style hallway. Most of Jo Marie’s fine art resides in her primary residence, while nearly every inch of the hallway is hung with whatever catches her eye, from Chinese art from the Muehlebach Hotel to a quilt le by the previous owners—their 1947 wedding gi .

Right: Jo Marie didn’t want to pull the groceries in through the front door, so she made space in the floor plan for a mudroom and laundry room o the garage. Colorful art and wild wallpaper brighten the narrow path.

“Iʼve been collecting ice buckets lately,” she adds. “And I definitely have a plate problem.”

The decor being a true mélange, Jo Marie loves playing high/low, pairing the nostalgia of a good Brown Button estate sale find with the comforts of Crate and Barrel purchases. A king-sized mattress and pima cotton sheets—always best fresh—help her get that much-needed rest.

She always has a bottle of champagne cooling in the fridge, ready for a quick cocktail, and Green Dirt cheese selections for making a board to enjoy on the porch.

After working 100 hours a week for 17 years, on some weekends at least, she doesnʼt miss the din of clanging bowls or serving 1,000 customers a day. Itʼs just her and Star and quiet.

“When I come up here, itʼs hard to leave; itʼs a special place,” Jo Marie says. “This is therapy for me.”

In the primary bath, penny tiles on the floor are laid in a modern pattern, while classic white subway tiles reach up the wall to the ceiling. A custom vanity with open shelving suits the small space.

@mwmaven

@jomariescaglia

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