Lounging
slhl SMALL SCALE
BY THE LAKE
BY JAMIE SIEBRASE PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIM DILLON
With dramatic landscaping and unexpected finishe , two Lake Saint Louis homeowners give lakeside recreation a whole new look.
“We had no plan,” says homeowner Larry Malashock, who purchased a rundown three-seasons home during his transition into retirement. The whole place was a fi er-upper, and the overhaul started in the main home. After expanding and remodeling there, Malashock turned to the ramshackle pool house. “It was basically a toilet and sink when we started,” he says, explaining, “It was built on stilts, and the support was giving way.” The first step, then, was demolition; once the original structure was cleared, interior designer Ellen Kurtz of Ellen Kurtz Interiors helped the Malashocks craft a chic and comfortable resort-inspired cabana with high ceilings and an array of plush, modern finishes: oversized fans, an intricate LED and solar lighting scheme by Extreme Electrical, poolside misters, a wireless sound system — even faux palm trees from a supplier in
74
Wichita, KS. There’s a taste of the tropics inside, too, where small aqua pebbles give the bath and changing rooms an elegant yet relaxed feel. “We wanted something that was functional as more than just a bathroom,” Malashock says. Hence the pool house’s lower level, working as an offseason storage unit. And, of course, there’s the bar, too, which comes fully equipped with a kegerator, ice maker, refrigerator and grill — all positioned behind a sprawling lake-blue granite countertop the homeowners stumbled upon at Bedrock International. “They love the color blue,” says Kurtz who, based on the countertop selection, picked Oceanside Glasstile from ICS Surfaces for the bar’s backsplash and incorporated blue and rust hues into a mosaic the Malashocks’ handy sons installed. Up above, a showstopping polyurethane-coated piece purchased at an art show in Marco Island
JUNE/JULY 2015 STLOUISHOMESMAG.COM
SMALL SCALE_0615.indd 74
5/20/15 10:52 AM