FOR Art’s SAKE

Art brings a home to life. It can add a personal touch to a room or infuse a space with character. For these Clayton homeowners, displaying their impressive abstract painting collection was one of the driving forces behind their interior design. They’re apartment is a celebration of art, allowing them to live every day at home with beauty.

What brought you to Clayton?

Previously, we had a home in the Brentmoor Park neighborhood. It was a three-story, brick Georgian built around 1903. We loved it, but we bought a property in Florida so we were splitting our time. We needed to downsize so we could more easily jet around. We liked the idea of being in downtown Clayton. It’s such a vibrant, walkable area. It has a very urban feel.

What attracted you to this apartment?

We originally moved into a different unit in the building. After four or five years, a full-floor apartment became available, and we decided to buy it because we wanted a bigger place to display our art collection, which still continues to grow. We love large abstract paintings, and that first apartment just didn’t have the wall space to accommodate them.

Did you make any major renovations?

The apartment was originally a very traditional and formal space. It was richly appointed with columns at the entry and exquisite wood paneling that the previous owner imported from England and other places. We wanted something more contemporary to fit our art. We painted every wall in the place light gray, and we eliminated some of the wall recesses to make larger continuous spaces for paintings. It was a very extensive renovation. We were buying new artwork to fill the wall space while the work was being done. It was ready and waiting to be installed while the apartment was finished.

Tell me about your art collection.

It began around 25 years ago and just started to grow. We don’t have any favorite pieces. We love them all. We do work with an adviser to learn what could be a good investment, but at the end of the day, we buy what we like.

How has your art collection impacted your interior design?

It has definitely influenced it. The home we had in Brentmoor Park was furnished more formally and traditionally because it fit the style of the house. As for art, we also had a lot more classic figure paintings of people and places. When we moved to the apartment, we transitioned to more contemporary, abstract pieces, and the home decor evolved along with the collection.

Do you have a favorite room?

The living room with the Kagen sofas and large format paintings. It’s not where we spend most of our time, but it’s where we entertain. It’s the signature room. It looks like a gallery, and the furniture compliments the art. Everyone that visits is drawn to that room because it’s beautiful. The apartment has terraces on all four sides, and the living room terrace overlooks the city. You can see Forest Park and all the way to the Arch. It’s a really lovely space, inside and out. There’s joy in sitting in that room. It’s very soothing, and even though it looks formal, it’s also a great family room. It’s where we put up the tree for Christmas, and our grandkids can play there. The toddler loves to make pillow forts on the sofas.

You mentioned entertaining.

The apartment functions very well for hosting guests. The kitchen is open, and we have a beautiful French black lacquer bar. The dining room is open onto the living room, so there is a nice flow for entertaining. Our dining room table is interesting. We wanted a large oval table that could seat 12 people. We ended up going on 1stDibs and found this one created by an artisan in Paris. It’s made from three molten metals mixed together to create a unique pattern. It’s a very beautiful piece, but it weighs about 3,500 pounds. It took eight big guys to bring into the apartment.

Were there any other challenges bringing furniture into the apartment?

Those Kagen sofas in the living room would not fit on the elevator. The pieces and parts were shipped here and had to be brought up in sections to be assembled and upholstered by Kagen artisans from New York. It took three people a few days to put a couple sofas together. I don’t know what we’ll do if we need to move them out of the apartment, but they are beautiful and far more comfortable than they look. &