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

For most people, the dream is to upgrade. But for one couple, going from a New York apartment to a house in Ladue had a major drawback. “It spread our family out so much,” says one of the homeowners. “We all had our own spaces and we were rarely together as a family unit. And it really grated on me.”

Almost 10 years later, with a son in college and a daughter looking — and a house on Long Island, for when they wanted the space — they decided it was time for a change. They found a penthouse condo with high ceilings, plenty of natural light and enough bedrooms for when the kids were home. Now, they just needed to find the right architect for the project.

After being struck by his work, they engaged Phil Durham, whose unique contemporary style has earned him a place in the American Institute of Architects’ prestigious College of Fellows. But sadly, Durham passed away a few months later, when the renovation was in its early stages. His former assistant gave the homeowners a couple of recommendations and, once some time had passed, they moved forward with Studio Lark, run by husband-and-wife team Aaron and Jessica Senne. Aaron had worked with Durham before, as had their associate, Elle Noll.

The connection to Durham might have opened the door, but Studio Lark soon made the project its own. “From the get-go, both Aaron and Jessica were unbelievable,” says the homeowner. They brought fresh ideas, a conscientious attention to detail, and endless enthusiasm to the renovation.

Studio Lark has a knack for making neutrals dramatic.

“We really, really love what we do,” says Jessica Senne. “Each project is as individual as the people who live there … and a true testament to how the collaborative process works.”

Studio Lark strives to make every home a true reflection of its owners — a task that came easily here in part because they had a strong vision of what they wanted: a residence that could act as a neutral canvas to display their extensive art collection (Years ago, the couple had made a pact to give each other art, especially on their anniversaries). “We wanted it to be sophisticated, contemporary, comfortable and kind of hip,” says the homeowner. “And light and bright — you can’t get away from the light in the apartment, which is amazing.”

The view when stepping off the elevator and into the condo’s art-filled foyer.

That aesthetic lined up perfectly with Studio Lark’s Scandinavian-influenced philosophy of maximizing natural light then looking for opportunities to introduce contrast, color and pattern in very deliberate ways. Although the project started out primarily as a remodel of the relatively tiny master bathroom, it quickly grew into a fairly comprehensive renovation also encompassing the kitchen, entryway, powder room, living room, and family room. “So instead of approaching each room individually, we started to put together an interior finish palette that would really bring a continuous thread from room to room,” Senne says.

The shallow wine cellar was one of the most technically challenging parts of the renovation.

Closing a second entry allowed the banquette to become the kitchen’s focal point.

Since the homeowners were drawn to bright neutrals, grays, and dark flooring, Studio Lark played with that combination throughout the apartment to create spaces that are both minimalist and inviting. In the master bathroom, dark porcelain floor tiles are paired with white walls and a white glass tile in the shower, which extends along the full back wall and is framed by a single, sheer pane of glass. A white stone countertop with a rich, swirling grey veining was added to tie the room together. To make the bathroom bigger, an extra doorway was closed and space borrowed from an adjacent closet. The finishing touch? Faucets shaped like flowers by German company Franz Viegener.

Studio Lark designed the kitchen island using a sustainable grey veneer.

The same white countertops with grey veining were carried through to the kitchen, another room with dark, porcelain flooring — this time, a large-format, grey Italian tile. Again, a second entry was walled up, which allowed for a TV to be mounted amid the high-gloss white cabinetry. Studio Lark then designed a large island, which was covered in a reconstituted wood veneer stained grey in deference to the condo’s neutral palette.

There is one shot of bright color in the room: a deep blue velvet banquette. “We kept having conversations with the client about how to activate that space and make it more usable for the family,” Senne says. “We essentially de-installed what was there — a small, wall-mounted credenza — and replaced it by entirely building out that wall.” Storage was tucked discreetly underneath the custom bench seating and created along the left side, enabling the new dining area to do double-duty.

Since the homeowners were planning to hang artwork above the banquette, Studio Lark found a lighting solution that would add texture and volume without obstructing the view behind it: two airy Moooi Heracleum chandeliers that have been chained together to create a single visual statement.

Another extraordinary light fixture can be found at the entrance to the condo. When the elevator doors open, visitors find themselves in a foyer with a 20-foot ceiling, skylight, and several eye-catching pieces from the homeowners’ art collection. Straight ahead a tall doorway is outlined in a black casement; through it are steps leading to the condo’s front door. It’s in this doorway that Studio Lark hung a feathery pendant by Slamp. “We wanted the fixture to feel like additional artwork in the space so that there’s drama when you step off the elevator,” Senne says.

But the most dramatic moment — and lighting — occurs in the small guest powder room. After raising the ceiling, a tall slab of black stone was added to emphasize the room’s new height and act as the backdrop for a sleek, wall-mounted sink. The edges of the slab were lined with LED lights, to pull the surface forward and create depth. Above hangs The Melt, a pendant light by Tom Dixon that transforms with the flip of a switch. When off, it looks like a solid silver ball. But when turned on, it becomes transparent, and appears to be actually melting.

“It’s just sensational,” the homeowner says. “When we show people we’re like, ‘Oh! Come into the powder room. And let me turn on the light for you!’”

The living room received the lightest touch. Already, it had the dark floor — here, a wood herringbone — that had become part of the condo’s signature look. To bring it further in line with the rest of the apartment, the casework was redone in a high-gloss white finish with contrasting gray veneered shelves and base cabinets. New pieces of furniture were added, including two B&B Italia sofas in a soft, dove grey, while a pair of existing chairs were recovered in a complementary tone by St. Louis Restoration.

As for the family room, it’s here that Studio Lark solved the project’s biggest challenge: finding space to hold the homeowners’ wine collection. “Ultimately, we thought it would be such a beautiful, high-impact move to have one entire wall be the wine cellar, so that the texture of the bottles and the labels really becomes the art in that room,” says Senne. “The result looks so simple, but it required a lot of head-scratching; we had to design it for a system that could fit invisibly in a shallow space and handle the cooling requirements of a pretty large wine cellar.”

Although originally the condo had been designed for a pair of empty-nesters, in recent months the full family has moved back in because of the pandemic. Despite having less space than their former house — and spending more time inside — the homeowners have no regrets about downsizing.

“There aren’t many homes where you literally use every single room every day,” says the homeowner. “I love this apartment so much. I still feel the need to write to Jessica and tell her how happy we are here.”

The Joys of Downsizing