"Dan and Tiffany Semar's 1963 modern ranch home stands out among the more traditional architecture of their Chesterfield subdivision. Designed by Ralph Fournier, a popular St. Louis architect of the day, and built by well-known local builder Burton Duenke, the spacious home sits at the end of a cul-de-sac on a private lot overlooking a bluff.
From the light-filled foyer to the classic clerestory windows, this house has everything fans of mid-century modern style will appreciate including two George Nelson hanging Bubble Lamps and loads of collectible furniture, much of it from Broyhill's 1963 "Brasilia" sculpted wood collection. The furniture, designed the same year the house was built, looks perfectly at home in it.
When the Semars bought the house in 2007, it had been vacant and was overgrown on the outside and covered with various textured and patterned wallpapers on the inside. They stripped it and painted all of the rooms in neutral gray tones with accents of bright orange and green.
This fall, they removed the original parquet wood flooring and put in an epoxied pebble stone floor throughout the entire house, which balances out the wood furniture and complements the modern architecture and décor. Light bounces off the glossy pebble during the daytime, making it sparkle, and the floor flows seamlessly from room to room."
By Amy Burger • Special to the Post-Dispatch