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‘We’re not into symmetry and manicure. We like whimsy and color,” says Leigh Anne Smith of the English-inspired garden at the 1888-built home in Lafayette Square she shares with her husband, Houston. The Smiths’ garden is one of 11 that will be featured on the annual Lafayette Square Garden Tour on June 3.
Since purchasing the house in 1999, the couple has spent more than 20 years lovingly renovating it and landscaping and cultivating the garden.
“We do perennials and let them spread. When something gets out of place, we just dig it up and transplant it somewhere else,” Leigh Anne says. “We like all the different textures, and there will be a point where we get a lot of different colors of green.”
In addition to the perennials, annuals and a variety of smaller trees including dogwood, fringe tree, Japanese maple, oak leaf hydrangea and a Harry Lauder’s walking stick, the Smiths plant a vegetable garden and cultivate mushrooms in the back yard.
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The home itself is a three-story German Baroque-style house designed by local architect Otto Wilhelmi that sits on a quiet side street a block off Lafayette Park. The park endeared the Smiths to the area when they first encountered it while house hunting during their relocation to St. Louis from Georgia.
“We drove into the neighborhood by ourselves and the park was just glorious on an October day,” Leigh Anne remembers.
Their real-estate agent, who was based in the county, didn’t even know the neighborhood existed, and the Smiths discovered it after seeing an ad for another house in their price range.
“A lot of the houses had scaffolding around them, so we knew people were rehabbing,” Houston says.
In the foyer, Houston worked with a carpenter to re-create the home’s original front door and windows based on photos provided by a neighbor. He also replaced the cracked marble and slate floor with a new black and white marble checkerboard floor. The antique Russian chandelier was purchased from the now-closed Jon Paul Designs & Collectibles in Richmond Heights.
When they bought the house, it was livable, but terribly outdated, having undergone a gut remodel in 1983 that sadly didn’t preserve much of the home’s original features. Reflective of that era, there was country blue carpet installed throughout the house, accented with peach-colored walls and matching peach and blue linoleum in kitchen.
Over time, the Smiths have renovated it once again with an eye toward restoring its original charm. With the help of two talented carpenters, Houston has meticulously added era-appropriate crown molding, wainscoting, ceiling medallions and other millwork. The blue carpet was ripped out and replaced with new hardwood floors in the main living areas. In the foyer, they replaced a cracked and broken slate and marble floor with a new black and white marble checkerboard floor.
At some point, the back of the house had dropped five inches in its foundation. When raising it back up, the Smiths discovered original pocket doors separating the parlor and dining room that had been walled in with Sheetrock and restored them. They then used them as models to create a new set to divide the parlor from the entry foyer.
Light spills into the parlor from the large, curved front window that was re-created to match one that was original. The marble fireplace surround is believed to be the only original feature that was left in the house when the Smiths purchased it. The main floor is decorated in warm hues of gold and red, with a blend of antiques and family heirlooms.
Working from an old photo a neighbor had, they also had the front door and surrounding windows re-created to look like the original. A white marble fireplace in the parlor is believed to be the only thing left that was original to the house.
The main floor is decorated in hues of gold and red with a mix of antique furnishings and family heirlooms such as the wood dining set that belonged to Houston’s parents and a dresser in the parlor that was Leigh Anne’s childhood dresser. Chickens are a theme that runs throughout the house – Leigh Anne has been collecting chicken décor for many years and the colorful creatures adorn artwork, pillows, figurines and garden statuary.
The Smiths restored the carriage house, built in 1889, to be a garage. It also serves as a backdrop to the garden. Whimsical yard art is one of Leigh Anne’s favorite things. Against the fence, a Harry Lauder’s walking stick tree has been pruned and its canopy raised over the years to reveal its curly limbs.
The Smiths continue to enjoy the fruits of their labor and the changes their garden brings throughout the year, from the first blooms of spring through the spectacular colors of fall – something they appreciate being originally from Texas and moving to St. Louis by way of the South.
“Coming from south Georgia, there are no seasons,” says Leigh Anne.
Leigh Anne, right, and Houston Smith poses for a portrait with their 8-year-old dog, Fiona, in Lafayette Square on Tuesday, May 16, 2023. Photo by Michael Clubb, [email protected]