When Ian Spakowski, now 12, was nervous about a family move after his kindergarten year, his parents, Mike and Sarah Spakowski, promised to build him a treehouse.
But the family soon discovered that their new Midcentury Kirkwood home didn’t have enough trees to support one, leaving Mike to improvise and design a self-supporting structure that mimics a tree house in its height and style. “There are four posts, a wide-open space, and a tin roof,” says Ian, a sixth-grader at Nipher Middle School. “I like that it’s high up and you can see all the trees and nature.”
The clubhouse is not Ian’s alone—he shares it with younger brothers, Miles, 9, and Sam, 5. And sometimes, when the kids aren’t home, Sarah and Mike host their friends up there as well.
HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE DESIGN?
This story is from the Jan/Feb 2020 edition of DesignSTL.
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This story is from the Jan/Feb 2020 edition of DesignSTL.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Cut from the Same Cloth
“Turkey Tracks” is a 19th-century quiltmaking pattern that has the appearance of little wandering feet. Patterns like the tracks, and their traditions and myths, have been passed down through the generations, from their frontier beginnings to today, where a generation of makers has embraced the material as a means of creating something new. Olivia Jondle is one such designer. Here, she’s taken an early turkey track-pattern quilt, cut it into various shapes, and stitched the pieces together, adding calico and other fabric remnants as needed. The result is a trench coat she calls the Pale Calico Coat. Her designs are for sale at The Rusty Bolt, Jondle’s small-batch fashion company based in St. Louis. —SAMANTHA STEVENSON
Color Block
A background in sculpture trained artist Aly Ytterberg to see objects more fully.
A Modern Story
How a little log cabin went from being a home to a guest house
IN GOOD TIME
With the help of interior designer Robert Idol, a Kirkwood couple creates a home that pays homage to the past, yet feels just right for their modern young family.
Let's Dish
"Food Raconteur” Ashok Nageshwaran wants to tell you a story.
The Right Move
New shops and showrooms bring exciting opportunities for local designers, makers, and arts organizations to sell their wares to home enthusiasts here and everywhere.
Green Dreams
Painter and gardener Lauren Knight branches out.
Cultivating Kokedama
Chris Mower of White Stable Farms discovered the Japanese style of gardening in Italy. Now, he’s bringing it to St. Louis.
Graphic Mood
Letters, icons, and illustrations that speak in a hand-drawn language
AUDRA's New Digs
Audra Noyes, of the Saint Louis Fashion Fund Incubator’s first class, opens an atelier in Ladue.
