Lush gardens landscaped by Michael Van Valkenburgh surround the pool house of a suburban St. Louis residence conceived by architect Peter Rose with interiors by designer Heather Wells. A Katherine Bradford painting overlooks modular Usona sofas paired with a rounded chair and poufs by Paola Lenti, which also designed the chairs on the terrace.

“There’s an ethereal quality and a humor to her practice,” explains Wells of Katherine Bradford, the celebrated Brooklyn painter whose color-soaked swimming scenes were on view last summer at Milan gallery Kaufmann Repetto. Fittingly, one of her luminous canvases hangs in the pool house. “That piece adds this beautiful pop of color,” she says. Just like this 2015 canvas, Couples Swim.

Paola Lenti chaise longues and Martha Sturdy side tables line the poolside terrace shaded by a brise-soleil with elegantly curved fins.

The concrete façades of the pool house buildings are inset with expanses of Vermont Verde Antique stone from Marmi.

Sheathed in Vermont Verde Antique stone, the pool court evokes architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s famed Barcelona Pavilion. “It feels like you’re retreating,” says Wells. An Alaskan cedar brise-soleil shades a row of chic sun beds by Paola Lenti. 

Beneath the kitchen’s Mathieu Lehanneur light fixture, stools by Phase Design tuck under a Corian island outfitted with a Dornbracht faucet; the dining table and chairs are by B&B Italia, and the artwork on the far wall is by Marley Freeman.

In the lower-level lounge, Wells grouped a mustard-hued Pierre Paulin sofa and an India Mahdavi cocktail table, both from Ralph Pucci, with a Christophe Delcourt sectional sofa and a Vladimir Kagan lounge chair and ottoman; a Henni Alftan painting hangs between a Serge Mouille two-arm sconce and a Usona table lamp.

A stirring work by Paris-based artist Henni Alftan hangs in the lower-level lounge and was originally displayed at the up-and-coming talent’s first solo show in the U.S., at Karma in 2020. “I love the austerity and simplicity of her work,” says Wells. Shown here is a 2019 painting, English Garden, which puts a modern spin on the traditional landscape.

One side of the soaring entrance hall features a large Sarah Sze painting, and a work by Glenn Ligon hangs on an adjacent wall.

In the primary bedroom, walnut paneling clads the wall behind the A. Rudin custom-made bed dressed with a Roman and Williams Guild throw, while Jeremy Maxwell Wintrebert pendants are suspended on either side; the mirrored artwork is by Nick Mauss, the chair is by Holly Hunt, and the side table is by Jaime Hayon.

A Niamh Barry light fixture swirls above the dining room’s Rick Owens table and Jacques Guillon chairs; a Sarah Lucas sculpture perches next to a Tauba Auerbach painting on the far wall, and an Erin Shirreff work hangs to the right.

To source art for the home, designer Heather Wells enlisted advisory firm Goodman Taft, which helped acquire this 2020 neon canvas by Charline von Heyl, a German artist who has been creating dazzling and enigmatic abstract paintings for the past three decades. With studios in New York and Marfa, Texas, she presented a large solo survey, “Snake Eyes,” at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C., in 2019. “It feels like graffiti in a way,” says Wells. “We wanted something brightly colored and supermodern to offset the dark, cavelike quality of the library.”

Wells installed a Drift light sculpture in a living room sitting area furnished with a pair of chairs by Vladimir Kagan (next to the window) and another set by Jaime Hayon around a Caste cocktail table; the painting on the left wall is by N. Dash, and the rug is by Hechizoo.

“It brings a moment of delicacy,” remarks Wells of the lounge’s Drift light sculpture, which contains real dandelion seeds adhered one by one to each tiny LED bulb. “It’s dramatic but not heavy.” 

Wells installed a Gubi chair next to a custom sofa around the library’s Holly Hunt cocktail table; the sculpture in front of the window is by Arlene Shechet.

A sculpture by New York artist Arlene Shechet graces a corner of the library, appearing almost like an exotic fossil. “We love the crafted texture of it,” says Wells. This 2020 piece, made of brightly glazed ceramic and painted steel, was created during the first pandemic quarantine as a beacon of spiritual nourishment and was displayed at Pace Gallery’s East Hampton location that summer. 

In the family room, a sectional sofa, a Marcel Wolterinck barrel-back chair, and a Christophe Delcourt stool are arrayed around a Martha Sturdy table with a Carl Hansen three-legged chair and an armchair and ottoman by Minotti; the painting is by Rosalyn Drexler.

Animating the entry hall is a poetic Pat Steir painting, Red for Hong Kong, which comes from a series that Lévy Gorvy debuted at Art Basel Hong Kong in 2018. “It’s like having an exclamation point right off the bat,” says Wells.

The third-floor lounge has a mood that Wells describes as “vintage and sort of Scandinavian,” with floor-to-ceiling windows lending a “SoHo feel.” The furnishings include a credenza from
BDDW, a custom sectional by Fern, and a B&B Italia cocktail table. 

A Carol Bove sculpture stands beneath a staircase.

The home’s rear façade.

The exterior of the house is clad in handmade bricks by Petersen Tegl.