Original Stained Glass Windows Inspired This Historic Home’s New Look

It’s scarce for windows to inspire a color palette, but in this Kansas City, Missouri, home, they’re equivalent to a Grant Wood painting, complete with stained glass motifs that summon wheat sheafs. Reportedly custom made by Indiana’s Kokomo Opalescent Glass Co., they perfectly suit the home, which was built in 1913 by a Frank Lloyd Wright protégé in a vernacular that can best be described as a prairie-style-Art-Nouveau mashup.

“The windows were like the governor of the whole thing for us, with their jewel tones, amethyst, ochers, and aubergines,” says designer Annie Kern, whom the novel homeowner enlisted to cozy up the house. The hues also furthered their initial design goal: evicting some of the previous owner’s overly opulent choices (silk damask on the walls, glitzy chandeliers, and peachy colors) in favor of making the historic house more approachable. Cue a passel of patterns, ranging from Jasper’s botanical Wallace Vine linen sofas in the living room to Pierre Frey’s Greuze bringing its Francophile charm to chairs at the kitchen table.

Kern did face an enormous challenge, literally, in creating a heated feel: The actual volume of the rooms in the six-bedroom house made of reinforced concrete and clad in shot-sawn limestone quarried from the nearby city of Carthage totals 14,000 square feet. “The concrete walls and wide-ranging space made the acoustics demanding,” the designer recalls. Her fix: upholstered walls backed with batting to absorb the cacophony of visiting guests and grandkids. In motifs that include Mulberry Home’s plaid Braemar in the billiard room and the sunshine yellow gingham that wraps the playroom, the wallcoverings also serve a greater purpose: “They just completely heated a room up and kind of envelop you in it,” Kern says. That tactile sumptuousness continues in the music room, where Phillip Jeffries grasscloth walls soften the plaster relief barrel-vaulted ceiling and custom shades on the pendant lights echo the spade on a deck of cards.

One of the greatest changes the team made to the house, though, was arguably the simplest: They removed the hedges that had circumnavigated the landmarked property, obscuring it from its neighbors like a shroud for years. “There was a blog about it in the city, and it said, ‘Thank you for letting us see this home again.’” You could say she came into her own once more—indoors and out.

Main Entry Hall

“The two-story stained glass window immediately sets a grand tone for the house,” says Kern. Sofa: JJ Custom, in Brunschwig & Fils fabric. Table lamps: Vaughan (left).

Hallway

Music Room

“We wanted a vibe that felt old-school, dapper, and prim,” Kern says. Sofa: JJ Custom, in Pierre Frey fabric. Ottoman: custom, O. Henry House. Armchair: Ferrell Mittman. Rug: Bellbridge.

A huge pendant with a custom shade in Jacques Bouvet et Cie. fabric adds “drama to the barreled ceiling,” Kern says. Paint: Alabaster (ceiling), Sherwin-Williams. Wallcovering: Phillip Jeffries.

Living Room

“The fabric panels give your eye a break from all the wood,” Kern says. Wallcovering: Claremont Furnishing Fabrics. Draperies: Filippo Uecher fabric, with Samuel & Sons trim. Armchairs: custom, in Fermoie fabric. Ceiling delicate: Charles Edwards.

Snug

A pair of Ferrell Mittman swivel chairs in Sanderson fabric with Samuel & Sons trim “make you feel like you’re in a little bird’s nest,” Kern says. Ceiling delicate: Soane Britain. Wallcovering: Les Indiennes. Sofa: Highland House, in Brunschwig & Fils fabric.

Sunroom

Billiard Room

“It’s got a Roaring Twenties–like parlor feel,” Annie Kern says. Chairs: Esperance Gallery, in Le Gracieux fabric. Sconces: Visual Comfort & Co. Wallcovering: Mulberry Home.

Kitchen

The Gieske custom range hood is polished nickel with hammered matte nickel strapping. Cabinetry: Armac Martin (grille). Tile: International Materials of Design. Pot filler: Waterworks. Range: Viking.

Bar

The high-gloss paint matches the Viking range in the kitchen. Decorative grilles in a diamond pattern elevate cabinetry by Refined Finishes. Backsplash and counter: Carthage Stoneworks. Faucet: Waterworks.

Dining Room

Kern embraced the low-light setting by painting the walls in GGC653, an elegant, inky, high-gloss finish by Fine Paints of Europe. Dining table: New Classics. Dining chairs: Rose Tarlow.

Primary Bedroom

Dark aubergine grosgrain borders the Schumacher wallcovering and frames the windows. Table lamp: Vaughan. Nightstand: Schmieg & Kotzian. Bed: custom, Liven Up Design. Bedding: Matouk. Chaise: Carolina Irving fabric. Rug: Stark.

Guest Bedroom

Children’s Bathroom

Whimsical and sophisticated were the directives for this en suite bath. Wallcovering: Scalamandré. Sconce: Visual Comfort & Co. Faucet: Axor. Countertop: Carthage Stoneworks. Paint: Caldwell Green (vanity), Benjamin Moore.

Playroom

Yellow gingham coordinates with the stained glass to set a fun tone. Ceiling delicate: Coleen & Company. Wallcovering: Romo. Sofa: Lee Jofa, in Schumacher fabric. Armchair: Mr. & Mrs. Howard, in Anna Spiro Textiles fabric. Play table and chairs: Pottery Barn Kids.

Veranda

“We added an overhang that mimicked the one in the billiard room, giving the impression it has always been there,” Kern says. Chairs: Kingsley Bate. Paint: Narragansett Green (trim), Benjamin Moore.

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