MEET HER IN ST. LOUIS

Trimmed with ribbon and wrapped in wallpaper, designer Amy Studebaker's 1950s Missouri home proves there's no such thing as too much of a good thing especially this time of year

- BETSY CRIBB WATSON

IT WAS not love at first sight for Amy Studebaker and her family's would-be St. Louis house. Rather, it was pure weariness and nagging potential that won her over.

"We spent about a year looking at homes," says the decorator. "We probably toured over 100." None of them felt right. Finally, exhausted by the endless search, she and her husband, Nick, revisited a 1950s brick Colonial with easy backyard access to a beautiful park. "I remember saying, 'Let's just buy it, and I can do something with it,' she remembers."

They altered the irksome elements—opening up some spaces and closing off others—and added a Louisiana-inspired balcony and columns to the exterior to deliver what she calls a "more Southern" first impression. They then highlighted its existing charms, like the original plaster walls and crown molding. "It had those historic details that I find to be really important, which make for a sturdy house," says Studebaker.