ICYMI, for our February issue, we spent a few months driving the metro area, block-by-block, to curate a selection of the nine coolest homes in Kansas City.
Our list ran the gamut from a historic International Bauhaus and an Olathe home modeled after KCK’s famed Sauer Castle.
Also in the lineup was our cover star, a charming Brookside home owned by Lisa Schmitz, an interior designer, and her husband, Chuck, who works in construction. The two bought their home in 2002 and have made many updates over the years, including a fresh coat of grey paint, a sleek front porch that leads to a stone paver walkway, and a sprawling hardscape patio where they like to gather with friends and family. In the backyard, they planted an Airstream trailer where Lisa says they “have backyard concerts all the time, and the band will usually perform right in front of the camper.”
Regional pubs also took notice of the home: In their March issue,Midwest Living magazine published a story on the Schmitz family and gave readers a peek inside their home. Interior standouts include a craft room, an airy sunroom and a brightly colored bedroom with a reading loft. Like the exterior, inside the home, Lisa and Chuck aimed for an overall contemporary design while maintaining classic touches that you’ll often see in Brookside homes, like crown molding and rich hardwood floors.
“Chief among ongoing projects: the house itself. Lisa and Chuck moved into their Kansas City, Missouri, fixer-upper in 2002, swayed by the Brookside neighborhood’s old-growth trees and classic architecture. They immediately embarked on a remodel that, in retrospect, was rather cart before the horse.” —Jenny Pfeffer at Midwest Living
