When Dennis and Jennifer Barnes were looking for their first house together, convenience of location was at the top of the ‘must-have’ list. The couple, married three years ago, has four children between them, each at a different school. The house on Deerfield Road in Ladue was centrally located, and they loved its proximity to Tilles Park.
“The neighborhood itself is tucked in and fairly private, and we knew there were a lot of families in the community, which was important to us,” Dennis Barnes says. It didn’t take them long to realize they had made the right choice. “Our next door neighbors greeted us on day one with a bottle of wine, and we’ve been great friends ever since,” he says. The couple loves to entertain and host fundraisers, so the open floor plan was another welcome feature.
“The kitchen and hearth room is so open, that’s where people tend to migrate,” Barnes notes. Other popular areas of the house are the theater and game rooms in the lower level, which he and his wife completed after moving in. “It was already a great home, but we saw 
potential to make it exactly what we wanted,” he says. Barnes describes the theater room as a ‘jaw-dropping’
experience. The Sound Room installed a cinema-quality, 125-inch screen and surround sound and the furnishings are from Amini’s. “The theater
room is a big hit to watch any sporting event or movie,” he says. The game room has everything from shuffleboard to ping pong, air hockey and more. “We wanted it to be a social center for our kids and their friends— and for our friends who still think they’re kids,” Barnes jokes.
The formal living room also got a lot of use when the couple entertained. Barnes says his wife is an excellent pianist, and she often performed for guests on the grand piano. “The master bath was another key feature for us,” he notes. With its limestone flooring, jet tub and walk-in steam shower, it felt like The Ritz-Carlton when he first walked in—and it remains one of the couple’s favorite rooms.
“It’s a wonderful home that in many ways I’m sad to leave,” he says. But once again, it’s all about a convenient location. “The kids will be switching schools, so moving a little further west will be more conducive to that and closer to my office.” And the couple wants to purchase property on the Turks and Caicos islands, where they were married and take yearly vacations with their children.
listing price | $1,995,000
listing agent | susan hurley of janet mcafee real estate
Photos: Stephen B. Smith Photography
Cover Photo by Peaksview Photography
