CHANGEMAKER

Summer 2025

June 4, 2025

Words by Susan Cannon | Photos by Josie Benefield

An independent, empowered business owner and mom of two transforms a Prairie Village ranch into a casually chic home inspired by her favorite travel destinations.

n 2019, Amy Appleton Dreyer and then-husband Tom Dreyer decided to buy his parents’ classic, red brick ranch when they found out their second child was on the way. At the time, they were living in an English Tudor off of Ward Parkway. While beautiful, it didn’t have the right architectural features for Amy to create her desired interior to represent a simpler, holistic lifestyle she had become enamored with on many travels. Her various influences came from aspects of Colonial Yucatán towns in Mexico, modernized white stucco farmhouses in Portugal, and riads and Berber lodges in Morocco.

The timing was right, and she possessed the inspiration and eye for renovating the home in a paired-back aesthetic—one that would be very relaxed and livable for small kiddos. Over the years of traveling and engaging with other cultures, Amy had developed a taste for unfettered luxury in quality and craftsmanship and a certain sophisticated simplicity of design in a soothing palette of neutrals with black and white, which matches her sartorial style to a T.

Her objective was to design their home with a mix of vintage pieces, artisan-made furnishings, and custom-designed furniture, which was her small way of implementing sustainability and longevity rather than buying from big box stores.

To begin the project, Amy brought in Brasstacks Design+Build to open up the home’s layout for it to breathe, replace the windows and build out a streamlined new look for the white interior with modern style. This also included custom built-ins in many of the rooms; however, the most eye-catching transformations were in the bathrooms and the kitchen.

With inspiration coming from favorite travel locales like Mexico and Portugal, Amy wanted the facade to feel transportive. The brick was painted in Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee, and Lawn and Landscape Solutions executed the minimal aesthetic of a white gravel garden, removing traditional pines and boxwoods. Large plate-glass panes replaced multi-paned windows for a modern look.

A half-wall for privacy and an adobe-style shed were new additions to the backyard. Each was treated in smooth hand stucco, complementing the minimal look of the hot tub surrounded by Kansas limestone pavers.

An intentionally minimal look defines the backyard. Decorative landscaping and a black fence surrounding the swimming pool were removed in favor of a simple pool-level deck to lay out on. The once-clapboard wood exterior of the house was covered in smooth hand stucco and painted in Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee.

The contemporary adobe-style shed and outdoor shower represent Amy’s love for Mexican architecture. The exposed copper piping and shower fixture are from Slightly Garden Obsessed, and the earthenware tile is from Clé Tiles.

By raising the ceiling, adding skylights, and surrounding the space with windows and French doors, Hufft created an inviting space with uplifting natural light. Timeless pieces in a neutral palette give a relaxed vibe, with a timeless Noguchi Akari light sculpture, a Bensen sofa from Museo, and a Moroccan rug by Soufiane Zarib.

Amy reupholstered the vintage sling chairs in soft sheepskin and kept the vintage grasscloth coffee table that was her mother-in-law’s. The fireplace initially opened up to the opposite dining room, so it was switched and made to be functional in the family room instead. Local artisan painter Devon Himes covered and treated its brick in Portola Roman clay.

By reconfiguring the original U-shaped kitchen into a wide open space and removing the dividing wall to the family and dining rooms, there is now liberated breathability. Rocktops marble for the counter and backsplash above the Lacanche range, and white-stained concrete countertops and sinks by Seth Taylor of Concrete Designs for the island and wet bar, produce a more down-to-earth feel. The counter stools with leather seats are by the Danish brand Frama.

While modern in design, the highly utilized kitchen has a warmth to it with open shelving and cooking accoutrements kept out for functionality. The earthenware bowls and plates were collected on South American travels. The brass faucet fixtures are Vola, a Danish maker of taps designed in the ’60s.

The mudroom features built-ins and microtopping flooring.

For the basement, Amy used House of Palm and contractor Reid Logan to give it a modern makeover.

The couple then hired Hufft architects and Centric to work magic on the back den, turning it into the main family room that opens up to the kitchen and the backyard. They also transformed the exterior and backyard space, adding a white stucco wall and adobe-style structure.

Though Tom’s parents had done a few renovations to the back of the home, there was still room for more airiness. Amy invited nature in to play—the home’s welcome protagonist. Hufft came through with the dynamic design of raising the ceiling, extending the pitched roofline out and over the back patio, and opening windows and French doors for backyard views on three sides. The natural light and visible nature combined with the wood-planked ceiling created a relaxing, down-to-earth vibe.

However, from the outset, Amy had a clear vision of the aesthetic she wanted to create, down to the many details. Being a curious traveler and a visual autodidact, Amy’s abundant references for the architects and builders were very specific.

“I was a tough customer,” she says.

I just wanted to feel like I was on vacation every day.”
~ homeowner Amy Appleton Dreyer

A slider in the primary suite opens up to an elevated deck with a built-in spa that overlooks the expansive backyard.

Earthy elements add warmth to the minimally modern bathroom, starting with the Portola Roman Clay treated walls, which have zero VOC. The wooden ladder came from Urban Mining Vintage, and the shelves set into the nook hold towels by Tekla. The bathtub is tktktk.

The original primary bathroom was dominated by black marble. Going for timeless luxury, Amy took inspiration from the Santa Clara 1728 hotel in Lisbon. Special attention was paid to the surface materials. The shower tile is from Clé Tile who custom-cut the tiles to be different lengths. The limestone floor tiles are from IMD, and the walls are Roman Clay in Portola’s Patagonia. The monolithic vanity is custom made by Rocktops.

Upon entering the front door, a verdant view in the back is immediately striking. The loden green sheepskin chairs complement nature. The large black planter is from Family Tree Nursery, and the wabi-sabi table was found at the Round Top Antiques Fair. It holds an Aysun Ay sculptural stoneware vessel, sold at Blackbird Collection.

Brasstacks’ black built-in shelving and cabinets display special finds from family travels. The vintage Tuareg floor mat is from Morocco.

The dining room has a nice mix of old and new, with textural and graphic accents. The beaded-faced Ionic Cabinet and the maple and travertine Suzy Table are both by Matt Castilleja, handcrafted locally. Marcel Breuer’s 1970s-produced caned dining chairs were found on 1st Dibs and Chairish. A whimsical Anissa Kermiche “Love Handles” Vase from Blackbird Collection sits under a Serge Mouille-style light fixture.

Amy turned a former indoor pool room into a studio and dressing room. The large windows existed from her in-laws’ renovation. The sofa and chair are vintage pieces from Blackbird Collection.

Whether working closely on the layout of the new kitchen plans, wanting a white-stained concrete countertop for its island, or choosing Arne Jacobsen-designed VOLA kitchen fixtures from Denmark, which required special tools to install, things turned out just right. She also insisted on certain details out back, such as smooth hand stucco for the exterior, a simple pool-level deck, thin grout lines with no grout between pavers, and white gravel for minimal plantings, among other details that rounded out the cohesive aesthetic.

“I realize I’m a bit like my great-grandmother who came here from Sicily. She sat on a bucket all day long while men built her apartment down in Columbus Park, pointing out nonstop how to do it differently or better,” she admits with a laugh.

As for the living room, a conscious decision to make what would typically be a more formal room in the front of the house, Amy instead turned the front room into the kids’ TV den and playroom—an untraditional move. With the same modern aesthetic, the front space took on a cool and casual style similar to the rest of the home. Amy chose a mix of vintage seating with a custom-made sofa that runs the entire length of the room. She also hired a great craftswoman to design and handcraft the playroom’s unique solid maple built-in cabinet/workstation.

As the backyard landscaping took shape, the front exterior also transformed, giving subtle modern Colonial Mexican vibes. “We had been in COVID lockdown for so long that I just wanted to feel like I was on vacation every day,” she says.

Finally, in 2023, when the renovation was completed, Amy put her plans into action for a fashion, interior and lifestyle concept shop, and by spring 2024, she opened Blackbird Collection in the Crossroads Arts District.

As for the home she created with her kids, Stella (11) and Theo (5) in mind, it turned out to be a very calm, grounding locus, where her authentic design sensibility lies somewhere between the chic environment of her shop and the elegant/sultry personal style she created for @stepsofstyle in 2012.

With her branding skills, the latter two of Amy’s identities are stylistically amped up compared to her home’s identity, though all three are 100 percent consistent in her modern, attractive personal aesthetic. They are all achieved with an intentional, tasteful simplicity that is timeless.

Architect: Hufft, @_hufft

Contractors: Centric, @centrichomes

Brasstacks Design+Build, @brasstackskc

Design Consultant: House of Palm, @houseofpalmshop

: House of Palm designed the downstairs and worked with contractor Reid Logan on the renovation, resulting in a relaxed environment. Grass cloth lines the daybed nook with a Kelly Wearstler alabaster sconce, velvet furniture and burl wood coffee tables are from Etsy, and brass cabinet hardware is by Sarah Sherman Samuel.

: Changemaker

: The “living room” was turned into a TV room and play space mainly for the kids. The custom-designed sofa and ottomans are by Raven Wood Designs, covered in velvet Fabric and Steel textiles. The leather and chrome chair and footstool are vintage, and the shelves are custom by Brasstacks.

: The bunk bed by Plyroom is the perfect modern design for a minimalist’s home.

: It’s all charm and modern vibes with a neutral palette and non-primary colors in this play space. The custom-designed craft station that runs the length of the wall was handcrafted in maple by local craftswoman Megan Bryde. The soft rug is Moroccan, available at Blackbird Collection.