Modern Homecoming

Winter 2024/2025

December 27, 2024

Words by Katy Schamberger | Photos by Bob Greenspan

Relocators travel the world and find what they’re looking for in Mission Hills.

Aaron and Rebecca Graham made plans to return to Kansas City after living out of state for several years, they seized the opportunity to build the modern house of their dreams. They had meticulously documented inspiration and wanted to infuse years of worldwide travel—both business and leisure—into a place where they could relax and open their doors to family and friends.

They weren’t exactly sure where that place would be. After enlisting the help of Chris Penland, principal of Studio Build, to serve as project architect, the trio cast a wide net over the Kansas City metro area and soon discovered an idyllic corner lot in prestigious Mission Hills.

Not only did that community offer ample room for the home’s design and construction, but its surrounding architecture also made it a natural fit. A Marcel Breuer-designed home is perched across the street, along with another modern home created by Matthew Hufft, partner of Kansas City-based design practice, Hufft. (See the sidebar for more information about Marcel Breuer).

“A Fun Challenge”

Part of Penland’s process includes a conceptual discovery session where he learns more about the spaces that clients want in a home, how they want the spaces to work with each other and react to the site, and other must-haves.

The Grahams’ checklist included a single-story layout—a home designed for longevity—and the prioritization of views, including those of the immediate lot and also of the surrounding architecture and foliage.

“After that, we ran with it,” Penland says. “We knew we had a fun challenge ahead to pull off the modern look and we came up with an idea to focus the home around a central courtyard.”

Not only does the home wrap around this green oasis created by Lauren Mackin, creative director of Stonebridge Outdoor, but that same sense of airy space infuses the home’s central gathering area: an atrium that soars to 14-foot ceilings and bathes the entertaining hub in natural light from stacked sets of windows.

“This part of the home was the most fun for us to design,” Penland says. “We’re a custom casework fabricator, so we used built-in casework and metal screens as an element to both divide public spaces and also serve as design focal points.”

Look closely at the steel screens—fabricated in Los Angeles—and you’ll notice a striking pattern inspired by the Grahams’ time in Morocco. The screens are an eye-catching accompaniment to a vintage Turkish rug collection, part of an enviable collection of art, furnishings and tapestries that the Grahams thoughtfully amassed throughout their travels.

Penland enlisted Kali Buchanan and Erin Baird of Kali Buchanan Interior Design to bring the home’s interior to vivid, immersive life.

“They absolutely love color; that was a connecting thread throughout the space,” Buchanan says. “Because color can sometimes dictate a look and lose that timeless appeal and quality, we needed to think critically about how to approach color in a way that the homeowners would love for a long time.”

Long before Baird led an exhaustive sourcing search, the duo tapped their schematic design expertise to ensure each part of the home—and the collective layout—functioned at the highest possible level.

“An initial study of the floor plan—and asking some of our standard questions—led to more closely looking at the kitchen, the pantry, the bar and the adjacent den space, then how the overall flow of the home works,” Buchanan explains. “We re-laid out so many of those spaces, all within the context of the existing exterior shell. From there, we worked as a team to finish it out by studying the materiality of the cabinets, floors, tile and counters, then created the details for how those connections are made.”

Part of what makes the 2,700-square-foot main floor so inviting is the airiness of the layout, grounded by the warmth of wood. The emphasis on wood begins on the home’s exterior. The Grahams requested natural or native materials, so Penland and his team sourced natural cypress, tongue-and-groove siding (also a nod to the nearby Marcel Breuer home, which also prominently features wood as a material and design element).

Inside the home, the casework features a mix of walnut veneer and black-stained walnut that was grain-matched to maintain a consistent flow. Additional pops of black—in the steel dividing screens, the kitchen faucets and many of the lighting fixtures, for example—help anchor the space while providing a harmonious contrast to the ample expanse of white walls.

“It’s so much warmer, inviting and cozy,” Buchanan says.

“You get that sense of comfort as soon as you walk in,” Baird adds.

And for the Grahams, creating a home that evokes that feeling is a mission accomplished.

“The story of this home is a collection of and appreciation for culture and beauty in a way that’s unique to Aaron and Rebecca,” Buchanan says. “There’s a joy in this project that you don’t always see, especially in modern homes. This home isn’t too buttoned-up or tailored; it’s livable. The Grahams had a goal for this home: to retire here and, after so many years of traveling, to prioritize themselves and their family. This is a space that celebrates those adventures but also feels like home.”

Architect: Studio Build, @studiobuild
Contractor: Foster’s Inc., Jerad Foster
Interior Designer: Kali Buchanan Interior Design, @kalibuchananinteriordesign

Resources:

Architect: Chris Penland, Studio Build
Interior Designer: Kali Buchanan Interior Design
Contractor: Jerad Foster, Foster’s Inc.
Landscape Designer: Stonebridge Outdoor

Casework: Studio Build
Exterior Wood Siding: Woodhaven
Countertops/Stone: CSW Custom Countertops
Tile: Carrera Tile & Design
Interior Wood Floor: Express Hardwood Floors

Marcel Breuer’s Kansas City Legacy

The Grahams’ home fits wonderfully into a small enclave of modern homes tucked within Mission Hills. One of the neighboring homes showcases the celebrated work of architect Marcel Breuer, who may be best known for a polygonal shape created by an open plan on a cantilever base. This inventive approach to structural design first emerged in Breuer-designed furniture, then became an integral element of his architecture.

The three-bedroom, two-bathroom home dates back to 1954 and has been meticulously updated to protect the home’s original aesthetic and history. Fun fact: Kali Buchanan also helped with that interior renovation, which includes numerous pieces of original furniture that read like a Who’s Who of modern design: Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe for Knoll. Several signature Breuer features have also been carefully preserved, including sliding windows and cedar-plank ceilings.