"I want to live here." It’s what many say when they walk through the front door of The Porch in Wildwood, a 200-year-old building that’s been fully renovated as a home décor store and headquarters of Nettie White Interiors, an artistic finishing and design company.
Nettie White started Nettie White Interiors 25 years ago in her basement with one little table and a paint brush that dangled from a nail her husband had hung on the wall. “I started with artistic finishing of walls, but I wanted to make it dimensional. So, for the first seven years most of my business was wall work, but then I became obsessed with kitchen cabinetry. So, I began educating myself, reading and learning. I was one of the first people to paint kitchen cabinetry in St. Louis.”
Nettie purchased the building in 2008 and The Porch was born. “I wanted everyone to see what can be done with beautiful finishes and unique home décor with a European flair. I want people to feel at home.”
The always-changing front steps of the store, painted seasonally with plaids and currently showcasing a hand-painted cheetah pattern, welcome shoppers into the 4,700-square-foot, multi-space store and design studio with a cozy stone fireplace, rooms filled with sofas, tables, Libeco Belgian linens, beautiful rich bedding and etched dining and barware. The Porch offers timeless, and elegant home furnishings, accessories, lighting, tableware, gifts, clothing and jewelry.
“We recently extended the store out onto the back porch with an alfresco Mediterranean-style dining area with hanging lights, a large pergola, and firepit seating,” Nettie says on a tour of the building. “We are always changing and reinventing ourselves, in both businesses. Whether it’s from the look of the store or the style of design we offer. It’s how we stay relevant.”
But it’s Nettie White Interiors that sets the look of The Porch. “There is no detail left undone,” she says. “This is all so people can see what can be done with finishes.”
The walls, the floors, the ceiling, and everything in-between reflect the heart and soul of Nettie and the artistic finishing company that she created more than two decades ago. It’s a spectacular place where clients can not only shop for treasures for their home but meet with Nettie and her staff to plan their own personal custom projects. Nettie White Interiors offers full kitchen design and remodeling, artistic finishes, furniture placement, color selection and accessorizing. But most importantly, she offers her unparalleled talent for creating beautiful spaces as well as the design and painting skills she has honed since 1998.
Nettie’s approach to the remodeling process is viewed as unique in that everything is considered with the whole picture in mind. Pieces and colors are not chosen individually. She says she looks at everything from the coloring of countertops, to the flooring, to the backsplash before she makes the custom cabinet finishes, which are never the same for two clients. “Custom finishes and colors are part of what sets us apart from other companies.”
She not only plans someone’s space, but she also distinguishes it. Do they want a rich, warm space or a light and airy, open concept? She captures their vision from paint selection to furniture placement, to lighting and accessorizing. “Even the paints are custom. I make them here in my studio,” Nettie says. “I want people to find their home in here.”
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“There is no detail left undone,” Nettie White says. “This is all so people can see what can be done with finishes.”
