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by Stephen Lindsley

St. Louis Playscapes owner Randy Wichman has always liked gadgets. He could never wait to get on an airplane – not because he loves to fly, but because he wanted to see all the fun gear offered in the in-flight magazine. And the more Wichman talks about the products in his showroom, the bigger his smile gets. It is clear that he has a passion for what he does.

Wichman was born into a family with a love of horticulture. While his family has long maintained a flower shop in Webster Groves, Wichman’s great-grandfather was the head of Kew Gardens – the world-famous royal botanical garden just south of London. Wichman himself managed the Kemper Center of Home Gardening at the Missouri Botanical Gardens for a year and a half, which in turn inspired him to begin his consulting business.

“My real love is landscape design,” he says. “What I do best is visualize the potential for transforming a landscape. I’ve really created a niche developing landscape design master plans.” Wichman started with commercial clients, but over time his love of neat gadgets took over, and after all – the fun products are all for residential customers. Now his showroom contains everything from custom-built, vinyl-covered playsets to gazebos built of the same material, not to mention deck and paving systems, custom garage interiors, hot tubs, fountains, lighting systems, outdoor furniture, and even pool tables and Vespas. Oh, and giant inflatable bouncy toys that you can moor in a lake or pond. Everyone needs one of those, right?

Wichman and St. Louis Playscapes offer several different design programs, all geared towards creating a homeowner’s dream yard environment. Wichman calls the first approach “design on the fly,” which usually means Wichman himself making a visit to the home and discussing design possibilities for the site. This is an open-ended approach, which may lead to a visit to the showroom to explore further possibilities.

The second program is a design services model in which the client is given a full design package with artwork, including large-format computer- enhanced color images showing potential designs. “I have always been on the cutting edge of technology,” says Wichman. “I was testing digital cameras before they were commercially available, and pioneered the use of computer imagery for landscape design in the ’80s.”

The third approach is a consulting program that is the most comprehensive option. This is where St. Louis Playscapes takes over the entire redesign process, from initial concept to completion, including design, materials, scheduling and contractor management. If you are not the do-it-yourself type, this option is for you.

Of all the fun things in his showroom, Wichman seems most excited about his custom playsets and gazebos. They feature sturdy wood construction, but they are coated in vinyl for a long-lasting, maintenance- free exterior. No rust, no splinters – just fun, in as many different configurations as you can imagine.

And speaking of fun, how about a playhouse for the kids? These are not the chipboard and plywood forts that eventually rotted away in our back yards as kids. These are custom-designed miniature homes that can be equipped with anything your real home has, including electricity, carpeting, working windows and screens, entertainment system, lofts – you name it. St. Louis Playscapes has recently adapted large gazebos as pool houses, with changing rooms, a bathroom, refrigerator, wet bar and more.

Part of the design process includes a questionnaire to be filled out by the homeowner, which gives St. Louis Playscapes a better idea of likes and dislikes, obstacles to overcome and wishes to fulfill. “I always ask people, ‘What are your dreams? What would do you like to do, and how do you envision changing your surroundings to make that come true?’” says Wichman. “What we’re good at is coming up with a master plan that is cost-effective and efficient. If things get done piecemeal they can be very costly. Not everything in the plan needs to be done all at once, but with the plan in place it can take shape over time, and end up exactly the way you want it.”

Part of what makes St. Louis Playscapes unique is Wichman’s discriminating eye for high-quality products to add to his offerings. One such product is the DRY-B-LO Designer Deck Drain System, which is an all-aluminum deck system that is completely sealed and designed with a patented drainage system so that no water can come through to a patio or yard area below. Another product is Drawknife custom billiard tables and game room furniture, which feature wood collected from Teton Valley forests, stripped of its bark with the company’s namesake tool, and custom crafted into natural, rustic furniture by a team of woodworking craftsmen.

Wichman shows obvious pleasure in showing off the wide range of products his company offers. It is clear that a big part of the philosophy at St. Louis Playscapes is family fun. “All of the products and services we offer are ways to bring families closer together by building an environment where they can have fun and be comfortable at home,” says Wichman. “That’s really the goal – making home life better by matching peoples’ interests with designs and products that make the most of their own back yards.”

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