The antique wooden table in Blake and Merrick Fitzgerald’s dining room isn’t just beautiful; it’s meaningful. Once belonging to Merrick Fitzgerald’s great-grandmother and previously located in her grandmother’s home, the table has been the centerpiece of gatherings for generations.
“We’ve been around that table for a lot of important things,” Fitzgerald said. “I grew up with all of my holiday meals—everything—at this table.”
One memory stands out: A dinner hosted by her grandmother just after the Fitzgeralds were married in an intimate family service at Christ the King. With such significance, the table was at the forefront of design decisions when the Fitzgeralds recently remodeled the room and updated their 1940s Nichols Hills home.
Family collections and connections guided renovations. Blake Fitzgerald’s father, architect Phil Fitzgerald of Fitzgerald and Associates, led plans to expand the dining room and kitchen and reconfigure the pantry and utility area. The Fitzgeralds didn’t increase their square footage very much. Rather, they updated the layout to enhance functionality and flow, widening doorways and moving exterior walls to capitalize on unused patio space. The expansion was expertly executed, blending and balancing old with new. Heavy trim, crown moldings and wainscoting were crafted to match woodwork original to the home.
“I love those details. I love an older house. I love rooms. I love it all, which is why we bought the house, but it needed a little facelift,” Fitzgerald said.
Hannah Sutter and Kellie Schwartz of Hannah Sutter Interiors collaborated on timeless interior designs—appropriate for the home’s age—but presented in a fresh and elevated way. Red brick on the entry floor was replaced by checkerboard-patterned tiles, alternating Asian Statuary and Bardiglio marbles from Artisan Tile Studio. The Hudson Valley light fixture brings an unexpected and contemporary element to the space. (They had fun with fixtures; the Visual Comfort pendants in the kitchen were also selected to add interest.)
Cherished family furniture and art inspired the pops of pastels applied throughout the Fitzgeralds’ home. Many of the soft hues appearing throughout the home were pulled from a large commissioned painting of the Fitzgerald family hanging in the kitchen. Sutter found a just-right muted mint for the powder-coated custom hood, and back in the dining room, blush velvet upholstery on the chairs (also heirloom pieces) recalls the dusty pink of Merrick Fitzgerald’s wedding dress. The formal dining room also features a silk grasscloth Carlisle and Co. wallcovering and built-in buffet and cabinets with traditional fretwork, ideal for service, storage and displaying china. The plates, paintings and mirror adorning the walls were handed down from Merrick Fitzgerald’s grandmother as well.
“We have family touches throughout, which makes it feel personal,” she said.
Since the expansion and renovation, Fitzgerald says the kitchen has become a hub for her family, especially enjoyed by eight-year-old Coe. The banquette is extra inviting with layers of pillows and a channel-tufted bench. It’s also extra durable with its Schumacher Rocky Mountain Performance Velvet upholstery. Coe is known to pile up pillows, then watch TV and craft there.
“Sometimes with a more ‘put together’ home, you feel like you can’t live in it,” Fitzgerald said. “I mean—we live here. We have a little boy who has friends over … I can’t be too afraid to let little boys sit here and mess it up.”
The home is both functional and delightful. It’s also well appointed for gatherings; the dining room awaits company. From holiday meals to family milestones, memories are sure to be made, passing from one generation to the next.
Interested in seeing more gorgeous Nichols Hills homes? Check out this feature.
