“My style has always been very eclectic,” said Kit Ramsay. “I like mixing old and new.” The Ramsay’s lovely home is a gracefully nod to both past and present.

Kit put the design skills she began developing while the family was living in Chattanooga to work after she and her husband, Chuck, purchased their current Murfreesboro home at auction in 2009. By this time, Chuck had already talked to his father-in-law, Bubba Woodfin, about coming back to the family business, Woodfin Funeral Chapels.

A longtime friend, Mary Hatcliff, found the house was going up for sale and the Ramsays only had a couple of hours to see it as they were passing through Murfreesboro from Chattanooga before zooming off to Memphis to watch their son play in a college tennis tournament. Mary, Chuck and family friend and interior designer Chuck Loyd saw the house’s potential and talked Kit into purchasing it. And because they could not get to town, her brother-in-law David Parsons acted on their behalf at auction, making the purchase for them. 

Remodeling, Renovations and Additions

“We bought the house in August and started renovating it,” explained Kit. “It took almost a year. We didn’t move in until June of 2010. It was built in 1953. It was originally Judge Whitney Stegall’s house with two bedrooms and one bathroom. It had been added on to several times when we purchased it. We gutted it completely. All the way down to the studs.”

“We came in and added all the stone to the den wall, we vaulted the eight-foot ceiling and added the hand-hewn beams,” explained Kit. “We made the front room into a foyer instead of a living room. The formal dining room became a sitting room with a nautical theme.” 

What had once been the family room, off of the kitchen, became the Ramsay’s dining room after removing the wall separating it from the kitchen. And the old laundry room became a wet bar now sitting in an alcove off the dining room. Part of the living room and one of the bedrooms was used to create a master bedroom and bathroom with a walk-in closet. In 2015, the Ramsays added 1,000 more square feet and the pool, tearing down the old garage and building a carport. At this time, they also added a guest room, a playroom and a screened in porch.

Renew, Reuse and Redecorate

Kit calls her style ‘eclectic,’ blending the old and new with an emphasis on Chinoiserie. Heavy and light pieces interplay to find a fine balance in the home. With a blend of antique furniture pieces and a large collection of multi-sized blue and white pottery on an antique sideboard, prints collected on their travels, contemporary finds and modern art created by family, friends and local artists, the home is perfectly curated. 

In the sitting room off the foyer, Kit displays the 19th century Bonnet Chest she used as a girl in her bedroom along with an old lawyer’s bookcase she has had ‘forever.’ 

“I love a good bargain,” said Kit. “And I love reusing and remaking pieces I have collected over the years.” 

The dining table is one of Kit’s favorite finds. She discovered it alongside the road, stuffed the heavy piece into her car, then painted it white. Originally, she used the table as part of the decoration for her daughter’s wedding. It now serves as the dining room table with her former dining room table being used as a “library table” holding a collection of favorite coffee table books in the children’s playroom.  

The daybed in what she calls “the boy’s room,” where her grandson stays when visiting, once belonged to her paternal grandmother, Virginia Woodfin, and the Roman shades in the room are made from patchwork plaid fabric she invested in many years ago, which she has reused in various ways until its current manifestation. The Speakeasy Sofa in the room came from Jean Keathley.

A “girl’s room” for the granddaughters features twin beds with eiderdowns at the foot and floral Roman shades with vintage prints over each bed. Kit repurposed a side table to sit between the beds with a bright Hester and Cook print and a thick piece of glass to protect the top.

Many of the light fixtures have traveled with Kit from home to home, including the iron and crystal chandelier over the dining room table. Other fixtures include a pair of sconces that matched but were two different colors, so she hand-painted them with gold leaf to use in the guest bathroom. And she has a lamp made by Bill Patterson of Lamp Gallery from a damaged blue and white vase. “I hate seeing anything broken thrown out,” said Kit. “I like to find another use for the item.” 
Over the years Kit has collected from family and purchased an assortment of fine antiques. Most of the purchased antiques came from Meek’s Auctions in Chattanooga. One outstanding piece is a Renaissance style 1880s Buffet a Deux Corps located in the den. In it she displays her collection of green antique Majolica plates. She had an antique Welsh dresser turned into a vanity in one of the bathrooms adding a vessel sink.

Some of her favorite furniture has been discovered in secondhand stores, including a pair of banana leaf woven chairs she found in Nashville that have recently been placed on the screened in porch.

Custom Design and Construction

All of the renovation, remodeling and the 2015 addition to the home were completed by Hatcliff Construction. Mary and Patrick Hatcliff have been friends of the family for many years. Knowing each other since high school, Mary was in Kit’s wedding. 

While Kit chose fabrics, paint colors, trims and accessories for the remodel, she received technical help from Mary. Hatcliff Construction is an award-winning custom home builder, so Kit leaned on her friend to make sure everything looked just right. She also received design help from Chuck Loyd. “Chuck Loyd is like a brother to me,” noted Kit.

Working with Henry’s Cabinet Shop in Shelbyville, Kit had an assortment of unique built-ins created throughout the house. The cabinet doors in the primary bedroom were made with a Chinoiserie design to compliment the aesthetic of the room. 

The built-in wet bar in the dining area was designed to match the dark wood plate rack where Kit shows her collection of antique blue willow. Its design also draws from the structure of the Renaissance style buffet found in the den with its twisted wood accents. 
All of the stonework was done by Natchez Stone Company, including the fireplace and the wet bar countertop. 

The Ramsays recently completed a kitchen update by adding lighted china cabinets. While they kept the granite kitchen countertop in cashmere white with a chipped edge from their original remodel, they did have the formerly white cabinets all painted Sherwin-Williams Sea Salt. 

Ever Changing Spaces

A consummate hostess, Kit loves to create outstanding tablescapes using her extensive collection of china and glassware, as well as her many Hester and Cook placemats. She enjoys mixing and matching family heirloom china with more modern pieces and fun thrift store finds. On the screened in porch, Kit can create everything from a table for her grandchildren to enjoy a Summer barbecue to a dinner party for friends using her new Italian china.

“I like to find interesting pieces that work together,” said Kit. “You do not have to spend a fortune to create a beautiful space. It is all about how you put it together.”

Thoroughly enjoying the design process, not just the results, Kit is always moving things around and curating new landscapes. “Designing a home is not something that happens overnight,” added Kit. “It is something that takes place over time. And it changes as you change.”