It began as a simple chance encounter by the pool. Heather and Tommy Hixon met 30 years ago at a party Tommy was hosting at his parents’ beautiful estate in Ridgeland. The couple married and began their family, and Tommy’s parents remained in the residence for years. When the family relocated, two other families lived in the magnificent home. After observing the property was on the market a few years ago, Heather and Tommy knew it was the perfect full-circle moment for their family of five to call this house their home. “The opportunity to buy this house, and with all of our memories here, we knew it was the right time,” Heather smiles.
Described as an “updated French Parisian-style home” by its interior designer Matthew Nicholas, the residence is stunning upon approach. A long driveway lined with trees winds through a gate to the elegant facade. Since the time the original Hixon family resided here, the homeowners renovated several spaces by adding walls to create more rooms. “We wanted to open it back up to resemble the way it looked when Tommy’s parents lived here,” Heather notes. “The openness of this house, to me, is what makes it so special.” To breathe life into her vision, she called designer Nicholas to work his unique magic of rich, classic style infused with stunning antiques. The goal was to brighten the home, renew the spaces, and bring a formal quality to the entire home. While making the interior spaces reflect the grand beauty of the outside, Matthew also made the spaces livable and comfortable.
Nicholas started the creative process by examining the Hixon’s home at the time to catalog the pieces that were significant to Heather, including her dining table and chairs, a beautiful collection of Andrew Bucci artwork and various sentimental antique pieces. Several structural features needed to be modified in the house, so for all construction work, the Hixons hired Mike Byrd of MBC Construction, with whom the designer has trusted for over a decade. “To start, I felt that in order to make the interior more formal, we needed to add the raised French paneling throughout the downstairs and eliminate all interior columns,” Matthew states. The custom finishes were done by Tammy Parham, who Matthew refers to as “an artist who can see my vision without asking.” For the floors throughout the house, Chris Pittman lightened the spaces by bleaching and pickling the white oak. A classic arrangement of white Thassos and Diano Royale marble was installed as the foyer flooring to style a grand impression upon entry. The marble for the floor and the Mystery White for the countertops in the kitchen were all sourced from JTM Stone of Flowood. All hardware was updated to Rocky Mountain Hardware from Ridgeland Specialty Hardware. Matthew also custom-designed the iron and brass interior balconies to be fabricated by James Minter of B&O Machine Welding of Brookhaven. The collaboration of these incredibly talented artisans resulted in a stunning work of art.
When it was time to begin sourcing the unique lighting and furnishing selections, Matthew and his assistant, Joseph Arnoult of New Orleans, flew to hunt the markets and antique provisions. “The main challenges in this project were the home’s towering ceilings that needed furniture to the scale of the rooms,” Matthew notes. At market, Joseph immediately discovered the unique lanterns to be hung over the kitchen island to pair perfectly with the La Cornue Chateau range and custom hood. The enormous cabinet in the formal living room, the black china cabinet, the living room sofa, and several chandeliers were custom-made by Dennis & Leen and Iatesta Studio. Nicholas also serves as a designer for Niermann Weeks, a Maryland-based custom furnishings firm. He designed the massive chandelier for the great room and sourced the Louis XVI canopy bed for the master suite. Cole Myers of Myers and Monroe Antiques in Kansas City, Missouri, acquired many fine pieces for the home, including the large Restoration period gilded mirror in the dining room, the Louis XVI walnut commode with white marble top in the formal living room, and a one of a kind French Louis XV chateau armoire that was previously published in a book from the 1950s on master French cabinet makers.
The most unique space in the house is the billiard room. “The men in our family have always played pool, and we have always had pool tables,” Heather states. “This billiard room was exactly where it was all those years ago.” Nicholas designed the custom pool table and drew plans for the shelves and banquet, which Mike Byrd and son-in-law Turner Havard painstakingly created with their incredible woodworking talents. The table itself is in an Art Deco style, with a customized color and felt top to coordinate with the rest of the home. Derrick Tiers of Kansas City, Missouri, specializes in restoring and customizing billiard tables and created the sophisticated work of art for the family’s use. The Hixon sons, one of whom is in college and one recently graduated, still bring friends over to play when they are home. “That space is off the kitchen, and it really makes me happy every time I walk by,” Heather adds.
For the finishing details, Matthew and Joseph teamed with Matthew’s sister Marie Curtis, an interior designer and retail store owner in St. Louis, to create the final magic. Larger pieces, such as a pair of 18th-century gilded mirrors, a Niermann Weeks mirrored Mirabeau center table in the entry, and marble and bronze Gueridon tables with large alabaster lamps, were perfectly placed in the home. The rare Swedish clock in the formal living room, numerous antique crystal lamps, and pieces of French Baccarat opaline boxes were the crowning jewels to bring color and texture into these spaces. “Marie was able to pick up on Heather’s attention to detail and love of fabrics, so we enjoyed picking out a palate of creams, pale pinks, soft blues, and touches of gold and corals,” Matthew states. To offset the soft colors, the designer installed the dramatic black cabinet, which balances out the impressive grand piano. All drapery and pillows were custom made by Four Seasons Workroom of Ridgeland, and upholstery for the 18th-century French daybed and coral-leather French chairs in the grand living room were created by Johnny Buskirk of Studio B Upholstery.
Heather personally selected the artwork and has curated her exquisite collection over many years. Mostly pieces by local artists and friends, the collection works perfectly with the peaceful yet classic design of the home. As owner of LeFleur Interiors and Gifts in Jackson and Oxford, Heather has an incredible eye for style and represents many talented artists with whom she has developed relationships throughout her career. It was during the time of this project that Matthew launched a booth of antiques in her retail space, thus giving him an outlet to display the fine and unique pieces as an offering to the public.
Over the last three decades, many wonderful memories have been made in this home—the majority produced by the Hixon family. The two older boys of Heather and Tommy’s three children have lovely childhood memories of when their grandparents lived in the home, though their younger daughter—who now lives in her uncle’s childhood room—was not born then. “We now have meals and Christmas mornings in the very same rooms we celebrated in many years ago,” Heather smiles. “We have always loved to entertain, and this is the perfect house for it.” When her in-laws moved from the home years ago, Heather’s mother-in-law gifted her a statue and a pair of sconces from the home. She is thrilled that those pieces have now made their way home, as she and her family have as well.
