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When interior and fabric designer Marika Meyer embarked on the renovation of her 1949 Colonial in Chevy Chase, Maryland, her first stop for inspiration was her own family tree. “I was moved by my decorator grandmother Marika Moore Aires’s style,” says Meyer. “She was passionate about neoclassical proportions and that idea translates well to a house of this age. I really leaned into that and had some fun; I was also fortunate to have pieces from her collection.”
Faced with a tricky living room floor plan—long and narrow, with five entrances and just one window—Meyer used furnishings and eye-catching pattern to create cohesion, including a Cowtan & Tout flame stitch, Brunschwig & Fils ikat, and pillows in a China Seas block print. The painting above the sofa (upholstered in a Schumacher velvet) is by Meyer herself.
Stacy Zarin GoldbergMore pressing than the furnishings, however, was restoring the original character of the house. “The prior owners had lived here for 40 years, and it went through several iterations,” says Meyer. “The last one kept it firmly planted in the 1990s, and at some point, all the casement moldings and crown trim were removed,” The designer consulted with her go-to architect, Peter Miles, to create better flow, add architectural details back in, and replace an existing addition with an updated one to house the new kitchen.
“I use this pattern quite frequently; there’s a reason it’s an icon," says Meyer of Schumacher’s classic Imperial Trellis, which she used on chair backs in the dining room. Visual Comfort chandelier; trim in Mizzle by Farrow & Ball.
Stacy Zarin Goldberg
A spatterware vase in a pink-and-blue colorway adds unexpected punch to a vintage chest (updated with white paint) and pagoda mirror. “It’s fun and a little funky; I like to tie in some unexpected accessories to a traditional space.”
Stacy Zarin GoldbergWith the first-floor renovation sorted, says Meyer, “I spent about six months just being in the space, trying to decide what direction I wanted to embrace. I returned to the idea of an interior grounded in traditional beauty.”
Using her grandmother’s gracious style as her guide, Meyer filled the home with a mix of period-appropriate furniture, including 1940s Hickory Chair armchairs, a 1950s Paul McCobb coffee table, vintage Kittinger club chairs, and Drexel chests, reimagined with new upholstery or a coat of fresh white paint. In fact, the whole home is filled with vintage treasures, a hallmark of Meyer’s approach to decorating. “The smaller scale of many vintage pieces works well in older homes that have a more traditional layout,” she explains. “They make the house feel like it’s been curated and collected over time and not overly designed.”
A vintage family portrait commissioned by Meyer’s grandmother formed the basis for the palette throughout the house's first floor, which is awash in shades of blues and greens. Farrow & Ball Lotus wallpaper; vintage lamp.
Stacy Zarin Goldberg
The powder room is set off by a thick marble slab for the vanity and a dynamic Cole & Sons wallpaper. Visual Comfort sconce; vintage mirror; Rohl fixtures and sink.
Stacy Zarin GoldbergFor the palette, the designer teased out colors from a portrait her grandmother had commissioned, which features three generations of Marikas (Meyer is the fourth), rendered in tones of blue and green. “My previous home and many of my projects feature brighter colors, but here, I decided to leave the warmer yellows and oranges behind and pivot to cooler hues,” says Meyer.
For her new kitchen counters, Meyer chose Virginia Mist granite, which looks like soapstone but can stand up to family life. The hardwood floors were stained dark in keeping with the house's era, and the ceiling painted in Iceberg by Benjamin Moore. Urban Electric pendants with custom shades in Marika Meyer fabric.
Stacy Zarin GoldbergThe tightly edited palette didn’t deter the designer’s signature pattern play. Meyer had long wanted a garden-inspired dining room with chinoiserie flair, so she chose Schumacher’s distinctive Brighton Pavilion wallpaper panels in green that picked up the tones from the portrait. To counterbalance the distinctly feminine feel, she opted for clean-lined furniture and a simple sisal rug. “With three men in the house, I didn’t want any space to be fussy,” she explains. Trim painted in Mizzle by Farrow & Ball, a “handsome, soft gray-green,” visually links it to the adjoining butler’s pantry.
“I wanted a more intimate space to gather apart from the island, so I added a cozy banquette” to the breakfast nook, says Meyer. The painting is her own—Meyer has a fine arts degree—and the walls are covered in a Thibaut paper-backed linen for added texture.
Stacy Zarin Goldberg
Meyer transformed the original butler’s pantry into a destination with a bar, sink, and warming drawer. The space shines with mirror-fronted upper cabinets and a deep blue subway tile installed vertically. Penny Morrison fabric shade.
Stacy Zarin GoldbergThe living room proved the most challenging as it had five separate entry points and only one window. Some tweaks to the layout solved part of the problem, but the issue of the furniture plan remained. “I was struggling with how to make this a compelling space where people would want to gather,” say Meyer. Her solution? More pattern—namely, Farrow & Ball’s Lotus wallpaper. “It’s interesting and sophisticated enough to draw you in, but not overly loud when you’re in the room,” she says. Plus, “it reminded me of my grandmother’s home,” a stone’s throw away in Washington D.C.’s Woodley Park neighborhood. “In the end, my house feels so familiar and yet so uniquely ours.”
