Project Heritage Hills Reveal: Preserving the Soul of a Historic Oklahoma City Home

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Project Heritage Hills is a top to bottom renovation of a 1922 home in one of Oklahoma City's historic neighborhoods. Our clients, a family of six, fell for this house because of its character: the original millwork, the narrow plank oak floors, the staircase, and a sunroom you have to see to believe. They also needed it to work for four kids and two parents, every single day.

Here's the truth about renovations. They're harder than new construction. With new construction, you start with dirt and a floor plan and build whatever you want. With a historic renovation, you're working inside walls that aren't going anywhere, around window placements you can't change, and on a structure that has been settling for a hundred years. You have to massage the space into doing what you need. But that's also what makes it so satisfying. You start with something real, and you get to watch it become what it was always meant to be.

Our guiding question for every decision was simple: could this have always been here? We didn't want anything that felt overly trendy or "2026." We wanted things that could have been here 100 years ago and will hopefully be here 100 years from now. Come on in.

Interior Design: Kelsey Leigh Design Co.

Builder: McGregor Homes

Photography: Ashley Sullivan Photography

Historic 1922 red brick home in the Heritage Hills neighborhood of Oklahoma City, renovated by Kelsey Leigh Design Co.

A 1922 Home Worth Preserving

Because this home is historic, we protected the exterior and every original window. That meant all of the reworking happened inside, within the footprint the house already had. Instead of knocking down every wall for an open concept, we kept the defined rooms, passageways, and traditional transitions that make an old house feel like an old house, and we got creative with every square foot in between.

Entry vestibule with a black and white mosaic tile rug, antique mahogany chest, brass sconce, and arched mirror

The Entry Vestibule

We wanted the very first step inside to feel like it belonged to this house. We redid the tile and added a little tile "rug" detail on the floor, a new light fixture, mirrors, and a sconce. Then we set a vintage piece right at the door so guests are greeted by something with a little age to it. It's a small space, but it sets the tone for the whole home.

Historic home living room with new wall paneling, French doors, and camel velvet sofas facing a marble fireplace

The Living Room: Where Trim Tells the Story

When we walked in, the living room was big, long, and open, and honestly, a little boring. It did have beautiful original moldings, and those became our starting point. Trim became one of the most important players in this whole renovation. We paneled the entire room to match the character of what was already here, updated the fireplace, and retiled the surround. Above the mantel hangs an original painting by artist Abbey Ratcliff, whose work we come back to again and again.

Before the renovation, the long living room in the 1922 Heritage Hills home with plain walls, original crown molding, and no paneling — Before

This is the first room guests see and where the family entertains, so we let it lean a little more formal. A pair of matching velvet sofas in a golden camel color anchors the space, and I love how that warm tone carries through the rest of the home's color story. Striped, fringe ottomans keep it from feeling too serious.

Shop the living room: Mitchell Sofa | Molly 07 Tobacco / Sage Rug | Elwood End Table | Aiden Slipcover Swivel Chair

Moody study with a stained oak coffered ceiling, wraparound shelving, leather Chesterfield sofa, and a red patterned rug

Before the renovation, the study with plain cream walls and a cut out pass through opening in the wall — Before

The Study: From Pass Through Bar to Library

This room might be my favorite transformation in the whole house. When we started, it had white walls, a boring square opening, and a cut out pass through bar with a TV hung right underneath it. We said no to that.

Our clients wanted this to be a dual purpose room: a place to work, but also a place where the kids could wander in and the family could be together. So we built a desk with storage cabinets and knee space, and we transitioned the work surface to marble so it can take laptops and pens without scratching the wood. Shelving wraps the room, working around the original windows, because in a historic home, you protect the windows. Where one window interrupted the desk, we dropped into a little bench seat with storage below and a cushion on top. In the book nook, two reading lights on a switch make early mornings and quiet evenings feel cozy.

Overhead, we added a stained oak coffered ceiling that plays off the oak floors. The moody walls are sandwiched between oak above and oak below, and it feels warm and a little masculine in the best way.

Shop the Study: Corbin End Table | Bexley Floor Lamp

One of my favorite details sits at the opening to the study. When we started, it was a plain straight opening, and the built-ins beside it were tight open shelves. We kept the built-ins but added new cabinet doors with antique mirrored glass and brass cremone bolts. The shelves are still inside for flexible storage, but now it reads as a true architectural moment when you walk in. We also brought in elliptical arches and tied them into the new paneling, so the opening finally feels as considered as the rest of the house.

What makes this room so personal is what's in it. We used the client's existing leather Chesterfield sofa and leather club chairs, then layered in their own books, art, and his rodeo ribbons, filling in only where we needed to. It feels like it was always here, which was exactly the goal.

Formal dining room with navy floral wallpaper, black Windsor chairs, a pleated pendant, and a gallery wall above the sideboard

The Dining Room

This room got a massive transformation. There was dentil molding here when we started, and while it needed to be redone, we wanted to continue it, so we brought it back. We added wainscoting in sage green, then a blue wallpaper that picks up that same field color, and matched the trim and crown so the room has a two tone color drench. A gallery wall fills the long wall, and I love the way the gold frames sit against the navy.

Formal doesn't have to mean fussy. With young kids in the house, we chose Windsor chairs that are wipeable and durable. A side hutch holds her china collection, styled with our Crosby lamps from the lighting collection we designed with Alora Mood. The room feels vintage and forward at the same time.

Shop the dining room: Crosby Table Lamp by Kelsey Leigh Design Co. | Sutton Side Board | Crest Mirror

Renovated historic kitchen with an espresso stained white oak island, leathered granite, marble backsplash, and vintage milk glass pendants

The Kitchen

This is the room where the renovation story really shows. The original kitchen was closed off. There was a wall, a narrow passageway with a little post, a peninsula, and a big brick arch with the range tucked inside and maybe 12 inches of counter space. It wasn't working.

We opened the wall and turned the peninsula into a true island, while keeping clear entrances and exits so the kitchen still feels like a room, not one big open box. An immovable structural beam had to stay, so we designed the surrounding millwork to make it visually quiet within the architecture.

The island is new cabinetry in white oak with a dark espresso stain, with rounded corners and little casters at the base so it reads like a piece of furniture. We skipped the obligatory bar stools and put storage on both sides instead. Leathered granite on the island is hardworking and low maintenance, and a marble backsplash brings the beauty, wrapping around to a new millwork range hood. V groove paneling runs around the room and into the breakfast room, the outlets got unlacquered brass plates, and vintage lighting finishes it off.

The function is where this kitchen really earns its keep. Behind an apothecary look, there's a spice drawer and pullouts for cookie sheets, utensils, oils, and vinegars. There's a broom closet for the stick vacuum, counter to ceiling cabinets for everyday dishes, peg drawers for plates and bowls, double trash, a pullout drawer under the farm sink so nothing gets lost in the back, and a panel ready dishwasher and fridge that disappear into the cabinetry.

Before

Opening that wall also gave us a bonus. What used to be a hallway became a storage wall, and we sourced an antique hutch for it. Her china collection lives up top, and the big cabinets below hold pots and pans. It looks collected, and it works hard.

The Scullery

Remember that awkward bar with a pass through into the study? It had an entry off the hall and wasn't serving anyone. The old pantry was just a regular door with a small closet, so we made our own walk-in pantry. We turned that awkward space into a gray back kitchen with a little window, V groove paneling, peg hooks, a back sink, a beverage fridge, a home for the microwave, a coffee station with retractable cabinet doors, and storage on top of storage. This historic home now has a front kitchen and a back kitchen.

Breakfast nook with a built-in banquette, gingham Roman shades, marble top table, and Windsor chairs

The Breakfast Room

The breakfast room stayed where it was, but it didn't have banquette seating. For a family this size, we added a banquette with piano hinge storage on all three sides, Roman shades in a little gingham, a new light fixture and sconces, and a breakfast table with a marble top, because marble is durable and forgiving for families where everyday meals happen.

Shop the breakfast room: Eakly Chair | Ellery Round DIning Table | Calm Sprout 1

Powder bath vanity detail with a marble swoop ledge, brass hardware, and fresh flowers

The Powder Bath

Tucked right off the driveway entrance, this little powder bath gave the main level a dedicated guest bathroom. It's tiny but mighty, and the wallpaper, stain, vanity, and wainscoting combination might be one of my favorites we've ever done. We used a leftover cut of the kitchen marble for a ledge with a little swoop detail, designed a millwork vanity with tapered legs and brass hardware, and added a wall-mount faucet and a pendant. There was a window to work around, so we found a mirror that fits the space just right.

Round sunroom with wall to wall windows, Saltillo tile floors, charcoal painted brick, and a wrought iron chandelier

The Sunroom

This sunroom is one of the features that drew our clients to the house, so we refreshed it rather than reinventing it. Wall to wall windows, a round wall, a beautiful ceiling, and light that's just magical. The Saltillo tile floors were here when we arrived. I'm not sure they're original to the home, but they felt right, so we kept them and that bit of history. We kept all of the brick too and painted it a charcoal gray, which gave the room so much mood and character. Then we redid the fireplace and added a new light fixture.

Our clients asked for a table out here for overflow seating, breakfast in the morning light, and family game nights. A little sitting nook with a bar cart is ready for an after dinner glass of wine. She loves antiques, so we layered in her own collected pieces, including a vintage record player, and helped her source some new finds so the space feels personal.

Shop the sunroom: Ardmore Dining Table | Prescott Slipcover Dining Chair | Ophélie Side Table | Ali Floor Lamp

Color drenched primary bedroom with framed botanical prints, a velvet upholstered bed, and ivory ceramic lamps

Color drenched primary bedroom with arched built-ins, art lights, slipcovered swivel chairs, and an original Abbey Ratcliff painting above the fireplace

The Main Suite

Upstairs, the main bedroom came together so well. We color drenched the room, refinished the floors, fixed all the little things that were run down, added draperies, and redid the fireplace, where another original Abbey Ratcliff painting hangs above the mantel. Arched built-ins with storage below and art lights above frame the room, and a little retreat area has custom slipcovered glider rocker swivel chairs. We went slipcovered because they might use these chairs with their babies. It feels restful, classic, and peaceful.

Primary bathroom double vanity with a dark stained cabinet, Carrara marble top, brass faucets, and scalloped mirrors

The Primary Bathroom

I'm so proud of what our team was able to massage out of this layout. By borrowing space from what used to be an open porch, we fit a full double vanity with tons of drawer storage, towel walls, a private water closet that's tiny but mighty, and a shower that used to be tiny and is now huge.

Primary bathroom vanity beside an arched walk-in shower lined in Carrara marble with a basket weave floor

A beautiful shower takes more than a pretty tile, and this one is all about the details. A small Carrara marble basket weave mosaic covers the floor like a little tile rug, soft underfoot and full of texture. The walls rise in a wainscoting moment of 12 by 24 Carrara, finished with a marble chair rail and classic 3 by 6 subway tile above. The tile carries all the way across the ceiling, wrapping the whole shower in marble, and frames the arched shower opening so cleanly that the trim seems to grow right out of it. Carrara marble slab curbs and a built in bench add a sense of permanence, and the shower niche is picture framed with the same molding detail we used throughout the bath. The controls sit just outside the spray, so it works as well as it looks. It’s a timeless marble shower that feels like it has always belonged to this historic home, and it looks like a million bucks.

Laundry Room

I think the best thing that happened in this renovation was moving the laundry. Before, it lived in the basement on unfinished concrete. Every bedroom in this home is upstairs, so we brought the laundry up next to the primary closet. It has a pullout ironing board with an outlet nearby, blind corner storage, linen and overflow cabinets, and a spot for soaps and supplies.

The cafe curtain on the laundry window matches the curtain closures in the primary closet, which got its own upgrade. The space was there but wasn't being used well, so we added a full chest of drawers, his and hers sides, shoe shelves, a full height mirror, and long hanging for dresses. Now the whole second floor lives the way a family of six actually lives.

Boy's bedroom with an alcove bed between built-in wardrobes, insect prints, and red bed sconces

The Kids' Rooms and Bath

There are five bedrooms upstairs, and with four kids, every one of them had to work hard.

One of the boys' rooms had no closet at all. Instead of building into the room, we created an alcove bed flanked by two symmetrical wardrobes with hanging rods and drawers inside. Baskets above handle seasonal swap outs, little niches hold a water bottle or a book, and bed sconces make reading easy. He's really into insects, so the art followed suit. You'll also spot one of my favorite details in this house here: vintage style switches with brass plates and little pearl buttons.

The kids' bathroom used to be a jumble of random closets. One of the bedrooms had a fireplace that wasn't working, and we had to remove it to gain the storage and space the family needed. It was the only one we took out. Every other fireplace in the house stayed. That tradeoff let us open up a big shared bathroom for four kids, with double vanities and a drawer bank for each child, a tub and shower combo with a hand shower for bath time, medicine cabinets, a laundry hamper, and a linen tower that just fits beside the window.

Putting a historic home together is a jigsaw puzzle. You're locked in by window placement and the original configuration of the house, and this room proves it. I'm so proud of our team for what we were able to create here.

Shop the kids' rooms: Lenapah Trunk | Judith Cabinet | Jules Ink / Terracotta Rug

A House That Kept Its Story

When this house was built in 1922, no one was imagining a laundry room upstairs, a scullery, or a bathroom built for four kids. But walk through it today and it doesn't feel changed. It feels like the same house, finally working the way this family needs it to. That was the goal from the very beginning: honor the history, and make room for the next hundred years.

If you're dreaming about renovating a historic home, or any home with a story worth keeping, we'd love to help you tell it. Start your project with us here.

Shop Project Heritage Hills

We’re excited to share some of the sources from our latest project! While we know our readers love getting the details on our designs, we also value the trust and privacy of our clients. Because of this, custom pieces, one-of-a-kind finds, and trade-only items won’t be disclosed. However, we’ve linked all Heritage House product sources and a few other retail items below each room listing. Thank you for following along!