A 1928 Jacksonville Tudor Gets a Thoughtful Renovation That Honors Its Historic Charm

With the home being a fixture in the community, it only seemed appropriate to hire a designer who was equally embedded. Enter Jennie Crosby Hugo Mahoney of Crosby Designs. “Jennie’s family is synonymous with the design scene in Jacksonville,” Matt says in reference to Hugo’s Fine Furniture and Interiors, which began in 1921, before this home was even constructed.

Growing up in the business, Mahoney seemed to absorb style, furniture placement, and the marriage of gracious yet practical living by osmosis. “We used to visit Dad’s office, unpack furniture boxes, answer phones, and file paperwork. As one of five kids, I learned early on that asking for an allowance meant earning it first,” she recalls. Soon, the environment’s effect showed when she accompanied her father, Richard Hugo, on a trip to Highpoint Market, where she pointed him toward a pair of apple green leather chairs.

“The deal was I would work to pay them off if they didn’t sell,” she says. They sold before they hit the floor, affirming her eye and further engraining in her not only the family business but the design world. “A lot of designers have a certain look—and I think that’s a very smart business approach—but I really love to get to know my clients and design for them,” Jennie says. With this thought in mind, she and her design assistant, Mary Martha Waterworth—who happened to be a family friend of Jadon’s—set to work on the Fausts’ property.

Features such as the home’s grand-scale dining room, front living room, and tiny kitchen were commonplace in the era it was built but not as practical for life in 2025. With the entire home under construction, it provided an opportunity to take the formality of the floor plan down a notch, creating spacious yet cozy areas for the family of four to prepare meals, dine, and live day-to-day. While they initially considered keeping the shell and reallocating space to their needs, they realized a thoughtful addition, which includes a kitchen with a large island, a family room, mudroom, and generous-sized laundry, would serve them better.

To keep the home’s essence intact, they retained the original fireplace and replicated existing archways for cohesion. The design team paid particular attention to the millwork, adding dentil molding in the entry, custom crown in the dining room, and a fretwork-like pattern on the living room’s ceiling.

When it came to furnishings, Jadon created a board of images to share with Mahoney and Waterworth, but the design duo didn’t want to merely implement those looks. “We try to reinvent the wheel for the client so it’s personal to them,” Mahoney says. “Jadon is very sweetly sentimental. She wanted room for their photo albums and envisioned places for the family to make memories more so than the tangible items,” the designer adds.

“Matt jokes that my style is ‘grandma chic,’” Jadon says. “I’m traditional, but I like a lot of color. Mahoney nailed it with everything that’s bright and lively,” she says. It was also key for the interior renovations to match the exterior. “We thought about things like how you walk into the house and how we make the whole home jive—down to the fabrics that Jennie picked,” Matt says. “The hardest part was retaining the charm but making it modern,” he adds.

For the holiday season, Mahoney worked with Floral Anthology to dress the home’s main rooms in fresh greenery and placed handblown ornaments from local artist Burnt Glassworks on the tree and in decorative containers. “I like ornaments that speak to the family or that have character. I’m far more likely to go and buy handmade, antique, or vintage ornaments than I am to do an all-new scheme,” the designer says. The result is a place where thoughtful design decisions, meaningful furnishings, and a layer of holiday magic invite the family to be perfectly at home together.