Goodness, grazie!

On an unusually quiet block of Laclede Station Road in Richmond Heights sits an unexpected, old-world Mediterranean home. Built in 1937, it celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2012, making it one of the street’s earliest residences. For the lady of the house, interior designer Mary Tramelli of interior design company Call Mary, the home has been a labor of love from the very beginning. 

When Mary and husband Dan moved into the home 27 years ago, it was only slightly more than 1,000 square feet, and neither could have predicted how the house would change to fit their family  — although Mary always saw its potential. 

“I fell in love with it from day one, just because of the architecture. I loved the [dining room’s] high ceiling, the stucco, the hardwood floors, the terrazzo floor and the flow,” says Mary. “I loved the fact that it was unique — and unique in this neighborhood. The vaulted ceiling and the front window are what sold me. Well, everything sold me on this house.”

Through the years the house became home to the couple’s three sons, and as the family grew, so did the house. The first renovation added a two-story addition, creating two bedrooms and a bath for the boys, and the second transformed the garage into a family room. In the end, the family doubled its space, making it a 2,800-square-foot home. Mary also converted their backyard patio into a full-fledged outdoor living room, which sits comfortably between the breakfast and family rooms.

While still spatially small, the house feels anything but. The flow from room to room has a natural rhythm, with each space breezing easily into the next. The home feels spacious and inviting, open yet connected. This is truly a testament to Mary’s superb design skills and talent for making the most of every space. “It’s so much easier to entertain when rooms move in a circle,” says Mary. “When we have a lot of people in here it doesn’t usually feel tight. There are a lot of rooms to go into, but you still aren’t separated, especially when we open the French doors [to the outdoor living room].”

From its antique clay-tiled roof that curves and slopes down the house to the stucco outer surface, the home’s exterior truly exudes old-world Mediterranean charm, which Mary has seamlessly integrated into the home’s interior design. Walking through the house stirs feelings of visiting an Italian bungalow, with its rich, earthy color palette, photos of the couple’s favorite Italian locales — Positano and Verena among them — dotting the walls, arched alcoves with inset column murals and a Romanesque mural framing the doorway that leads from the dining room to the breakfast room, and so much more.

It's easy to see how a family of five ­— and now, with three grown sons, a household of two — could live comfortably in this cozy home. But it's harder to imagine how Mary entertains more than 30 guests on Thanksgiving Day, her favorite holiday.

The home’s romantic, rustic color palette clearly lends itself to autumn festivities, and if at first glance the pint-sized kitchen seems cause for concern, it’s actually not at all. “You don’t need a big kitchen, you just need a big pot,” says Mary.

Instead of spending Turkey Day stuck in the kitchen, Mary makes sure the cooking is taken care of ahead of time and asks guests to bring dishes in disposable containers, which she plates on her own decorative platters right before dinner. “That, or people will pick up one of my dishes,” says Mary. “If they need a pan that’s decorative for the table, they’ll come and get it beforehand.” Every year, Mary prepares several essential Thanksgiving dishes, many made with recipes handed down by her mother and grandmother. Aside from the turkey, gravy and cranberry sauce, she cooks her mother’s signature Italian pork sausage, Parmesan and spinach dressing and sweet potatoes with praline topping.

Though Mary knows these family recipes by heart, if she or one of her six siblings should ever forget a step, measurement or spice, they’re in luck. Several years ago, for Christmas, their mother gifted her children with a family cookbook she created herself. Filled with family recipes old and new — including her grandfather’s recipe for homemade Italian pork sausage, an integral ingredient in the Thanksgiving dressing — and peppered with priceless pictures spanning generations, the cookbook is not only a cherished treasure but also an Italian chef’s dream.

“My mom and dad entertained, and we had every holiday at their house — and they had a small house,” says Mary. “You couldn’t wait to get to the house, though, because you knew it was going to be fun, and the food was going to be great. You feel like a family. You don’t need a lot of space; you need charming space. You need family space.”

Just as recipes collected from generations of her family come together on her Thanksgiving table, pieces of her Italian heritage and history have helped shape her home. For Mary, a huge part of reorganizing her house happened when she switched the dining room with the living room, an inspired idea she had after hosting her mother’s Italian-themed 70th birthday party. Originally the switch was temporary, made only to accommodate guests, but Mary loved how the large room, with its 12-foot vaulted ceiling, could comfortably and stylishly seat so many guests.

Shortly after the party, Mary and Dan took a trip to Verena, Italy, in the Lake Como area, where they spent time at Dan’s uncle’s farm in Firenzuola. While relatives rolled fresh pasta in the kitchen, Mary stood in awe of the home’s beautiful, long farm table and knew it was exactly the type she wanted for her dining room. When she returned to St. Louis, she found the perfect table to capture that Italian family style spirit in her own home. “There is nothing I don’t like about Italy,” says Mary. “I love the lifestyle. They enjoy each other. They don’t rush. The way Italians eat is amazing. It’s all so fresh, and they savor it.”

Right before guests arrive on Thanksgiving Day, with music and tantalizing aromas drifting through the house, Mary lights candles and prepares an antipasto platter. She says her home is always open to new guests and encourages friends and family to invite anyone in need of a warm, welcoming holiday meal. Before indulging in the day’s special dinner, each person stands at the table and says what they’re thankful for. “The only thing is that it tends to get a little long and the food gets cold because there are so many of us!," says Mary, with a playful smile.

Mary Tramelli:
HOW TO ENTERTAIN IN A SMALL SPACE

1. Flip the living room and dining room. Before, ours was too narrow. You could only fit so many people, and switching the rooms opened up the space.

2. Be organized. If you get your routine down to a science, it helps relieve stress later.

3. Opt for buffet-style serving. You will have more room at the table for seating, and if you prepare mostly cold pick-up food, there's less to reheat. If guests are bringing food items, have them store their dish in a disposable container, and when they arrive, plate it on your own dish. 

4. Try to get as much seating as you can. I always try to design in a circle and seat at least eight guests at a table. 

5. Always create an ambience. Turn on every light in the house to make your home more inviting, and if you have light dimmers, use them for mood. Have music playing throughout the house to create an inviting flow that lets guests comfortably move from room to room.

RESOURCES:

Call Mary, owner/interior designer Mary Tramelli, 314-781-3403, 314-602-8218, callmary@sbcglobal.net

Bloomin’ Buckets, owner/floral designer Barb Wehking, 314-961-4040, www.bloominbuckets.com