Faces of Annapolis 2019

The Face of Waterfront Design

GINA FITZSIMMONS

Interior designer Gina Fitzsimmons wanted to live on the water for as long as she could remember. Raised in Annapolis from the age of 13, she not only observes but internalizes daily the Chesapeake Bay’s complex palette, its majestic surfaces, its intelligence, the uncanny ability to repair the balance. The singular beauty of its flora and fauna, right down to the anterior of a Chincoteague oyster or the celandine arc of marsh grass, forms her design philosophy. “My aesthetics of integrating natural materials and contrasting textures are part of the classic look and comfortable ease of my Chesapeake design style. I focus on bringing the view into the room and melding the interior architecture and furnishings.”

In her early career days, Fitzsimmons renovated homes, getting involved in interior and architectural details, transforming residences often gutted right down to the studs. With this valuable hands-on knowledge, she is able to assess a home structurally and often works with architects and builders from the ground up, during a home’s design and building phases. Like the tides and its levels, Fitzsimmons is always moving or making a plan, working towards her goals.

Now at the top of her game, she is a full service ASID interior designer, kitchen and bath designer with NKBA, and owner of a retail design boutique featuring furnishings and accessories with a coastal influence. Her goal is simple: “I want my clients to enjoy living on the water as much as I do,” she says. Because every day is different and each client unique, Fitzsimmons loves her job. She also loves her life and for a very good reason—she wakes up everyday in her fabulous home on Spa Creek to nothing but sky and water.