Story: Laura Keech Allen  |  

Living Areas

When Julie Wait Fryauf, ASID, and her team at Julie Wait Designs in Rogers began working on this home for a newlywed couple, they already had a considerable amount of experience working with the groom and his family, but they were anticipating helping the couple find their own unique style. “Since this was to be their first home together, we understood they didn’t have a set lifestyle,” Julie says. The newly constructed home in Springdale includes an open floor plan, allowing the living areas to flow together, including the tailored dining room. In fact, the china that the couple received as wedding gifts provided an element of inspiration for the home’s design. “It was the only thing I was sure about!” the bride says. The chandelier’s silvery finish and the traditionally inspired furnishings are combined with subtle texture and pattern on the wallpaper, rug and fabrics for the ideal blend of youthful and classic styles.

Interior design: Julie Wait Designs, Rogers
Fabrics: Interior Fabrics & Design, Fayetteville
Lighting and hardware: Lighting Emporium, Springdale
Window treatments and bedding: Greenvalley Window Solutions, Fayetteville

Blending the indoors and out was understandably important for exterior designer Daniel Keeley with DK Design and antiques dealer Alexander Hunt with French Metro Antiques, both in Fayetteville. Their ranch-style home received a major overhaul when they moved in, including the original carport, which was transformed into an outdoor dining area. “We entertain out here often, and it’s just a great place to relax,” Daniel says. “I always like creating beautiful outdoor rooms in unexpected places.” Boasting a table Daniel designed for the space out of scrap metal and contemporary teak chairs, the space is encircled by outdoor-friendly drapery and rows of box planters for an element of privacy.

Interior and exterior design: DK Design, Fayetteville; French Metro Antiques, Fayetteville
Furnishings: French Metro Antiques, Fayetteville; IQ Furniture, Fayetteville; Lacuna Modern, Fayetteville

Location was their first consideration when Kevin Walsh and Brett Pitts, co-owners of Bear-Hill Interiors in Little Rock, began looking for a house on Lake Hamilton, but once they found the perfect spot, they immediately went to work remodeling the 900-square-foot home on a secluded area called Little Mazarn Creek. The home’s centerpiece is the living area, which is presided over by a wall of windows, and to make the most of the spectacular setting, they choose a predominately white color palette, with soft fabrics and slipcovers on all the furnishings, adding texture and interest with graphic brown and white pillows. “I also incorporated a lot of elements that can be seen through, like the fretwork dining chairs, along with glass and other reflective surfaces,” Kevin says.

Interior design and furnishings: Bear-Hill Interiors, Little Rock
Remodeling: Beard-Breeding Construction, Mabelvale

Little Rock builder Richard Harp and his wife, Brandy, collaborated with interior designer Tobi Fairley, professional member of ASID, of Tobi Fairley Interior Design on the look and feel of their Bella Rosa Estates home, including the striking two-story living room. With French Country design as their inspiration, they established a color palette of yellow and cream, with touches of blue, and elements including the Rumsford-style fireplace, hand-scraped hardwood floors and wrought-iron, travertine and granite finishes all contribute to an overall atmosphere of relaxed elegance. “Even though the influence is somewhat formal, the finishes are distressed and casual, which covers a multitude of ‘sins’ when it comes to wear and tear from the kids,” Tobi says.

Building: Richard Harp Custom Homes, Little Rock
Interior design: Tobi Fairley Interior Design, Little Rock
Flooring: ProSource, Little Rock
Window treatments: Mountjoy’s Custom Draperies, Mabelvale

While designing her own Little Rock home, interior designer Tobi Fairley, professional member of ASID, of Tobi Fairley Interior Design saw the importance of creating an oasis of beauty and order for herself and her family. “My main goals in this home were for it to be relaxed and organized, and the two really go hand in hand,” she says. “It’s hard to be relaxed amidst clutter.” The family room was an important part of that strategy, bathed in shades of green, black and white, which run throughout the home. On the open shelving, Tobi covered all the books in white paper and paired them with carefully edited all-white accessories. “I enjoy the sense of accomplishment and organization I get every evening when I look at these shelves,” she says.

Interior design: Tobi Fairley Interior Design, Little Rock
Flooring: Inside Effects, Little Rock
Upholstery: Larry’s Custom Creations, Little Rock
Window treatments: Mountjoy’s Custom Draperies, Mabelvale

 

Kitchens

Dave and Jan Allmendinger built their Heber Springs home on the Little Red River as a retreat for their family. “We wanted a place where our family and friends could relax, be themselves, nurture relationships and begin to fall in love with the outdoors,” Dave says. The cozy kitchen is an essential part of that atmosphere, designed by their daughter, interior designer Krista Lewis, with the look of Louisiana’s rural cottages in mind. Carefully selected details, like the beamed ceilings, bead board paneling, exposed bricks and plank pine all work together to offer an Acadian influence, as does the home’s relationship to the outdoors. Taking advantage of the backyard and the surrounding beauty was top priority, and the kitchen window was positioned for the best view of Sugar Loaf Mountain.

Interior design: K. Lewis Designs, Little Rock
Architect: Ethos Design Group, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Builder: Birdsong Builders, Heber Springs
Flooring: Woodward Flooring, Heber Springs; Antique Brick, Little Rock
Lighting: TEC Electric, North Little Rock
Hardware: PC Hardware, Little Rock
Surfaces: House of Marble, Little Rock
Appliances: Metro Builders Supply, Maumelle

The kitchen in Leah and Ryker McDaniel’s El Dorado home opens gracefully to the family room and breakfast area—one of the features they loved about the floor plan. The couple worked with builder Barry Owens of Owens Construction and designer Andrea Brooks of Andrea Brooks Interiors, who helped customize the plans to work with the family’s needs. The rich wooden cabinetry and stacked stone are the ideal complements to the home’s rustic style, which Andrea softened with punches of color. But function was key in the kitchen, which gets plenty of use. “Leah loves to cook, so having a state-of-the-art kitchen that opens up to the family den was very important to her,” Andrea says.

Interior design: Andrea Brooks Interiors, El Dorado
Builder: Owens Construction, El Dorado
Flooring: Storey’s Flooring, El Dorado
Lighting: Lighting Designs by Lisa, El Dorado

When Gary and Cathy Pursell of Creative Heights Partners in Little Rock began renovating the house at the corner of Country Club and Van Buren, they weren’t yet sure if their family would take up residence in the home. “But we design every house with a mindset of ‘How would we want to live in this house, and what would make it work?’” Cathy says. So after receiving an offer on their previous home, they made the move, enabling them to take advantage of the amazing kitchen and its pecky cypress cabinetry, vaulted ceiling and warm neutral color scheme. Particularly stunning is the long dining table flanked by a pair of slipcovered benches, which Gary built from flooring remnants. Not only does it perfectly fill the space and provide a visual separation between the kitchen and living area, it’s also evocative of the Pursells’ commitment to re-using and re-imaging materials.

Interior design and building: Creative Heights Partners, Little Rock
Lighting: TEC Electric, North Little Rock
Appliances: Metro Builders Supply, Maumelle
Surfaces: All Natural Stone, Little Rock; Bedrock International, Little Rock

Tela and Chris Webb wanted much more out of their El Dorado kitchen than just a place to cook dinner. Their goal was to transform the room into the home’s command center, with plenty of storage for home-office essentials and room for the entire family, including daughter Sophie, to gather. Interior designer Melinda Dodson of MD Designs worked to realign the kitchen around a large central island topped in butcher block and established a cottage-inspired look combining two different blues, white cabinetry and black-and-white flooring. The result is ideal for the home, which was built in 1929 in downtown El Dorado, as well as for the Webb family. 

Interior Design: MD Designs, El Dorado
Builder: Larry West and Sons, Hampton
Cusions and draperies: Paula Kinnaird, El Dorado
 

Bedrooms

Kathleen and Len Pitcock weren’t considering a permanent move to Hot Springs, but when they discovered this 5,000-square-foot home built in 1955 by Peter Dierks Joers and available in pristine condition with much of the original furniture, they simply could not resist. Many pieces had been commissioned by the Joers from the Dunbar Furniture Company in Berne, Indiana, including the master bedroom’s chest of drawers in three different sections, which fits on top of a long, narrow platform and the bench at the foot of the bed that was designed to match. “There was really no question that we were going to have this furniture in this house,” Kathleen says. “It just belonged here.”

Furnishings and accessories: Deco & Dolls, Hot Springs; Fabulous Finds, Little Rock
Building materials: Red River Lumber, Texarkana
Hardware: PC Hardware, Little Rock
Lighting: Light Innovations, Little Rock; Lamp Shades Etc., Little Rock

The design of Bill and Jane Hardin’s historic home in Little Rock’s Edgehill neighborhood, built in 1947 by Mr. and Mrs. Leo Griffin, was heavily influenced by the architecture and interior design of Denmark. “I traveled there in my late twenties and stayed in Copenhagen,” Jane says. “I loved the older homes with their bare, white-washed floors, lots of paned windows and the use of glass and reflective elements.” Cool blues and whites run throughout the home, which they remodeled with help from Chris de Bin of Chris de Bin Construction, and into the master bedroom, which is characterized by blond and painted wood. Luxurious white bedding and slipcovered furnishings contribute to the Scandinavian feel.

Builder: Chris de Bin Construction, Little Rock
Furnishings and accessories: Marshall-Clement, Little Rock; Pflugrad’s Antiques, Little Rock

It was essential for interior designer Dixie Pittillo, allied member ASID, of Shepherd’s Interior Design in Pine Bluff, to consider the needs of each member of a Fayetteville family when designing their new home. Not only would the home need to function for two growing children, it also needed to balance the tastes of both parents as well. “The husband is drawn to more contemporary lines, but they both wanted a comfortable and timeless home that their kids could enjoy,” Dixie says. The master bedroom is perhaps the best expression of this, combining clean-lined furnishings and an oversized leather headboard with feminine bedding in cool colors. A small piece by artist Gino Hollander furthers the softening effect, as does the circular motif seen on the lamp and bedding.

Interior design: Sherpherd’s Interior Design, Pine Bluff
Decorative painting: Angelfish Studios, Little Rock
Flooring: Wood Floor Gallery, Springdale
Moulding: White River Hardwoods, Fayetteville
Flowers: Shepherd’s Florist, Pine Bluff