Date:  January 6, 2026  |   Story: Tiffany Adams  |   Photography: Rett Peek  |  

Tilden House renovates a Little Rock home with a dazzling mix of hues, showstopping artwork, and a functional flow

We need more space. It’s a reality that prompts many to move but for this family it came with a couple of stipulations: they wanted to stay in their neighborhood and they wanted an older home. When this property became available, it seemed to check all the boxes. “I had always dreamed of renovating an older home. I love the history and character within their walls,” the homeowner says. Built in 1938, the classic colonial shell boasted a non-traditional roofline and sat on a roomy lot, leaving the couple plenty of space to personalize it for their family of five and their beloved dog.

Before signing the deed, they phoned friend and designer Nikki Hastings of Tilden House Draft & Design to do a walk-through and envision how it could work for them. She found that while the floor plan was not ideal, it held promise, and the property’s spacious lot allowed for the addition of wings. “The way the house was laid out before, you got stuck in rooms. We wanted circulation so you can walk from room to room without having to go back to the foyer,” Nikki explains. To remedy this, she worked with contractor WillMark Homes to move the staircase to the right side of the entry, creating a clear path from the entrance to the kitchen and on to the backyard. “I would say the era when the house was built was a time when architects were experimenting, so the old layout wasn’t necessarily functional, but the house was cute and quirky,” adds Tilden House associate designer Lane Harrison.

Upstairs, renovation plans were able to garner four bedrooms where there were previously three, giving them a space for each child along with a guest room. From there, they added wings on both sides with one housing a primary suite and office and the second transforming a carport into a garage while adding a laundry, pool bath, and a second office.

As for the furnishings, Nikki notes the couple is drawn to “traditional features with a bold, colorful twist.” “I love color, and I love art!” the homeowner says. “I wanted our home to be a cozy, welcoming place where our friends and our children’s friends would feel comfortable,” she adds. Years worth of collected fabrics, patterns, and inspiration images proved to be fruitful when turned over to Nikki during the design process, with classic prints making appearances in fresh colorways and a thread of green and teal being drawn throughout the spaces. “Nikki is a master at mixing pattern and texture. I love how she can take a pattern and use it in a way I had never considered,” the homeowner says.

In some places, such as the front office, the couple’s artwork was the starting point for both plans and palettes, while in other rooms it seemed to fall in place like the missing piece of a puzzle. “I love it when people have a collection because art is so personal,” Nikki says. “A lot of people place art as a filler, and I think that’s the wrong way to approach it. When someone already has art they love, we have a leg up—and it’s a great way to start the process,” the designer adds. “I think I may have pushed Nikki over the edge a few times! My surprise art purchases were likely a challenge to work into the mix,” the homeowner adds with a laugh. “I really wanted guests to walk into our home and say, Oh! This looks like you. We love to entertain and to have fun, and I think the end result really reflects that.”

Diamond Suite
“These shelves were an opportunity to tastefully be a maximalist,” Nikki says of the built-ins that frame the entrance from the family room to the formal living room. The room’s pocket doors hold special meaning as the stained glass formerly hung in the client’s parents’ home. “We were able to incorporate the windows here to allow light to pass through even when the doors are closed—and the colors look like they were made for the space,” Nikki says.

All Fun & Games
A game table and dry bar area create a nook in the formal living room where the owner can host mahjong gatherings or the family can battle it out in a game of Monopoly. The built-in cabinets (which bear the diamond motif seen on the stained glass inset in the room’s pocket doors) now house a coat closet on the left and storage for entertaining pieces and china on the right. Works by Lisa Krannichfeld (on the shelving) and Crystal Jennings accent the space.

Flip the Room
In order to allow for a clear path from the front door to the backyard, they needed to reposition the home’s staircase. Moving it created a domino effect of changes, including relocating the fireplace to the opposite side of the formal living room. The generous-sized room also called for multiple conversation areas in order to make it feel cozy and function at peak. The juxtaposition of classic and contemporary is conveyed by the traditional marble fireplace surround that pairs with a midcentury Platner chair and a work by local artist Milkdadd. The kidney sofa, a piece the couple already owned, plays perfectly into the design with a welcoming curve that doesn’t impede the flow of traffic.

In Full Bloom
“Bloomsbury Garden” by Timorous Beasties, a wallcovering that Nikki and Lane knew was “the one” from the start, is the statement-maker in the dining room. Nikki notes the traditional pattern is based on a William Morris print but executed in a bright palette that wouldn’t have been present in his work, giving the best of both worlds: contemporary yet rooted in history. “It wasn’t that we needed to recreate the wheel per se, but it’s something you don’t see in everyone else’s home,” the designer notes, adding that this level of personalization is always her goal with clients. A custom Murano glass chandelier and a classic inlay table that is paired with chairs covered in a magenta velvet play to the backdrop’s whimsical tone.

“I wanted our home to be a cozy, welcoming place where our friends and our children’s friends would feel comfortable.”
—homeowner

Neutral Zone
While seemingly more subdued than the rest of the house, the kitchen carries traces of the hues found in other areas. “We don’t need every space in the design to speak up, so the kitchen became more quiet,” Nikki notes. Tilden House reworked the room’s configuration to allow for an expanse of windows that look out on the outdoor living area. The layout creates a continuous loop where no one gets blocked into a space or is interrupted by foot traffic when cooking at the stove. Hints of black—a grounding color present throughout the house—show up on the barstools and pendants.

A portion of the original kitchen was used to create a butler’s pantry and this back kitchen, which is located near the range. The designers worked with local company American Restoration Tile to select the colors for the mosaic floor tiles, which they then placed in a custom geometric pattern inspired by early 1900s mosaics.

Point of Entry
The reworked foyer mixes graphic black-and-white marble flooring and an antique Chiavari chair with a contemporary watercolor by Mallory Page that brings in the green hues from the adjoining rooms. Antique sconces and a Hollywood Regency stool covered in a leopard fabric accent the space. “I think just a pop of animal print has to be present somewhere, someway, somehow, always,” Nikki says.

A Fresh Spin Cycle
“This is a place we could stray a little from the rest of the house but still have it be in that colorful, bold vein,” Nikki says. “If you’re going to do laundry, it should be fun.” Inspired by photos of a vivid laundry space and the client’s love of Dorothy Draper, they chose her iconic “Brazilliance” pattern for the wallcovering and accented it with pink tiles and paint. “That pattern was created in 1937, a year before the house was built, so it’s one of those who’s-to-say-it-wasn’t-always-there features,” Nikki says. A layered collage depicting another design maven, Iris Apfel, punctuates the space.

Built for Him
As part of the right wing addition, the newly built gentleman’s office drew its framework and palette from a work by Tessa Davidson the couple purchased at M2 Gallery. The cabinetry creates an alcove that houses the piece while Phillip Jeffries’ “Rivets” wallcovering acts as a backdrop. “The wallpaper gave the room a lot of texture and detail, which only enhances the art,” Nikki notes. Midcentury-inspired pieces pair with a rug the owners had in their previous home to complete the look.

Suite Retreat
In the same wing as the office, the primary suite is a serene set-apart destination. With the addition came the opportunity to incorporate a vaulted ceiling with beams, a feature Nikki notes wouldn’t have rang true in the original footprint but feels at home in the newly created space. This principle was also applied to the palette and furnishings, which take a softer turn. The design carries into the bath where Schumacher’s “Cloud Toile” pattern subtly enlivens the walls, while classic marble flooring and mirrored-front cabinets add polish.

Design Resources
Builder Mark Caruthers and Jessie Pierce, WillMark Homes Interior design Lane Harrison and Nikki Hastings, Tilden House Draft & Design Accessories, bedding, furniture, and wallpaper Tilden House Draft & Design Appliances Metro Appliances & More Art M2 Gallery and Tilden House Draft & Design Cabinetry Duke Custom Cabinets Carpet Akel’s Carpet One and C&F Flooring and Rug Gallery Countertops Triton Stone Group Doors (Exterior) and windows Pella Doors (Interior) Kaufman Lumber Fabrics Designer Effects and Tilden House Draft & Design Fixtures Westlake Plumbing Flooring Hardwood Floors by Jeff McMillon Hardware Duke Custom Cabinets and Tilden House Draft & Design Ironwork Iron Paws by Anthony Billingsley Lighting The Shade Above and Tilden House Draft & Design Mirrors Tilden House Draft & Design and West Little Rock Glass Painting J&B Painting Rugs C&F Flooring and Rug Gallery and Tilden House Draft & Design Tile (Bathroom) Akel’s Carpet One Tile (floor) Akel’s Carpet One and American Restoration Tile Tile (backsplash) Akel’s Carpet One and The Tile Shop Upholstery Professional Touch Up Window Coverings Christi Cooper Designs and Tilden House Draft & Design