Date: October 25, 2011 | Story: Interview by Julie Wax | Styling: Mandy Keener |
At Home in Arkansas: Last time At Home visited, you were living in a 1950s contemporary home, and here we find you in a Georgian Revival residence. What inspired the design shift?
Scott Paterek of Massimo: This house. I’ve lived in a lot of different types of homes, and I’m not after a particular style—it just needs to be a good example of that style. Even though this home is totally different than my contemporary place, its symmetry and clean lines really grabbed my attention.
AHIA: As a design pro, is there advice you give your clients that you made sure to put into practice at your own place?
SP: I tell clients to shop around and not be afraid to mix it up. Just because you’re contemporary or traditional, don’t be afraid to mix in another style. I think that’s the secret to this house. It’s very traditional, and certainly many of the furnishings have traditional elements, but we tried to give it a twist, to tweak it and make it our own.
AHIA: You kept most of the walls neutral. Did this help with decorating decisions?
SP: That’s a personal preference. Some of it was the style of the house; I thought the classic styling lent itself to light neutrals. Because my partner and I collect different kinds of art with a lot of color, we lean toward a neutral palette.
AHIA: The wall paneling in the den adds an interesting layer of architectural detail to the space.
SP: The paneling was here when we bought the house, and it certainly attracted me to it. I love the detail, and while we didn’t add it here, it’s just the sort of thing we try to use at clients’ homes if a space is very plain. We try to beef up the details a bit.
AHIA: The floor in the foyer is eye-catching as well.
SP: We love this black geometric inset pattern on the floor, so we painted the staircase banister black. The strong hits of black punctuate the light floor and walls and add contrast.
AHIA: The art and artifacts are arranged beautifully along the staircase.
SP: This collection has been growing for more than 10 years. In one house, the art portion was collected in one room and the objects were in another room. When we moved here, I wanted to mix it up and add some dimension because it’s such a large, blank wall. I began by placing everything on the floor to get a general feel of what related to what. It’s really a matter of mixing your horizontals and verticals and filling in from there.
AHIA: What role does lighting play in your home?
SP: I don’t try to brightly light every room, but rather to add just enough light to be comfortable. Since it’s an older home, we don’t have much recessed lighting, so we use several lamps with different types of shades. The den is fairly dark with the paneling, so we used six lamps, two hanging fixtures and five recessed cans. If you use all of that on dimmers, it really gives a nice feeling.
AHIA: You have so many wonderful accessories.
SP: I enjoy the collections, but my partner is the true collector. I love textiles and furniture, but by the time I’ve shopped for clients all week, I’m not as prone to run out and hunt for certain objects. It’s been a very interesting collaboration, a reformed minimalist and a collector putting a house together.
AHIA: There seems to be a good balance between form and function.
SP: That can be a tough combination. Our friends have said that the house looks put together, yet they’re not afraid to sit down. And I think that’s because of the way things have been collected and purchased. It’s obvious we didn’t just go to a retail outlet and begin buying color-coordinated accessories. These are estate sale and flea market finds, and items from our travels—all of those things give it a personal element, which is so important. It’s giving it your own signature, whatever that might be.
Design Resources
Interior design Massimo, Little Rock
Art Boswell Mourot Fine Art, Little Rock
Bedding Vesta’s, Little Rock
Draperies Cynthia East Fabrics, Little Rock
Framing Hillcrest Gallery, Little Rock
Furnishings, accessories LaHarpe Office Furniture, Marshall Clements, Massimo, Rock Paper Scissors, Sweet Home Furnishings, Little Rock; Paul Michael Company, Lake Village
Hardwood floor, rugs Arnold’s Flooring America, Little Rock
Lamps Lamp Shades, Etc., Little Rock
Paint Sherwin-Williams, locations statewide
Rug-bedroom Hadidi Oriental Rug Comapany, Little Rock
