Date: January 26, 2010 | Story: Sharon Mosley |
After seven years of living in their Conway home, Chris and Jennifer Crain decided it was time to give their house a design update. “It was very traditional,” Jennifer says, “and we wanted something a little more colorful and contemporary.”
Enter friend and Conway-based interior designer Tami Risinger. “Our goal became to make the space bright and full of energy, just like the family that lives here,” Risinger says. “That involved making a traditional home more modern, updating the space with abstract art and clean-lined furnishings.”
Art became the starting point for the colorful redo, and one of the Crains’ favorite paintings, which features vibrant swaths of turquoise, yellow and gold, started the decorating wheels turning. Based on that color palette, Risinger then chose paint and fabrics to launch the new interior design scheme. “We picked soft shades of neutral paint colors for the walls so they would make the brighter colors in the furniture and art pop,” she says.
In the main living area, where Jennifer says their family of four spends 90 percent of their time, the ceilings were raised to 25 feet and coated with a subtle golden hue of Sherwin-Williams’ Ramie paint. “We love to entertain,” Jennifer says, “so we wanted to open up this entire space.” The seating area was freshened up with new fabrics and the addition of orange leather chairs. Two turquoise leather stools studded with silver grommets provide even more contrast to the neutral walls, and draw attention to the black-and-white zebra carpet.
After the paint color Ancestral Gold was chosen for the dining room, Maumelle artist Buddy Whitlock was commissioned to create an abstract painting to reflect the homeowners’ newly refurbished space, including dining chairs that were updated with gold velvet upholstery. Custom silk taffeta draperies by Conway designer Perry Gwaltney were added to frame the windows, and a contemporary crystal chandelier was selected for its modern style.
In the living room, the same Ramie wall color provides the backdrop for a snowy-white glass tile fireplace, chocolate linen wing chairs, teal dupioni-silk draperies and a teal and white print chair–all accents for a neutral sofa flanked by teal blue Murano glass table lamps and beaded pillows.
“I think it’s really important to pay attention to all the small details,” says Jennifer, whose master bedroom and bath also reflect the same soothing color palette of creamy yellow gold walls (Believable Buff) with elegant dark wood and gold furnishings by Barbara Barry.
Upstairs, the Crains’ two daughters’ rooms are also eye-catching with colorful personalities. Twelve-year-old Camryn’s getaway includes a unique decorative treatment: her own hand-painted poem recreated by artist Jan Mallet over a hot-pink upholstered headboard set off by a graphic black-and-white bedspread and silver accessories.
Across the hall, eight-year-old Caroline shares the same penchant for vivid color with a turquoise padded headboard accented with a magenta floral print comforter and turquoise glass bedside table lamps.
“We wanted our home to be very cheerful and very personal,” Jennifer says, “and I think we have accomplished that.”
Design Resources
Builder Boone Custom Homes, Conway
Interior design Risinger Interiors, Conway
Art Buddy Whitlock, Maumelle; Steve Griffith, Conway
Draperies Possibilities Unlimited, Conway
Fabric Larry’s Inc., Little Rock
Flooring National Home Center, locations statewide
Floral design Tipton & Hurst, Little Rock
Furnishings Bear-Hill Interiors, Little Rock
Girls room furnishings/accessories Tuck & Cover, Little Rock
Lighting Light Innovations, Little Rock
Paint Sherwin-Williams, locations statewide
