Date: April 21, 2008 |
Interior designer and owner of Lumber One in Stuttgart with her husband John, Pam Morton was thrilled when past clients and friends came to her to redesign their newly purchased Little Rock home. “I had worked with this couple before, and I understood their lifestyle and style preferences,” Pam says. “The home had great bones and a very sound structure. We just needed to update the interior and rework aspects of the floor plan.”
Pam began the project by taking inventory of the overall home. “The original builder was very forward thinking with walk-in closets, pantry and laundry spaces and vaulted ceilings in the living room,” she says. “I definitely wanted to maintain these features, while increasing the openness and bringing in more natural light.” The ranch-style home had carpeting throughout and a sprinkling of rustic details. “Our goal was a very clean-lined home with traditional comfort, and we replaced all the carpet with travertine. We added can lights everywhere, and in the living room we painted the beams to match the ceiling and soften the space. We also rebuilt the rustic-style mantel with more ornate moulding to match the new style of the home.”
Traffic flow in the home was disjointed because of several smaller rooms with walls and hallways separating the kitchen, dining room and living room. “We removed several walls and enlarged the remaining doorways to create an open floor plan from the enlarged kitchen to the dining room and the living room,” says Pam. “The couple often entertains her large family and friends. Because of this, we focused on several seating areas and comfortable furnishings.” Removing the wall in the kitchen allowed space for large island fitted with several bar stools, and Lumber One’s certified kitchen and bath designer Charlotte Lefler redesigned the space with beautiful cabinetry and granite countertops. “The kitchen is now large enough to really use,” Pam says. “And the banquette eating area and bar seating allows room for a crowd.”
The home already had several floor-to-ceiling windows, and Pam was able to increase the range of the natural light by removing walls throughout the public spaces. Now, the light from the kitchen windows easily travels through the dining room and the living room, which also boasts a wall of windows. “The transformation is really striking,” she says. “The couple was a little hesitant that this was the right house for them at first due to the galley kitchen and cramped spaces, but after the extra walls came down, and we replaced the flooring and redesigned the interior, it became a very welcoming and usable home.”
