Date:  January 26, 2010  |   Story: Sharon Mosley  |  

When Heather Letterman bought a 1920s-era home in the Hillcrest area of Little Rock six years ago, she had a colorful vision. “I knew exactly what I wanted this house to eventually look like,” says the aspiring interior designer, who works for a pharmaceutical company. “I was constantly pulling pictures out of magazines, finding ideas for the final product.”

When Heather married Jason Letterman four years later, her dreams were realized. Jason, an aeronautical engineer, used his expertise to help lay out their extensive renovation plans. The couple hired a contractor, moved into an apartment and put their furniture into storage while their home was enlarged and updated with an open floor plan and a new kitchen.

As a final step in the transformation, the couple opted for a fresh color scheme. “I love the color orange,” admits Heather, “but we had previously used a bright orange and I wanted to warm up the colors this time around.”

Heather used color liberally throughout the house, starting with the Pumpkin Cream paint by Benjamin Moore in the living room and kitchen, wrapping it around walls and covering the ceilings. The sophisticated shade of orange visually expands the newly opened floor plan and provides a bold contrast to the white wood trim and kitchen cabinetry. “I was going for a French country feeling in the kitchen,” says Heather, who generated many of the decorating ideas, including adding a dark walnut stain in the crevices of the white cabinetry.

Blue accessories, such as a large turquoise-colored ceramic urn as a base for the glass-topped kitchen table, enliven the pumpkin walls in the front rooms of the home, as well as the family room that adjoins the kitchen. Heather selected another favorite color, green, for this space, and chose the soft Brookside Moss hue to complement the intensity of the pumpkin orange.

Neutral-colored furnishings, like a taupe suede sofa in the living area and chocolate sofa and chair in the family room, offer a subtle contrast to the bright walls. “The neutral pieces let us get away with adding some very distinctive paint colors and accessories,” Heather says, “which gives our house its personality.”

Design Resources

Builder Turner & Duncan Design & Construction, Hot Springs
Interior design Rejuvenated Designs, LLC, Little Rock
Building Supplies Buddy Bean Lumber Co., Hot Springs
Cabinetry Hardin & Son Cabinet Shop, Hot Springs
Countertops Marble & Granite Creations, Hot Springs
Furnishings Cantrell Furniture Design Center, Little Rock; I.O. Metro, locations statewide
Lighting Light Innovations, Little Rock
Paint Benjamin Moore Paints, locations statewide
Tile C&F Carpet and Flooring, Little Rock
Windows National Home Center, North Little Rock
Wood flooring Creative Floors, Little Rock