Date:  January 4, 2024  |   Story: Rebekah Hall Scott  |   Photography: Rett Peek  |   Styling: Bailey Dougan  |  

Designer Casey Sarkin helps bring warm tones and organic elements to a father’s family home

For a father building his forever home in Fayetteville, interior designer Casey Sarkin says the goal was to infuse the space with warm neutrals and natural textures to create a lasting legacy. “He wanted to build a family home where his kids could come; a lifetime house that would eventually welcome his grandkids as well,” Casey says. “The overall vibe needed to be transitionally modern and masculine, yet family-oriented and comfortable.”

Casey connected with this client through the home’s builder, Roger Griffin, when the structure was in its beginning stages. She says her client was inspired by wood, steel, and the desert tones of Arizona, and he had already selected all of the stone for the home, including slabs of marble, granite, and onyx. “Those stones play integral parts in this house,” Casey says.

The home is a celebration of light, lines, and organic materials, first evidenced by a floating steel staircase with whiteoak treads and a custom steel railing that can be seen from the front windows. In the living room, which is open to the second floor, Casey says she wanted to use the staircase railing to create cohesion between the two floors. “We needed a way to accentuate the height of this space but also make it more intimate,” she says. “So instead of having the handrail that just went up and turned, we decided to create an art installation that would take you from top to bottom and connect the two.”

Twelve-foot ceilings throughout the main floor and soaring, linear glass windows across the front and back of the house bring in an abundance of natural light. Upstairs, the second floor is dedicated to guest rooms and gathering spaces: In addition to quarters for each of his grown children, a game room with built-in bunks guarantees decades of fun to come.

“When we came on, this project was sort of at a standstill, and he wanted someone to help make it a home,” Casey says. “He loves the results and really feels that this is his space.”

Elevated Entry
Custom wood front doors welcome visitors into the home where a specially commissioned painting nods to the homeowner’s family construction business. White oak paneling installed in concentric squares on the ceiling helps distinguish the space, and an Arteriors light fixture sets the tone for the rest of the home’s décor. “We wanted to do something that was kind of masculine and a bit midcentury,” Casey says.

Statement Stairs
A floating staircase ascends to the second floor along a steel stretcher with whiteoak treads and steel rails. “Mixing these materials makes the staircase a piece of art in itself, and it helps the space feel airy and open,” Casey says. A painting by Arkansas artist Barbara Glenn anchors the second floor landing.

Grand Scale, Intimate Feel
In the large main living room, Casey drew cool tones from the area rug and crafted a neutral palette with pops of blue to continue the color story of the quartzite used on the kitchen countertops. “This is the space where his family gathers, and we brought in all of the colors that the client likes,” Casey says.

Texture and Tone
Venetian plaster with a subtle sheen surrounds the onyx fireplace, and custom built-ins provide helpful storage and display ceramics. Velvet chenille armchairs flank the oak coffee table, where a piece of sandstone pottery gifted by the client’s mother holds a spray of tall grass.

Central Station
In the kitchen, which is open to the living room, white oak floors and cabinetry provide a warm contrast to the shimmering zellige tile. The cabinet drawer fronts are treated with a V-groove cut, creating the effect of multi-plank panels, and the larger doors feature an inverted picture frame molding. A custom steel vent hood with curved edges adds dimension, and a unique Gabriel Scott chandelier, made of hand-blown glass, brass, and steel, hangs above the island. Four leather and burnished steel barstools pull up to the island, the end of which Casey had stained in a dark finish.

Room to Gather
Above a pedestal table stained light gray, a twolayered rattan and woven fiber pendant brings texture to the bright dining area. “It’s a narrow space, so we had to create something that would house the client and his kids,” Casey says. “We also wanted it to keep up with the design level in the rest of the house, so we found those interesting chairs and customized the banquette. I love how this turned out.”

“We tried to use the architecture of the home’s unique lighting to also act as art.”
—Casey Sarkin, designer

Restful Retreat
The primary bedroom is a haven of neutral tones and warm textiles. By the window, Casey formed a sitting area with an antique chair from Belgium and a modern low bench. “We wanted to create a place where he could sit and look out, and we decided to use some vintage pieces here to warm up the space,” she says.

Airy and Elegant
An Oly Studio chandelier of clear cast resin bubbles floats in the primary bathroom, where a soaker tub looks out to the home’s pool house. “The tone and texture of the chandelier felt like it wasn’t too luxe, but still elevated and interesting,” Casey says. She chose a mix of pewter and polished nickel bath fixtures, which are from the Frank Lloyd Wright collection for Brizo.

Custom Cool
On the first floor, Casey and her team created a special office space to suit the client’s taste, complete with a custom Hammerton Studio chandelier and desk built by Justus Cabinets. “We found him some unique chairs, we had the drapes made in this open-weave, shimmery bronze wool fabric, and we tried to bring in all these elements that nod to the colors of the Arizona desert,” Casey says.

Curated and Cozy
Casey kept her client’s teenage son in mind when designing the upstairs den. “We tried to tone down the high design of the rest of the house because this is where his son and his friends hang out, play games, and watch sports,” she says. A combination of leather, wood tones, and dark fabrics hit the mark. Sling chairs with wood frames and blue arched leather seats provide a pop of color, and a Moroccan textile draped across the sectional creates additional interest.

Design Resources
Builder Roger Griffin, Legend Builders Interior Design Casey Sarkin, Casey Sarkin Interior Design Project Manager Paige Arnold, Casey Sarkin Interior Design Accessories Casey Sarkin Home Appliances Metro Appliances & More Art, bedding, fabrics, lighting, rugs, and tile Casey Sarkin Interior Design Cabinetry Justus Cabinets Carpet and flooring January Floors Countertops Pacific Shore Stones Countertops (Fabrication) and fireplace Gunn Granite Company Furniture Casey Sarkin Home and Casey Sarkin Interior Design Hardware Casey Sarkin Interior Design and Hearth & Home Ironwork L&L Fabrication Millwork Osage Custom Trim Mirrors Fayetteville Glass Paint Sherwin-Williams Painting M&A Painting Painting (Decorative) Brothers Painting Upholstery Emiliano Contreras Wallpaper (Installation) Steve Herrin Window Coverings Callista’s Creations