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Downtown Searcy
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Blossoming Beauty
Shades of Spring
Fashion Goes Floral
History in Bloom
Each spring brings surprises to Henry Chotkowski’s peony farm on the outskirts of Fayetteville, when the three-acre plot of land transforms from bare earth into a sea of green leaves and bright blooms. “No two years are the same,” says Chotkowski, as weather conditions leading up to bloom time influence when the plants, which grow each year from root stock, will appear and how many blooms they’ll sport. “Some years, a plant that seldom blooms will surprise me with a big show, and one that blooms often will be more spare,” he adds. “It keeps things interesting around here, waiting to see what happens each season.”
The fact that the plants have endured through time, changing and adapting to a variety of climates, is part of the intrigue that drew Chotkowski to his profession. “What hooked me is knowing their history,” he says. “The roots are living tissue that connect all the way back to the original plant—I have a French peony that was hybridized in 1824 and a piece of that plant has endured nearly two centuries and made its way to my farm in Northwest Arkansas.” Much like the plants he now cultivates, Chotkowski followed a similar circuitous path to make his way to the Fayetteville farm he calls home.
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Cottage Light
It was 17 years ago this month that my husband David lured me into the car for a Sunday afternoon drive. The dogwood trees were in full bloom and the colors of spring were a welcome sight. With no itinerary planned, David steered us toward the Heights neighborhood and showed me a house he had coveted from afar for years. As we turned onto Stonewall Road, David looked at me and said, “If this house ever goes on the market, I’m going to find a way to buy it.” Call it coincidence or call it kismet, but the home was indeed for sale by owner, and I immediately shared his love of this Spanish Colonial cottage David had nicknamed the Alamo.
We peered in a plethora of windows and fell for it hard and fast. But others had apparently responded similarly, as there were several notes on the front door beckoning the owners for a showing. We soon realized this wasn’t going to be an easy task and quickly got a plan in motion. Persistence paid off and we reached the owners late that afternoon. The keepers of the keys were none other than Brett Pitts and Kevin Walsh, co-owners of Bear-Hill Interiors. When things are meant to be everything falls into place, and within a month the Alamo was ours.
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Cottage Comfort
When David Kirkpatrick of Cabbage Rose Floral Boutique purchased his 1938 house in Little Rock’s Hillcrest neighborhood two years ago, he was drawn to its cottage style but wanted to add warmth. “It has good bones with built-in shelves, French doors and arts-and-crafts details,” says Kirkpatrick, “but I also wanted it to be a place of comfort.” So he decided to roll up his sleeves and get to work, weaving in layers of earth tones and his signature eclectic style to transform the space into a comfortable cottage hideaway.
Paint was Kirkpatrick’s first priority, and he opted for natural earthy shades inspired by fall foliage. A golden yellow, which Kirkpatrick says creates soft apricot-hued shadows in the evening, makes a statement on the living and dining room walls. In the master bedroom, Kirkpatrick chose a soothing sage green that appears “to disappear at night,” he says. And in the bathroom, he chose to temper the stark white tile with a deep earthy brown paint.
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Heirloom Cooking
As a young girl helping her mother prepare meals in the kitchen of her family’s new home in Little Rock’s Heights neighborhood, Jane Fraiser could hardly have imagined that she would one day stand in the same space and cook with her own grandchildren. Yet six decades later, that’s exactly what happens on a regular basis, as Jane and her husband, Dr. Lacy Fraiser, welcome their children and their two grandsons into the 1947 cottage that has always remained in Jane’s family.
Lifelong Little Rock residents, the Fraisers opted to return to Jane’s childhood home as empty-nesters, enticed by the cottage’s manageable size and friendly neighborhood. Less enticing, however, was its near-original-condition kitchen, which contained a tiny cooking area and a utility room. “We knew we’d have to renovate the kitchen into a more usable area if this house was going to work for us,” says Jane. “It was so small and closed off from the other rooms, and we envisioned an open space where we could all be together.”
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Unexpected Charm
When roommates Natalie Smith and Casie Williams began searching for an apartment, they had choices to make. Proximity to the freeway or a quirky neighborhood? Character or closet space? It quickly became apparent that they preferred crystal doorknobs and built-in bookshelves to a community pool or covered parking. They were searching for a home and a lifestyle. They found unexpected charm.
Their search ended in the form of an apartment hidden in the cottage-filled streets of Little Rock’s Hillcrest neighborhood. When they opened the front door and made their way up a curved stairway, they discovered a rare rental gem with French doors, crown molding, an original doorbell and a dining room harkening back to 1930s dinner parties straight out of the movies. Needless to say, they were sold.
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Take A Seat
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