A dramatic Ashley Saer painting holds a place above the mantel in the living room, while the furniture’s overall neutral color palette allows choice fabrics and pillows to bring everything together.

Even this casual bar area benefits from original art.

In this guest room, Dixie selected a palette of cool neutrals and wooden furnishings.

Interior designer Dixie Pittillo, Allied member ASID of Shepherd Interior Design in Pine Bluff, was thrilled when an old college friend contacted her to design the family’s Fayetteville home. “We moved from a smaller home in the heart of the city, and really wanted someone to oversee each aspect of the home,” says the homeowner. “We wanted someone we could be honest with, and who understood our family and our style.” For Dixie, the job was exciting because she was able to begin working on the home’s design from the floor plan and continue through the finishes, furnishings and artwork. “It’s always fun when you’re able to create a home from the ground up,” Dixie says. “It gives you a chance to take the family’s personalities and lifestyle into consideration in every phase.”

The homeowners wanted an environment that would be nurturing and comfortable for their two young children, as well as inviting to friends and family. Dixie also worked to blend the couple’s personal styles. “The husband is drawn to more contemporary lines, but they both still wanted a comfortable and timeless home that their kids could enjoy.” “We want people to feel like they can walk in and put their feet up,” says the homeowner. “But, we also wanted it to be a beautiful space, and Dixie found that balance.” Artwork was also a major consideration when planning the home. “When we started the interior,” Dixie says. “I discussed with the homeowners their existing art collection, and what they wanted to add immediately for the new house, as well as plan for future acquisitions. We definitely didn’t want to fill every space, leaving no room for future finds.”

Dixie and the homeowners decided to commission a variety of works for the home, from traditional pieces like oils on canvas, to an art glass chandelier, iron railings and faux-finishes. “What makes this home so unique is the range of handmade, custom artwork,” Dixie says. “From the art hanging on the walls to light fixtures, sculptures and the extensive metal workings, the entire home is art.” L&L Metal Fabrication in Fayetteville played an integral role, custom crafting everything from the handmade railings on the staircases to the one-of-a-kind desk in the office and the cabinet backsplashes in the kids’ playroom. “The guys at L&L were so easy to work with,” Dixie says. “I would have a vision of something, and they were more than willing to create it for us. They were able to put my imagination into form.”

Dixie and the homeowners are all very pleased with the finished home. “Dixie let us be involved throughout the process, and always offered several choices for everything,” says the homeowner. “It allowed us to have the options we wanted, and still follow her overall design goal. We could also be totally honest with her, and if we didn’t like something, she always had more ideas.” Dixie finds the home a true testament to art. “We were able to incorporate so many local, talented artisans and craftsmen, including the custom-designed herringbone wood floors from Wood Flooring Gallery, the cabinetry from Verser Cabinets and the doors from Imperial Doors, all in Springdale. The home is truly a testament to Arkansas artists.”

Bess displays a collection of handmade purses on a series of bookshelves.

A Barry Thomas painting entitled Friends hangs above the guest room love seat.

A Gino Hollander painting takes a place of honor in the living room.

Collecting art has been the life’s work of Bess McFadden Sanders, owner of Gallery Central in Hot Springs. She began purchasing pieces as a teenager in Dallas, and has amassed a diverse and ever-evolving collection. “I began by putting pieces on layaway when I was quite young,” she says. “But starting small allows room for growth and awareness.”

This love of art became an even bigger part of Bess’ life when she became the owner of Gallery Central, exposing her to more artists and allowing her to introduce them to a wider audience. “On the walls of Gallery Central I hang art that I love and would enjoy in my home and my office,” she says. “It’s easy to sell art when you personally have a love of the work and also respect the artists.” Beyond her work with the gallery, Bess is an active member of the Arkansas art community. She was appointed by Governor Mike Huckabee to the Arkansas Humanities Commission Arkansas Arts Council, and she serves on the boards of the Arkansas Chapter of the National Museum for Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., and the Mid-American Arts Alliance.

When Bess and her late husband, Bill Sanders, began building their own house, creating spaces to display their artwork was of primary importance. Working with architect David French and builder Mike Terry, Bess ensured that the bones of the home, from the placement of windows to electrical outlets, would allow ideal vistas for hanging paintings by artists as diverse as Todd Crockett, Barry Thomas, Allison Parsons and Michael Ethridge.

The Mediterranean-influenced home also benefits from an open floor plan and neutral color palette with natural limestone floors, developed by working with designers Tom Chandler and Scott Paterek. This classic combination is the ideal backdrop for the collection, allowing the artwork to provide rich color and interest. “The colors and fabrics are tone-on-tone, very warm and textural,” Bess says. In addition, this gives her the freedom to move art around as often as she likes. “I enjoy rearranging my art to see each piece in a different light and surroundings.”

Entertaining was another key consideration in the home’s design, especially to make the most of its lakeside location when her children and grandchildren visit. “I have always loved to entertain, so our objective was to have open space for indoor and outdoor entertaining,” Bess says. In the great room, French doors line the back of the house, opening onto a wide porch and pool area, which leads down to the lake.

Collecting is an ongoing process for Bess, and things never stay the same for too long in her home or her gallery. “The dream of my life really came true when I was lucky enough to own Gallery Central,” she says, “because my collection continues with the artists whose work I select to showcase there.”

Caring for Silver

Tips from Davis Tillman
•    Polish pieces by hand using a soft cloth or sponge and a cream or light paste.

Hand-etched lines provide a textural background for these grapevine-covered goblets and chalice.

Caring for Silver Tips from Davis Tillman •    Polish pieces by hand using a soft cloth or sponge and a cream or light paste. •    Never use polishing dips for pieces with intricate detail. It can remove patina created by the artisan to highlight contrast between areas. •    If a piece is appropriate for dipping, always follow up by hand-polishing to create a protective coating. •    Store silver with a block of camphor or in pacific cloth, to discourage tarnishing. •    Never use rough scrubs or scouring pads on silver. Even plastic can permanently scratch the surface.

German in origin, this tankard has a relief design of the Roman god Bacchus and his attendants.

Like many Southerners, antiques dealer Davis Tillman, of Tillman’s Antiques in Hot Springs, grew up polishing silver serving pieces before any important occasion. “It’s an important part of our Southern heritage,” he says. “And now it’s seeing a real resurgence as baby boomers have more time to entertain and are finishing or establishing collections for their own children.” The selection of silver in Tillman’s own store is as diverse as the history of the art form itself.

Lush and reflective, silver is one of the most versatile of metals: it can be hammered into sheets so thin, it would take 100,000 of them to make a stack an inch high, or it can be drawn into a wire even finer than a human hair. In fact, the silversmith was historically one of the most skilled artisans, and a master smith would select the most talented of his apprentices to take on the trade, while the less gifted became blacksmiths.

Tillman cautions collectors, however, to remember that all silver is not sterling. The word sterling has been used to denote high-quality silver since the 1200s, and was standardized to 925 parts pure silver out of 1,000. Sterling will be marked “925” or ‘sterling.” If a piece is British, it will be marked with a hallmark indicating its region of origin: the passant lion on three legs for England, the rampant lion on two legs for Scotland, or the crowned harp for Ireland.

Other silver blends include Britannia silver, which is 958 parts silver and marked with the female figure of Britannia, and coin silver, which is standardized as 825 parts silver, but has varied widely in centuries past, because it was literally the silver used in currency. “Many coin silver pieces were simply seen as a way to conserve your wealth in the absence of reliable banking,’ says Tillman. ‘You could take a bag of coins to the silversmith, and he would hammer them into either flatware or hollowware.”

In 1742 a new method of silver production called Sheffield plate was developed, making silver accessible to the merchant class, rather than just the nobility. Sheffield plate pieces are made from a sheet of sterling silver fused to a sheet of copper, sometimes with another silver sheet fused on the inside, like a sandwich. However, in 1840, thanks to the advent of the Industrial Revolution and electricity, the Elkington Company developed the technique of electro-plating, in which silver is deposited onto a base metal.

Electroplating made silver immensely popular and available to the growing Victorian middle classes. ‘It was really a challenge to the silversmiths to see just how much they could do with this new, modern process,” says Tillman. Some early pieces are marked with pseudo-hallmarks, but in 1896, legislation called for all new pieces to be marked “EPNS,” for electro-plated nickel silver. ‘In the latter part of the 19th century, the demand for silver wares increased significantly due to two factors: the discovery of large deposits in the West, which reduced the price of silver, and the increased wages of the average worker. At the height of its popularity, silver plate was crafted into as many as 20 pieces for a single table setting, along with individual candlesticks, spoon rests, place card holders and more.

Most silver is decorated with one or a combination of three techniques. Hand-chasing is created by hammering the front surface of a silver piece; repoussé is a technique of embossing an object from the back; and engraving is a process of cutting shallow lines into the silver. Some objects utilize all three techniques.

Caring for objects with such rich history is relatively simple, as silver, especially sterling, grows only more beautiful in passing years. Tillman encourages collectors to polish silver by hand with a light cream or paste, and cautions them against using dips, which can remove the detail from embellishments, detergents, or any scouring pads which can scratch the surface. To keep silver from tarnishing, he recommends storing it in a closed cabinet with a block of camphor, available at any drug store, or in bags made of or chests lined in Pacific cloth, which is treated with a similar compound. “Of course, the more you enjoy your silver in everyday use, the less it will tarnish,” he adds.

Skyrocket heritage roses add bright pops of color to the landscape.

The folly, designed to complement the house, is the focal point of the lower yard, and it provides garage and garden supply storage, while also offering a restful view of the gardens and house from its screened porch.

Carolyn and David Newbern’s English-inspired garden is the ideal complement to their English Tudor Revival-style home, built in 1926. “I wanted the design to be appropriate to the time period and architectural style of the home,” says Carolyn, herself a master gardener who re-created the spirit of both English and Arts and Crafts gardens with perennial borders, rock and woodland gardens, water features and even an architectural folly in the lower yard.

When the Newberns purchased the home, the sloping 100-by-300-foot lot already had rock walls, a few planting areas and a St. Augustine lawn. Taking into consideration the shade and slope, the couple created curved beds for ground covers with shade-loving plants, and built raised beds, flagstone walkways and steps. “When a pine tree threatened to fall on the garage,” Carolyn says, “we rerouted the sidewalk to enclose new beds and also buried utilities—the old lemons to lemonade technique.”

The asymmetrical form of the house led to similar designs in the landscape. “I try to surprise visitors with unusual garden sculptures, water features and plant choices,” Carolyn says, “all with a touch of whimsy.” Carolyn prefers using heritage and native plants, plants with four-season interest and plants that are hardy, such as shrubs, perennials and bulbs. She also likes to include items in her garden that are wildlife friendly, providing shelter and food for birds.

This master gardener also enjoys mixing clematis with roses or azaleas, using purple heart in between iris and annuals and planting variegated ivy to grow up tree trunks. “I love to see plants weave around each other,” she says. She also plants herbs, including rosemary, thyme, sage, lavender, basil and dill wherever they will grow. And in order to enjoy the bottom third of their long, sloping garden, the Newberns added a building—the folly—which was originally intended to be used as a screened porch but grew to include a garage and storage for garden supplies. Fellow master gardener and horticulture specialist for the University of Arkansas’ Cooperative Extension Service, Janet Carson once gave Carolyn advice that she still takes to heart, “Have fun in the garden,” she says.