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Q&A with Kathryn Crisp Greeley, designer and author

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Esteemed interior designer Kathryn Crisp Greeley bought her North Carolina home, Chestnut Cottage, in 1987. Since then, she’s enlarged the almost-century-old house, tended its gardens, and added to her layered collections inside—all while graciously sharing the space with others through gatherings large and small. Kathryn’s second book, The Collected Cottage, is a love letter to this place and an invitation for all to step inside. Today, she discusses with At Home in Arkansas her home’s history, English inspirations, and advice for how to create a home that’s “collected, not decorated.” Read on for information regarding the author’s Little Rock appearance and book signing on Thursday, October 27. See you there!


Kathryn Crisp Greeley

At Home in Arkansas: As you’ve made updates to Chestnut Cottage over the years, how have you maintained the integrity of the home’s history? Why is it important to you to stay in keeping with a home’s time period and aesthetic?

Kathryn Crisp Greeley: From the moment I purchased the cottage, I knew I must carefully keep the cozy, cottage atmosphere. In the ’90s, I sourced wormy chestnut for the new master bedroom suite to maintain the finishes throughout the cottage built in 1925. Since the entire cottage’s walls, ceilings, trim, and doors were wormy chestnut, I knew I had to find what I needed for the master suite….

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Behind the Art: Holly Tilley

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Little Rock’s Pleasant Ridge Shopping Center is home to a unique local treasure: Art Group Gallery. Founded and operated by area artists, it is a true working gallery where area artists have a studio to paint and can display their works to sell in the front of the shop. Follow along as we feature different artists who share the inspiration and stories behind a few of their pieces. | Sponsored Content


Artist Holly Tilley

“I’ve been painting for over 20 years. Starting initially in pastel, I quickly shifted to oil painting, which is by far my favorite medium. I’m definitely a lifetime learner, constantly exploring new ideas, subjects and painting concepts. I instruct as well, which is a great source of inspiration. I spend lots of time outdoors, so much of my subject matter comes from observation—our state is so beautiful, there’s something great to paint around every corner. My latest exploration includes abstracting scenes from nature. Using the subtle color shifts to reveal the form. I love the geometric shapes this reveals.”…

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Experience a Different Approach to Fitness with Nooma

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Sponsored Content


Above: Casey Cox, founder of Nooma

Nooma is more than a gym; it’s a mind-body practice that incorporates movement, breathwork, and infrared heat, resulting in a physical and emotional release. The program’s founder, Casey Cox, combines elements of Pilates, yoga, dance, barre, weight training, and music to create a unique approach to whole-body fitness. Here, we spoke with Casey about Nooma’s mission, classes, challenges, and how you can find strength through this practice.…

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Behind the Art: Lori Weeks

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Little Rock’s Pleasant Ridge Shopping Center is home to a unique local treasure: Art Group Gallery. Founded and operated by area artists, it is a true working gallery where area artists have a studio to paint and can display their works to sell in the front of the shop. Follow along as we feature different artists who share the inspiration and stories behind a few of their pieces. | Sponsored Content


Artist Lori Weeks

“An Arkansas native, I knew I was always going to be an artist. I began my art career by the age of nine, followed by graphic design and fine art at the Art Institute of Dallas and the Memphis College of Art. I’m best known for my collection of oil impasto, impressionistic poppy paintings that incorporate unique color schemes and textures. As I am always evolving, I rely more and more on my imagination because I find that I get bored painting from photos. The more I paint, the more I go by intuition and the less I stick to the guidelines….

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Choose Cambria Quartz for Countertops & More

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A Q&A about Cambria quartz with senior market representative Hollie Bayles | Sponsored Content


From durable work surfaces to eye-catching stone installations, nothing makes quite as large an impact in your home than your countertop surfaces. And when it comes to choosing a material that will stand the test of time, Cambria quartz can’t be beat: It’s durable, nonabsorbent, and easy to maintain with a lifetime warranty. Recently we spoke with Hollie Bayles, Cambria’s senior market representative for Arkansas, about what makes this product so special.…

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Behind the Art: Donna Twyford

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Little Rock’s Pleasant Ridge Shopping Center is home to a unique local treasure: Art Group Gallery. Founded and operated by area artists, it is a true working gallery where area artists have a studio to paint and can display their works to sell in the front of the shop. Follow along as we feature different artists who share the inspiration and stories behind a few of their pieces. | Sponsored Content


Artist Donna Twyford

“I began painting in watercolor nine years ago fulfilling a lifelong desire to follow in my artist grandmother’s footsteps. Although I have no formal art training, I have taken short workshops with some of the nation’s foremost watercolorists and with few exceptions have incorporated what I’ve learned into my own pieces. In my opinion—and I’m sure there may be some argument here—watercolor is an incredibly flexible medium, and I have enjoyed stretching the boundaries with poured watercolor where no brush is used to manipulate the pigments and with a technique incorporating an atomizer, a small tube through which paint is manually blown to create texture and depth. Because I’m such a newcomer to the art scene I feel that I’m still in the exploration phase and my work is constantly evolving.”…

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From the Ground Up with Jill Lawrence: A Personalized Mural

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Ever wonder what it’s like to build a house from the ground up? As the owner of J. Lawrence Design, Jill Lawrence has had the opportunity to walk-through the process with numerous clients. Now it’s her turn, and she’s giving us an exclusive behind-the-scenes look here on the At Home in Arkansas blog. Follow along as we chronicle each stage before the big reveal in our October 2022 issue.

At Home in Arkansas: While you’ve been building your new home, you’ve been sharing some of the behind-the-scenes info with us on materials, space planning, and organization. Before the big reveal in our October issue, we wanted to give readers a glimpse at one of the most dramatic decorative designs in your home—a large-scale mural in your kitchen and dining space. What inspired you to go big with this kind of feature?…

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Before & After: Small House, Big Style

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In our September 2022 issue, we shared designer Jill White’s own personality-packed kitchen and bath in Little Rock. Today we’re taking a look at the before photos to highlight the remarkable transformation Jill was able to make, especially in such a small footprint. “Everything was just so brown,” she says. “I knew I was going to have a lot of renovating to do.” Read on to see before photos paired with images from the story. Click here to read the full story.



The Dining Room | A punchy wallpaper by Lindsay Cowles, funky lighting, and furnishings in Jill’s streamlined style update the dining room.

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From the Ground Up with Jill Lawrence: Organization Zones

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Ever wonder what it’s like to build a house from the ground up? As the owner of J. Lawrence Design, Jill Lawrence has had the opportunity to walk-through the process with numerous clients. Now it’s her turn, and she’s giving us an exclusive behind-the-scenes look here on the At Home in Arkansas blog. Follow along as we chronicle each stage before the big reveal in our October 2022 issue.


At Home in Arkansas: When people are building one of the biggest considerations for individual spaces has to be organization. How did you address this for the common and work areas of your new house?

Jill Lawrence: When I was drawing the plan I knew I wanted to experiment with organization and zoned functions of a house. There are workhorses in a house—the laundry room, kitchen, and pantry— and I wanted those to each have a very specific function. Most of the time we have one dishwasher and one refrigerator. What I wanted to do was experiment with a smaller main refrigerator and zoned refrigeration drawers in other areas….

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From the Ground Up with Jill Lawrence: Material Selections

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Ever wonder what it’s like to build a house from the ground up? As the owner of J. Lawrence Design, Jill Lawrence has had the opportunity to walk-through the process with numerous clients. Now it’s her turn, and she’s giving us an exclusive behind-the-scenes look here on the At Home in Arkansas blog. Follow along as we chronicle each stage before the big reveal in our October 2022 issue.

At Home in Arkansas: The walls are up and it’s time to turn your focus to some of the interior selections—which I’m sure you’ve been thinking about for months. Can you tell us about some of the overarching choices you’ve made?

Jill Lawrence: Sure! One of the biggest things is the cork flooring. We only have two types of flooring in the house: cork and limestone. Because this is an open-concept house and because we are empty nesting here, I wanted flooring that would absorb acoustic energy and also be easy on our joints. We landed on cork for both those reasons. We used it for all the main spaces, and we have loved it so far! A room the size of our kitchen/living/dining area would typically echo; if you were listening to the TV the sound quality would be bad or you wouldn’t be able to hear a conversation. These really absorb the background noise and, along with the fabrics, have made it so quiet because they take in so much sound….

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At Home in Arkansas offers you a look inside the state's most inspiring homes. The magazine features monthly advice from the experts to help you plan your next remodel or redesign, entertain at home, or find Arkansas's best kept secrets. It is your definitive guide to the state's finest homes and gardens, design professionals, fashion and entertaining essentials, and premier shops and showrooms.

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