Blog - At Home in Arkansas

Required Reading

March 6, 2023 by Laura LaRue

We’ve rounded up forthcoming and recent book releases we look forward to adding to our libraries. Take a look!

1 Pennsylvania-based designer Betsy Wentz’s first book, Design Happy: Colorful Homes for the Modern Family, is an inspiring take on practical solutions for casual, comfortable living, complete with design lessons and pro tips. Available February 21 from Gibbs Smith.

2 Now based on the West Coast, New Orleans native Suzanne Rheinstein still calls on Southern influence throughout her design, which is evident in the projects photographed for her third book, Suzanne Rheinstein: Welcoming Elegance. Available March 21 from Rizzoli.

3 The Joy of Home is Alabama interior designer Ashley Gilbreath’s first book. Readers are invited to tour homes across the South, including Gilbreath’s own beach house, to soak in the designer’s fresh take on traditional design. Available April 17 from Gibbs Smith.

4 Charm School: The Schumacher Guide to Traditional Decorating for Today is a handbook for all who live for the quintessential design brand’s fabric and wallpaper patterns. The tome showcases more than 250 rooms from iconic names such as Mario Buatta and Sister Parish. Available March 8 from The Monacelli Press.

5 McAlpine: Romantic Modernism explores the marriage of architecture, interiors, and landscape design through work by Bobby McAlpine’s acclaimed firm, which has offices in Atlanta, Montgomery, Nashville, and New York City. This is McAlpine’s fourth book. Available April 4 from Rizzoli.

6 In Arranging Things, New York stylist Colin King and editor Sam Cochran team up to offer insights about composing vignettes, styling bookshelves, and working within scale, palette, texture, and proportion. Available March 14 from Rizzoli.

What new interior design books are on your list? Let us know!

Marquis Brown’s Avocado Salsa Recipe

February 2, 2023 by Stephanie Maxwell Newton

In our January/February 2023 issue, home chef Marquis Brown gave us a taste of his talent with a recipe for a homemade raspberry tart. Here, he shares the how-to for his avocado salsa, a favorite for spicing up a breakfast favorites such as huevos rancheros. Click here to read “Test Kitchen” from our January/February issue.

RECIPE…

Q&A with Kathryn Crisp Greeley, designer and author

October 19, 2022 by Stephanie Maxwell Newton

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….

Behind the Art: Holly Tilley

October 14, 2022 by Stephanie Maxwell Newton

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.”…

Experience a Different Approach to Fitness with Nooma

October 12, 2022 by Stephanie Maxwell Newton

Behind the Art: Lori Weeks

October 10, 2022 by Stephanie Maxwell Newton

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….

Choose Cambria Quartz for Countertops & More

September 18, 2022 by Stephanie Maxwell Newton

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.…

Behind the Art: Donna Twyford

September 10, 2022 by Stephanie Maxwell Newton

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.”…

From the Ground Up with Jill Lawrence: A Personalized Mural

September 8, 2022 by Tiffany Adams

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?…

Before & After: Small House, Big Style

September 7, 2022 by Stephanie Maxwell Newton

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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Required Reading

Marquis Brown’s Avocado Salsa Recipe

Q&A with Kathryn Crisp Greeley, designer and author

Behind the Art: Holly Tilley

Experience a Different Approach to Fitness with Nooma

Behind the Art: Lori Weeks

Choose Cambria Quartz for Countertops & More

Behind the Art: Donna Twyford

From the Ground Up with Jill Lawrence: A Personalized Mural

Before & After: Small House, Big Style

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