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Light & Bright

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At Home in Arkansas: This room feels so light and airy. But since your home is a 1940s bungalow, I’m guessing it wasn’t always this way.

Homeowner Sheb Fisher: It was a very small space before the renovation, with a tiny cooking area, a breakfast space and even a washer and dryer at the end of the room. 

When you and your husband, Danny, decided to renovate, what did you have in mind? 

We have always spent a lot of time in the kitchen and it was important to us to make it feel more open and inviting, creating a gathering place where we could all be comfortable. Since the house is small and only has one living area, we wanted to have an additional place to relax. We envisioned a large island with seating as well as a banquette area as ways to create more gathering spaces, and we wanted a higher ceiling so it felt more open and light. Adding storage was a priority as well, since the tiny cooking area didn’t have adequate cabinet space. 

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Opening Up

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At Home in Arkansas: You worked with Deana and Bobby Taylor before, when you redesigned their master bathroom a few years ago. What did they have in mind this time?

Designer Meridith Hamilton: While working on the master bathroom, Deana walked me through these rooms and said she’d like to eventually collaborate on redoing them. She wanted me to open up the rooms and make better use of the space, similar to what we did in her bathroom area, and provide a kitchen, living and dining space with a more modern and clean-lined look.

How did you begin formulating a plan?

The Taylors wanted open spaces better suited to entertaining—they have a teenage son and enjoy having family and friends over. That was easily achieved by removing the wall between the kitchen and the living room and the wall between the living and dining rooms. The kitchen was fairly small, so we pushed out the back wall and extended the room an additional 450 square feet. The architects at Yeary Lindsey, contractor Mike Sanders and I all worked closely together, and they ensured that the structure had enough support to achieve this openess.

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The Layered Look

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At Home in Arkansas: With one designing woman in a house full of men—your husband, Jay, and your two sons—what role did color play in creating a comfortable family home?

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Warm Welcome

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At Home in Arkansas: You’d never know this tropical getaway exists behind this stately home. What was it like before the transformation?

Designer Chris Olsen: The lot was bare when Robert and Martha Ellen Erwin purchased the home more than a decade ago. They added a pool, patio and pool house for their family to enjoy, and then we worked together recently to update the areas with landscaping and containers.

 

What did the homeowners envision for the outdoor areas?

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Efficiency Expert

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No wasted space was the mantra Fayetteville homeowners passed along to designer Andi Stephens when they began planning the kitchen in their new home. The husband, an Arkansas native, and the wife, who was raised in Belgium, worked with builder John Ward to create a retreat-like residence nestled on a wooded lot, a place where they envisioned gathering with their two children and other family and friends, and eventually slowing down hectic schedules and working from home.

 

 

With that in mind, creating a kitchen to serve as the hub of the home was a priority—a space where they could work, entertain and relax in an attractive yet highly efficient setting. The design team devised an open layout featuring a U-shaped space for the main work areas, with cooking, cabinetry, refrigerator and prep areas on the perimeter and an island with bar seating in the center. Off to the side, a desk and wet bar area are out of the main traffic flow yet easily accessible.

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Built by Design

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At Home in Arkansas: You’ve been building custom homes for others since 1999. What did you envision for your own home?
Bill Parkinson of Parkinson Building Group: I’ve learned a lot from my clients’ builds, and since all of our homes are custom, I’ve been fortunate to see a variety of styles and executions, which helps when planning your own place. You get an idea of what works and what styles you can see yourself living with for a long time.

 
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Polished to Perfection

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At Home in Arkansas: The cool color palette in the kitchen and bath is so clean and inviting. Where did you find the inspiration?

 

Tobi Fairley: One of our first steps with any homeowner is to discover what they like and don’t like. When we first sat down with this couple, we immediately had a sense of their style. The wife had tons of magazine clippings and pictures of kitchens and baths she found attractive. Time after time, the pictures she showed us were of beach-inspired rooms with neutral tones and pale green or aqua accents, so we took our cues from there.

 

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Clean and Serene

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At Home in Arkansas: The kitchen in this 1920s Hillcrest home was dark and outdated. What were your main goals for the redesign? 

 

 

Garry Mertins: With their children grown, it was about how the homeowners want to live. They love to cook and entertain. The big thing was having a large workspace to spread out on, within a relaxing, cleaner, more contemporary kitchen. Creating a work triangle—between the stove, refrigerator and sink—and adding storage were also important.

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Organically Modern

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At Home in Arkansas:  This kitchen and bath look extra efficient and flooded with natural light. What were the rooms like before the transformation?

 

 

Meridith Hamilton:  The home was built in the late 1950s, and the kitchen was a series of small, closed off rooms with outdated tile and finishes, as well as low ceilings. It definitely wasn’t very efficient.

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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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