Doors, Windows & Hardware: Find inspiration for some of your home’s most functional features
A custom eight-lite front door. Manhattan Steel Door Co., manhattansteeldoors.com
(Interior design by Jill White Designs | Photograph by Rett Peek)
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Dream Big
Designer Jayson Cain captures the spirit of adventure and pays homage to the past in this gracious and grand, new-construction Maumelle home
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A Sportsman’s Paradise
Screaming Wings Lodge—the duck-season outpost of Witt Stephens Jr.—maximizes comfort and experience for guests and provides access to world-class waterfowl hunting
In 2008, longtime-client Witt Stephens Jr. charged interior designer Bill Beringer with the task of making of his imposing new hunting lodge a well-appointed, private retreat versatile enough to accommodate groups of all sizes and to foster a sense of intimacy and relaxation among visitors. From the outset, the owner had specific ideas about how the lodge would function and how it would look; “Ultimately,” Beringer says, “we wanted it to reflect him. He’s an avid hunter, but he’s also a businessman who needs an inviting place to entertain.”
Design Integrity
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The Home with a View
If you know Garry Mertins, you know he brandishes a magnetic, never-met-a-stranger attitude. As the owner and principal designer of Little Rock-based Garry Mertins Design, he brings the same attitude to each project he tackles. So, it’s not hard to see why Hot Springs homeowners Steve and Kathy Storey valued his counsel and enjoyed his enthusiasm when it came to the design of their home.
The Storeys’ advantageously situated lakeside home overlooks lush Garvan Woodland Gardens as well as a pristine stretch of Hot Springs’ very own aquatic jewel—Lake Hamilton. However, the home’s construction prevented them from taking in the sights just outside their walls. “When you live on Lake Hamilton and you’re not enjoying the scenic landscape every day, something’s got to be done about it,” says Mertins, and rightly so. His solution? Create serene outdoor focal points the Storeys can enjoy from practically every room in the house. “It was time to consider the bigger picture,” he says and developed a design plan sure to revolutionize the Storeys’ living space, capacity to entertain and ultimately their lifestyle.
Long-time friends, the Storeys and Mertins first recognized a need for a full-home makeover when the family’s primary hangout had become the large, comfy den on the backside of the house, which did not include a view of the lake. Moreover, the dated formal separation of the kitchen and dining area made it tricky to entertain large groups and obscured gorgeous panoramic views. “People don’t live like this anymore—in tiny, separate rooms, each detached from the others. Open concept is the way to go,” Mertins confides. Avid hobbyists and empty nesters, the Storeys requested one main level for everyday living, leaving the home’s lower level as recreational space for the grandkids. For this main level they were most concerned with creating functional display and storage space to accommodate Kathy’s antique glassware collection and floral artistry wares. They also knew that his-and-her bathrooms and dressing areas were a must.
To get the ball rolling, Mertins initiated the architectural renovation by adding 25 feet to the original living room, knocking out the main wall separating the living and dining areas, and moving the den from the back to the front of the house to craft a unique three-in-one common area that includes the living room, dining room and kitchen. To maintain aesthetic proportion, he bumped up the front of the house by a few feet to make room for a spacious entrance hall, and then positioned the couple’s respective retreats as offshoots of the master bedroom.
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The (eco) Friendly Kitchen
“Make yourself at home. Here’s a glass, grab a plate, and help yourself,” says Lyn Edge. “That’s the feeling I wanted this kitchen to convey to everyone who enters.” A busy grandmother who tends her 4- and 7-year-old granddaughters each day, Lyn needed an open space where family and friends could easily pitch in and where she wouldn’t be closed off from the living areas. What she and her husband, Dr. Otis Edge, began with in their 1930s-era home in Little Rock’s Hillcrest neighborhood, however, was the exact opposite.
Interested in relocating from West Little Rock to the Hillcrest area to be closer to their family, the Edges found a 2,000-square-foot bungalow that seemed a good fit for their needs. While the size and locale were appealing, the kitchen was a disaster. “There were two small cooking and pantry sections, a bathroom, and a screened porch alongside them with a floor that was caving in,” says Lyn. “My jaw dropped when I saw it.”
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