In Little Rock, a team of professionals thoughtfully updates a home designed by architect Fay Jones
Maintaining integrity was top priority when interior designer Brittany Nixon Brun and architectural designer Rodney Parham began to update a home by famed Arkansas architect Fay Jones. Built in 1964, Pine Knoll, as the property is known, was in good condition when the new owners purchased it; however, after almost 60 years, it was time to modernize its amenities.
“I was kind of nervous about working on an icon’s project,” Rodney says of Jones, who is the namesake of the University of Arkansas School of Architecture and Design. “I told everyone in my office that I was going to touch it with a feather,” he adds of his careful approach. The homeowners echoed this desire for mindfulness as they spent days researching decisions, sourcing products, and going about the process hand-in-hand with both Rodney and Brittany. “In working on the house, whenever we came to a challenge, we’d always ask ourselves, What would Fay do?” one of the owners says. The saying became a type of mantra for the design team in solving for both planned updates as well as the unforeseen. “This is a case of the right person buying the right house,” Brittany adds. “They wanted everything to feel cohesive and look like it has always been in place.”
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