An Artist’s Renovation

May 2, 2011 by ark_admin

When Ashley Jones seeks inspiration for her paintings and photography projects, she finds it in the refreshing greens and blues of nature. But when it came to her 1969 ranch home in the North Little Rock neighborhood of Lakewood, lively colors and natural elements were clearly lacking. “The main living spaces were incredibly dark and closed off with tiny rooms,” says Ashley. “It didn’t leave me very inspired.”

And so Ashley, general manager for Merle Norman in the greater Little Rock area, set about transforming her kitchen, dining and living rooms into one open and airy space. She took her time and pondered the prospect of renovating for an entire year while planning and outlining a budget, and then began the project with the help of contractor Richard Harp.

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Comforts of Home

April 2, 2011 by ark_admin

For families with children in the neonatal intensive care unit at St. Edward Mercy Medical Center in Fort Smith, options for staying near their child overnight were once limited to camping out on a hospital sofa or booking an extended stay at a hotel. That was until Ronald McDonald House Charities became involved, and raised the funds to convert a wing of the hospital used as physician sleeping quarters into a virtual home-away-from-home for families in need.

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Eco-Color

December 21, 2010 by ark_admin

Environmentally friendly home décor can also be beautiful—a maxim that green lifestyle expert and celebrated author Danny Seo is illustrating to audiences nationwide. When the Pennsylvania-based expert visited Little Rock as part of a national tour, we asked for his help in transforming the master bedroom in a local historic home into a “green” retreat. A few simple steps like replacing the mattress, switching light bulbs and installing a recycled rug resulted in a room that’s not only stylish but also healthier and easier on the environment. “Living stylishly and going green used to be an oxymoron,” he says. “Part of my job is helping people coordinate the two.”

Here’s how the nation’s leading eco expert transformed our basic bedroom into a sustainably shabby chic space.

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Woven with Style

November 1, 2010 by ark_admin

Ornate raffia-covered ottomans and a sleek Italian-designed bed are equally at home in designer Cynthia Smiley’s bedroom, a space she describes as cottage meets contemporary. “I lean toward the homey, comfortable feeling of a cottage,” she says, “but with an edge of sleek, shiny and simple.” When she and her husband, Dennis, purchased an under-construction new home in Fayetteville, she put that mix into practice and converted the bare bones bedroom into an inviting oasis of tranquility.

Professional Advice from Cynthia Smiley

Your bedroom has to be highly functional as well as pretty. Design it to fit your life: in our case, the bed is easy to make, we prop up on the pillows and they’re all washable, plus we have places on our bedside tables for stacks of books and baskets underneath for the overflow.

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Going Glam

October 3, 2010 by ark_admin

We posted the request on our Facebook page: Searching for a foyer in need of a fresh look. Fayetteville homeowner Candace Dixon responded with a few photos, and designer Jennifer Huett, owner of House to Home in Hot Springs, took on the design challenge. “A foyer sets the mood for the entire house,” says Huett. “This space has great elements, like the beautiful front door and the marble floor, which needed emphasizing. I used them as the starting point for the palette in creating a look that’s elegant yet bold with a pop of color.”

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Modular on the Move

August 30, 2010 by ark_admin

In the Pettaway Park neighborhood in downtown Little Rock, a simple and sleek new home on a corner lot breaks from convention. Although it qualifies as affordable housing, ample windows and a slatted wooden exterior convey high quality materials. While it appears nestled into the lot, mere months ago it was built in a Fayetteville warehouse and trucked to the site. And though the streamlined appearance suggests professional design and construction, the home was created by a group of students from the University of Arkansas Fay Jones School of Architecture.

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Storage Area Shape-up

July 25, 2010 by ark_admin

Shortly after moving into their newly built dream house in Northwest Arkansas, the Jones family realized that one of the spaces they used most frequently wasn’t as dreamy as they hoped it would be. While the new home has a welcoming front door, they soon noticed that the way they most often entered the house was through the garage. Since being greeted by a messy assortment of gear wasn’t the homecoming they envisioned, they opted to organize the garage as neatly as any other room in their new place.

The family contacted Gene Webb, owner of NWA Garage Solutions, who designed a series of storage cabinets, workbench areas and a modular wall system to accommodate their needs. “Like most garages, there was a lot of wall space that could be put to better use,” says Webb.

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Porch Improvement

February 26, 2010 by ark_admin

With outdoor living season approaching, we asked exterior designer Daniel Keeley of Fayetteville-based DK Design to inspire us with suggestions for transforming a basic screened porch into a living area that’s as comfortable as any room in the house.

Keeley’s concept: “I envisioned this space as classically contemporary, with a generally monochromatic color palette of slate and gray with a few accents of white and chrome. The feeling is sleek and sophisticated, yet still warm and comfortable.”

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Patience, Paint and Paper Bags

January 25, 2010 by ark_admin

It all began when I spied a gorgeous four-poster bed on clearance at a local furniture store. It was against all my cheap tendencies, but I saved up, took a deep calming breath and plunked down the money. It was an affordable sale price, but at the time I had to go back to the car, put my head between my knees and breathe into a paper bag while passersby stared with concern.

There was once a time when I believed decorating happened with the flip of a few catalogue pages. I thought it was as simple as taking out a pen, circling the right bed, rug and chair, and voila! A complete room would take shape. But it’s not that easy for me. Why? I’m cheap. I suffer from the proverbial “champagne taste on a beer budget” syndrome.

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An Artist’s Renovation

Comforts of Home

Eco-Color

Woven with Style

Going Glam

Modular on the Move

Storage Area Shape-up

Porch Improvement

Patience, Paint and Paper Bags

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