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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