Homes and Gardens Archives - Page 40 of 46

Tradition with a Twist

October 21, 2009 by ark_admin

“For as long as I can remember,” says Blytheville native Carolyn Grisham, “I’ve wanted a white house with white columns and black shutters.” With a degree in art and graphic design from Southern Methodist University (SMU) and 25 years as senior interior designer with Club Corp in Dallas, Carolyn was ready to tackle plans for her family’s dream home in Harrison when she and her husband Bud, a land developer and native of the area, retired there 16 years ago.

The result was a 4,500-square-foot Greek Revival brick home situated in the middle of 25 acres. Surrounded by groves of natural oak, walnut and pear trees, the stately exterior of the Grisham’s home reflects the tradition of a much older past with white-washed red brick that has gently aged through the years.

Inside, the home also reveals a rich mix of textures and treasures all juxtaposed against the cool serenity of a neutral background. The two-story, three-bedroom home features a welcoming center hallway with living areas on both sides. “I like everything very symmetrical,” Carolyn explains.

She has always taken a casual, yet elegant approach to decorating, collecting only well-chosen antiques for her home that she treasures more and more each year. “Once I fall in love with something, I love it forever,” says the talented designer, who regularly scoured the antique stores of Europe when she lived and worked in Dallas. She found most of her favorite collectibles in France: antique straw hats, blue and white pottery, oil paintings and china plates.

While Carolyn’s home is a showplace for her prized antiques, many of her eclectic accessories are from her store Winterberry Home, formerly located in Little Rock and now in Rogers at Interiors Galleria. She puts her own design spin on a charming Southern style that blends several different periods, including the British and French Colonial era, a style that she likens to “Out of Africa,” her favorite movie. “I tend to mix in a little exotica with more traditional pieces,” says Carolyn.

This is particularly evident in the sunroom where a patterned floor she designed and painted anchors a Zebra rug and an antique French Colonial settee paired with a carved Anglo-Indian table bought on a shopping trip to England. The extensive collections of wicker throughout the house also offer a more casual counterpoint to her European antiques.

The color palette in the Grisham’s Greek Revival home also provides a distinctive backdrop for the interplay between informal and formal furnishings. “I prefer light-colored walls,” Carolyn admits. “I like a fresh, crisp look that has a high contrast with the other decorative elements in a room.” Even crown moldings, fireplace mantels, kitchen cabinetry and window dressings are treated with a cool touch and provide a blank canvas for highlighting collectibles.

The off-white walls in most of the house and the pale pink in the living room enhance the dark woods of both the Grishams’ four-inch-wide red oak plank flooring and their traditional antiques. Upholstered sofas and chairs as well as rattan and wicker are updated with light-colored fabrics that are durable as well as functional.

In the living room, her grandmother’s antique sofa and chair that she lovingly remembers sitting in as a child is lightened up with cheerful Lee Jofa floral chintz cushions and pillows. Chippendale dining room chairs are slipcovered with white linen. The designer finds that fabrics often change the mood of an antique piece dramatically.

A vintage reproduction bed in the master bedroom provides another high-contrast piece in Carolyn’s preferred style. “I love the architectural shape of the bonnet on this bed,” she says, “and I love the high contrast against the light walls, so I never drape anything over it.”

To truly enjoy the Southern charm of their house and property, the couple often head outside to relax on one of their porches. “We have tea on the front porch every morning,” Carolyn says. The screened porch on the back of the house with oversized wicker chairs is a favored afternoon retreat. “We can watch the deer romping around the backyard pond,” she continues, “which seems a very Southern way to end the day.”

Click here for Carolyn’s tips on setting the table for a Sunday supper, Southern-style.

Design Sources

Design Carolyn Grisham, Winterberry Home in Interiors Galleria, Rogers
Developer Bud Grisham, Woodcroft, Harrison

Cross Creek

September 22, 2009 by ark_admin

Last year, a little house in Fayetteville set a new record for the state. It first won an American Institute of Architects (AIA) honor award for Arkansas, then one for the Gulf Region, and ultimately moved on to the big prize: a national AIA honor award—one of only eight given across the U.S.—for a single-family custom home.

Though the awards were a pleasant surprise, the home’s owners and creators, architects Marlon and Ati Blackwell, always planned to apply their professional know-how to their own place. “Even when I was in college, I told my roommate that I would never own a house that I hadn’t designed,” says Marlon. “Architect Fay Jones used to say that there were principles he built by, and principles he lived by, and they weren’t that different—that statement rang true for us.”

The challenge to these principles came when the pair, partners in the downtown Fayetteville-based firm Marlon Blackwell Architects, sought to put down roots close to their business and the University of Arkansas campus, where Marlon is a tenured professor. “Our two kids were reaching school age,” says Ati, “and it was time to settle into a neighborhood.”

Opportunity arose when the couple noticed a vacant plot of land for sale in their favorite part of town, a site previously deemed unsuitable for building because of a creek cutting diagonally through the property. “To me, it was a slice of the Ozarks, with a creek and indigenous trees, dropped into the middle of a neighborhood,” says Marlon. “Our firm is known for being able to be inventive with a site, and we saw this as an opportunity.”

They purchased the land, rented a house alongside it and then spent a year watching the ebb and flow of the creek and the nuances of the property throughout the seasons. Eventually, they settled on the idea of the house as a bridge across the creek bed, which is dry most of the summer but has significant flow during rainy seasons.

Starting with steel beams and columns that span the creek, Marlon designed the house as a modern variation of a covered bridge—it’s just one room deep, so all the spaces can receive natural light from four sides, and it stretches across the site horizontally to allow adequate room for both front and back yards. With this modest footprint, a second floor was necessary for bedrooms and family spaces, and Marlon designed a similar box-like layout as the first floor but spun it out at a 90-degree angle to recess it into a row of trees. The resulting L-shape became the name of the 2,500-square-foot residence (L-Stack House), and Marlon used the triangular geometry of a dramatic glass staircase to link the two distinctive forms.

On the interior, abundant light and views were the top priorities, allowing the family to look out to the natural setting but also easily see from room to room. “A sense of openness was important,” says Ati, who concentrated her architectural skills on interior details while Marlon focused on the exterior components. “We wanted to feel as if we were in the middle of everything,” she says, “so we could see what was going on both inside and out.”

Rather than add walls, they defined rooms with a series of boxed windows and partial dividers. A large window seat overlooking the creek is a focal point in the living area, and the shape is repeated in the framing holding the kitchen cabinetry and then again in expansive windows lining the dining space. “They’re forms that reinforce the idea of the bridge,” says Marlon, “and transition you from one room to another.”

Moving from inside to out is seamless as well, with a porch adjacent to the dining area and a covered patio spanning the area below the cantilevered second story. “The notion of the flow of the creek carries over to the house,” he adds. “You can easily move between indoor and outdoor spaces, and that makes for easy, informal living.”

Design Sources

Architect, Interior Design Marlon Blackwell Architects, Fayetteville
Contractor Benchmark Framing, Fayetteville
Landscape Stuart Fulbright Garden Architect, Fayetteville
Appliances Metro Builders Supply, Springdale
Countertops Petersen Granite & Marble, Springdale
Floors Dramis Hardwood Floors, Fayetteville
Furnishings Lacuna Modern Interiors, Fayetteville

Project Provence

September 21, 2009 by ark_admin

When interior designer Kim Brockinton and her husband decided to build a home in Little Rock’s Heights neighborhood, she envisioned a space befitting of the villages she had visited on trips to the French countryside. “I wanted to make certain this house had a real sense of authenticity,” Brockinton explains, “as though it had been transported right from a small town in the Provence region of France.” She also wanted to have ample space to entertain large groups, including her two then-teenage children and their friends, while still maintaining a sense of charm. “Now that we’re empty nesters, it’s not overwhelming for two people,” she says. And while it’s comfortable for a dinner party of 10 or 12, the residence has just as easily accommodated large house parties of 100 people.

To invoke rural France within her own home, Brockinton enlisted New Orleans architect Davis Jahncke, who gave it the appearance of being modified and added onto over many generations. Brockinton also had the exterior’s stucco aged for a sun-bleached look, used distressed shutters, doors and windows, and installed copper gutters and a multi-colored slate roof, all characteristics of the structures she grew to love while traveling.

The living spaces are a reflection of the exterior, maintaining the timeworn European aura expected judging by the home’s outward appearance. “I used warm flesh tones throughout the house,” Brockinton says. “The colors melt from room to room in buckskin, terra cotta and muted mustard tones.” The dining room also features vaulted ceilings and a painted, glazed and waxed finish that gives the walls the look and feel of old stone, which was “an inspiration from a restaurant in the village of Les Baux de Provence,” Brockinton notes.

Hand-hewn wood beams span the ceiling in the den, where Brockinton had a precast floor-to-ceiling fireplace built to replicate an original limestone one from Normandy. “We painted and stripped it multiple times and finished it with a heavy wax,” she explains. “Only a discerning eye would know it isn’t old.”

The adjoining kitchen is modern and functional with a rustic French aesthetic. Cabinets appear to be separate pieces of furniture with wood aprons and graceful feet, including a hand-carved wood island. A custom-made hood with copper and zinc accents, a hand-painted stone backsplash and limestone countertops underscore the authentic quality of the space.

The Château Haut-Brion wine estate in Bordeaux inspired the wine cellar, complete with stucco walls and a hand-painted mural of the winery. Brockinton adds, “We also created a map of France on cork denoting the wine regions and the towns in which they are located.” The cellar’s antiques include a late-1800s vaisselier found in Bordeaux, a French farm table and a candle-burning chandelier, while antique brick covers the floors. Elsewhere in the home, the main living spaces contain wood floors scraped and stained for age, and the foyer is lined with terra cotta tiles salvaged from a barn in France.

Antique furniture in the style of Louis XVI dominates the master bedroom, including a large armoire and bed. Carpet by Stark and lush fabrics on the bed and windows warm up the space. Finishing touches include antique dore and bronze lamps and accessories, as well as an antique bronze chandelier with Baccarat crystal.

“This home underscores my real passion of timeless, classic, warm, romantic and intimate design,” Brockinton explains. “It’s one of the reasons people love to go to Provence, not to see what is new but rather to relive the magic of their first experience there. It’s comforting to know it will be just as you remembered it.”

Design Sources

Interior Design Kim Brockinton, Kim Brockinton Interiors, Inc., Little Rock
Architect Davis Jahncke, Jahncke & Burns Architects, New Orleans
Contractor Jack Hartsell, Jack Hartsell Construction, Little Rock
Custom shades The Shade Above, Searcy
European gardens, floral Interior Gardening, North Little Rock
Interiors Blackmon Antiques, Cabbage Rose Antiques, Ellen Golden French Antiques, Pflugrad’s Antiques, Sabb’s Antique Rugs, The Antique Co., Trianon Antiques, all in Little Rock
Silk florals Tipton Hurst, Little Rock

Going for Baroque

August 19, 2009 by ark_admin

A Little Rock couple faced a design dilemma when outfitting the master bathroom in their downtown high-rise condominium. While they enjoyed the panoramic views of the Arkansas River, Clinton Presidential Library and city skyline from the room’s expansive windows, they also wanted to maintain a sense of privacy. Similarly, though the space had modern lines, they were interested in creating the kind of luxurious retreat they had enjoyed during hotel stays in Paris. So they turned to interior designer Bill Beringer for assistance in creating a space that emphasizes the view within an elegant and relaxing setting.

To offset the industrial appearance of the floor-to-ceiling windows, they began by framing the glass with partial walls, allowing for views while preserving privacy. Trimmed with crown molding, the walls help the bathroom feel more like a home interior and less like a contemporary condominium.

A large BainUltra air-jet massage bathtub with a heated backrest serves as the room’s dramatic focal point, centrally positioned to capitalize on the views while bathing. The tub is flanked on either side by identical cabinetry and sinks with ample vanity space and three-way mirrors for each homeowner. “Symmetry is huge with me,” laughs Beringer, who says it creates a more formal space. A chandelier hanging above the tub adds a touch of sparkle, and a built-in steam shower and separate water closet are located opposite each other at the back of the bathroom for complete privacy in those areas.

Beringer decided to go with a beige color scheme to match the homeowners’ choice of Kona Beige marble, which encases the tub and is used for the floors and countertops. “When you do more of the same color it expands the space,” Beringer says of the 380-square-foot bathroom. He chose paint in a similar beige tone for the trim and matched the wallpaper for a serene effect. “I think contrast between walls and woodwork creates dizziness,” he says. “There’s a lot going on in this room but it’s not busy.” Brushed nickel hardware with a ribbon and reed pattern complements the serene style.

A pair of Empire benches and a Louis XVI-style four-panel folding screen complete the luxurious look of the room. In combination with the eagle’s eye views, lavish bathtub and other amenities, Beringer’s careful placement of framed intaglios and art on the walls, and attention to detail with smaller luxuries—fluffy towels, porcelain soap dishes, perfumed soaps and bath salts—make this high-rise bathroom more than simply a relaxing retreat. As Beringer puts it, “Truly this is a bath that even Marie Antoinette would enjoy.”

DESIGN RESOURCES

Interior Designer Bill Beringer, Little Rock
Architect Tom Fennell, AIA, Fennell Purifoy Architects, Little Rock
Contractor Dave Grundfest Company, Little Rock
Bathtub, sinks, faucets, cabinet and door hardware PC Hardware, Little Rock
Crystal and bronze accessories Trianon Antiques, Little Rock
Framed intaglios, towels, soaps Bear-Hill Interiors, Little Rock
Marble All Natural Stone, Little Rock
Millwork Beard Breeding Painting, Mabelvale
Paint Sherwin-Williams, Little Rock
Sound, lighting systems Sound Advice, Little Rock

Table Service

August 18, 2009 by ark_admin

“It was summer, and I knew juicy, ripe Arkansas tomatoes were out there,” says Shane Henderson, a Little Rock chef. “Only problem was, I wasn’t sure where to go to get 20 pounds of them.”

Henderson and other area chefs found a resource to fill that gap with the newly formed Farm to Chef Network, part of the Certified Arkansas Farmers Market program which currently hosts outdoor markets in North Little Rock, Hot Springs and Searcy as well as an on-line sales component. Begun by Jody Hardin, a fifth-generation farmer at Hardin Farm in Grady, the network pairs a chef or restaurant with a local farmer with the goal of matching what the farm produces with a part of the chef’s menu.

“It gives me the chance to sit down with a farmer and talk about what we’d like to serve,” says Henderson. “We both come away better informed about what’s being produced or might be desired, the quantities, availability and timing.”

The program covers a range of food sources, from produce to livestock, a concept that Hardin believes can help bridge the gap in the local food movement and put Arkansas chefs and farmers on the cutting edge. For diners, the outcome is better access to the freshest seasonal foods, and restaurants participating in the program can showcase their involvement on their menus.

“Ultimately, we hope that this will dramatically increase commerce for our local farmers,” says Henderson, “and provide customers with high-quality dining experiences.”

Farm to Chef Network Members:
Jason Godwin, Simply the Best Catering, North Little Rock
Shane Henderson, Argenta Market, North Little Rock
Scott McGehee, Boulevard Bread Company, ZaZa, Little Rock
Lee Richardson, Capital Hotel, Little Rock
For updated listings, visit www.arkansasfood.net/chef.php

Farm to Table Recipes from Chef Shane Henderson

The first two recipes are for a Saturday night get-together, the last is for breakfast the next morning, and all feature produce you can find this fall at Arkansas farmers markets.

Sweet Potato Soup
Apple Salad
Butternut Squash Pancakes

Nursery Suite

July 28, 2009 by ark_admin

Eden Moody may be only 17 months old, but she’s already developed an appreciation for original art. “We’ll peek in her room and find her awake in her crib, looking at the painted ceiling,” says her mother, Angela, which is just what she and her husband, Edward, had in mind when they envisioned Eden’s nursery.

Seeking a space that would soothe the senses, Angela began by giving the walls a soft, old-world finish. A duo of Hot Springs-based artisans took on the transformation, with Spring Cottage Designs applying a pearl-finish paint treatment to the walls to add a subtle sheen and painter Eric Maurus following with a cherub-inspired mural on the ceiling. “Something peaceful for Eden to gaze up at was our goal,” says Angela. “Plus it was important that her nursery fit with the rest of our house, which has European influences.”

Deciding early on to use two rooms in their West Little Rock home as a nursery suite—one with a crib and another with a daybed Eden can grow into—Angela turned to interior designer Janna Toland of Cobblestone & Vine to help furnish and complete the spaces. “Choosing classic pieces that would transition with Eden through the years was important,” says Toland, and they selected bookcases, dressers and a bed that would function well now but also fit in a variety of settings later. “They’re forever pieces,” she adds, “the kind that you could pass down through the years and to future generations.”

They outfitted both the bed and the crib with textural fabrics, including washable velvet pillows and padding paired with shiny silk bed skirts. A drapery treatment made of the same fabric combination frames the crib, topped off with an antique crown and flanked with elegant sconces. Windows were dressed in striped silk as well, which Toland had smocked in a style similar to little girl’s clothing.

A comfortable French bergere chair, covered in damask linen, adds a final touch of European flair to the room. “That’s our place to sit and read books together,” says Angela, “and to relax in the peace and comfort of this space.”

Design Resources

Interior Design Janna Toland, Cobblestone & Vine, Little Rock
Accessories I-40 Antique Mall, Fabulous Finds, Accessory, Vestas, Little Rock
Ceiling mural Eric Maurus, Hot Springs
Child’s table and chairs Unpainted Furniture Store, Little Rock
Custom statuary lamps The Shade Above in Fabulous Finds, Little Rock
Furnishings, bedding, draperies, vintage china Cobblestone & Vine, Little Rock
Wall finish Spring Cottage Designs, Hot Spring

Family-Style Cooking

July 28, 2009 by ark_admin

Jennifer Lewis can honestly say that she spends most of her time in the kitchen. As a mother of two, avid entertainer of family and friends and a cooking instructor who runs her business, Fresh and Fabulous Entertaining, from her own home, prepping food and preparing meals are continuous daily activities.

She used to attempt all this from a small kitchen in a 1920s bungalow she, her husband John and their children, Emma Kate and Ian, shared near downtown Fayetteville. But as the kids grew and the house began to seem cramped, she and John started thinking about building a bigger place. A larger kitchen, of course, quickly became part of the plan.
…

Bella’s Ballroom

July 27, 2009 by ark_admin

Creating bedrooms for her twin son and daughter that were unique yet equally inviting was the top priority when graphic designer Sandra Marbaise, co-owner of Little Rock-based SanLori Invitations, and her family moved into their Heights home. As inspiration, she looked to each child’s favorite activities.

For Isabella’s room, Sandra envisioned a space where her daughter could play dress-up and make-believe with her favorite stuffed animals and dolls. From that starting point, the room’s color palette followed easily. “I love pink and green together, they’re happy and festive,” she says. She painted the walls green and the ceiling pink and then repeated the combination in the bedding, mixing in green and white toile fabric “to give it a little bit of an elegant edge,” she says.

“I think her bed and linens set the tone for the whole room,” Sandra adds. “Once the linens started coming together, I could see it.” For decorative details, she worked with artist Andrea Trieschmann, owner of Art by Andrea, who created a personalized banner, canopy bedding, magnet boards and other accessories. The end result, says Sandra, is a beautiful yet practical and fun room for her daughter. “Now we have a place where we can play dolls and dress-up and share that together,” she says.

Click here to see Ethan’s nautical-inspired room.

Design Resources

Bedding, window treatments Cynthia East, Little Rock
Decorative Accessories Andrea Trieschmann, Art by Andrea, Little Rock

Ethan’s Escape

July 27, 2009 by ark_admin

In contrast to daughter Isabella’s dress-up inspired room, graphic designer Sandra Marbaise had a maritime theme in mind for her son Ethan’s space. “My husband grew up with this great love of the ocean and fishing, and that became our starting point,” she says.

Coastal vacations are a family favorite and the Marbaises have taken their seven-year-old twins to Nantucket three times. “The painting of the boat is from Nantucket and the map up on the wall is of that area,” she says. The sailboats around Ethan’s room are from the family’s travels to the beaches of Brittany in the west of France.

Artist Andrea Trieschmann added the flags and captain’s wheel over Ethan’s bed. “The nautical theme was already established, but Andrea came in with some wonderful touches,” Sandra says. Polished oak furnishings and an extra-deep armchair, designed as a cozy reading nook, completed the nautical retreat. “Now Ethan has a room that reflects his love of the water and fishing, things that his daddy loves so much too,” she says.

Freelance writer and Little Rock native Emily Benton Ryan is a recent Baylor University graduate.

Design Resources

Bedding, window treatments: Cynthia East Fabrics, Little Rock
Decorative Accessories: Andrea Trieschmann, Art by Andrea, Little Rock

Outdoor Access

July 24, 2009 by ark_admin

“How many kids that are wheelchair users ever get to go up in a treehouse?” asks Sarah Wacaster, executive director of Camp Aldersgate. Thanks to students from the University of Arkansas School of Architecture and their professor, the answer is now hundreds. And they’re also able to shoot bows and arrows from an archery pavilion, wheel onto a stage to perform and have uninterrupted access to nearly all corners of the camp for picnicking, bird watching and just plain enjoying the natural world.

Located on 120 acres on the outskirts of Little Rock, Camp Aldersgate has been serving children with disabilities for over 60 years. As part of their continual quest to find ways for their campers to experience the outdoors, they began collaborating with the architecture program in 2002, when associate professor Laura Terry opted to teach her summer design-build program at the camp. “We had students interested in both serving the community and in getting practical building experience, and this idea seemed like a good solution for everyone involved,” she says.

That first summer, Terry and a group of eight students built an archery pavilion which functions as well for kids who can stand at the stations as it does for those in wheelchairs. Adjustable shooting stations were designed with visual appeal in mind, using bicycle parts, airplane propellers and other items to make them more interactive. “We decided that just making the pavilion accessible wasn’t enough,” says Terry. “It needed to be interesting and stimulating as well.”

That concept was reinforced the following year, when Terry and a new group of students returned and built a wheelchair-accessible treehouse, 21 feet above the ground. Successive visits resulted in a stage and amphitheater as well as a series of picnic areas, all designed to entice kids, whatever their medical or physical condition, to come out and play. “Children, regardless of their ability, are still children,” says Terry. “They need to be able to experience their surroundings and above all, to have fun.”

Tradition with a Twist

Design Sources

Cross Creek

Design Sources

Project Provence

Design Sources

Going for Baroque

DESIGN RESOURCES

Table Service

Nursery Suite

Design Resources

Family-Style Cooking

Bella’s Ballroom

Design Resources

Ethan’s Escape

Design Resources

Outdoor Access

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