Adding Character

August 14, 2013 by ark_admin

An updated layout, furniture-style cabinetry and thoughtful details transform a Fayetteville kitchen into a charming family gathering spot

A well-traveled sophisticate and seasoned homeowner, Andi Stephens’ client has seen her fair share of kitchens, yet at the thought of her own renovation, she “didn’t really have specific must-haves, but knew exactly what she didn’t want,” begins Stephens, designer and owner of Kitchen Distributors in Fayetteville. An Arkansas native, the homeowner worked with Stephens to balance the grand presence of her family’s Victorian-revival estate with a “homey” comfort she’s always desired, starting with the kitchen.

The original space was “closed in—a series of small rooms,” according to Stephens. An adjacent breakfast nook, now a charming feature of the room, was practically inaccessible on account of the inconvenient u-shaped layout, and although striking, the cherry wood butler’s pantry was inadvertently positioned so that guests had to walk past it to get to the dining room. “Basically, everything needed to be completely resituated, opened up and made more accessible from the kitchen,” says Stephens.

“Many elements of the renovation reflect my client’s family-first values and passion for education,” continues the designer. This dedicated wife and mother wanted a room open to the kitchen where her daughter could work on assignments and enjoy family time. With the help of Homes by Ward, Stephens and her team knocked out the jutted bar separating the breakfast nook from the kitchen and smoothed out the excessive angles in the room, drafting one all-inclusive, open-concept blueprint and giving them an all-new canvas for the design details.

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Polished to Perfection

August 14, 2013 by ark_admin

A Little Rock bath receives a refreshing update in a calming, monochromatic palette

After nearly a decade in one place, many homeowners begin to feel the itch to renovate. For one West Little Rock couple, the only question was where to start. Having enjoyed their home for nine years, they were looking to get their feet wet with a smaller project that would still have a big impact on their daily life and the master bath looked like just the place to begin. Lucky for them, the space had good bones and “didn’t need a full redesign,” says Bill Wrape of Distinctive Kitchens and Baths. “It just needed to be updated,” he adds. To give the space a signature style reflective of the homeowners and their tastes, Wrape turned to Meridith Hamilton of MLH Designs. Together the pair blended practical with pretty for a traditional-style bath sure to stand the test of time.

First things first, to solve for more practical applications Hamilton and Wrape installed upper cabinets to add storage, something that topped the homeowners’ wish list. Electrical outlets were cleverly placed behind the cabinetry doors to make charging toothbrushes or even a smart phone possible without sacrificing counter space. To bring a polished aesthetic to the room, mirrored fronts were added to the upper cabinet doors. The mirrors also reflect light into the space, which was another thing the homeowners wanted to gain in the renovation. On the masculine side of the vanity wall, sconces provide additional task lighting. Hamilton chose a large framed mirror for his side, while a more feminine silhouette works perfectly for makeup application on her side of the space.

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Beguiling Backyard

August 13, 2013 by ark_admin

Traditional features blend with a contemporary palette for a delightful outdoor area

A place to relax and to entertain were two top priorities when designer and landscape expert Chris Olsen set out to spruce up Jane and Ben Meade’s Fayetteville courtyard. “I wanted to compose a clean look with stately elegance,” he shares. “I really listen to the client and make sure the landscape is what they want and not just what I envision. Of course, I can be persuasive,” he adds with a chuckle.

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The home’s existing patio featured beautiful natural stonework and a charming outdoor fireplace, however it lacked personality. To create an equally chic and inviting space, Olsen packed a punch into the formerly minimalistic landscape and used a cheerful, contemporary palette of orange, black and ivory to add visual interest on the furnishings. “I love the big round chaise. Its crisscross ivory-and-orange design is bold and fashionable, yet so inviting,” shares Olsen. He searched for the perfect pieces of outdoor furniture to complement the space and in the end went with a custom design from Sunset Patio, a line he carries at his Little Rock shop, Botanica Gardens. Contemporary outdoor fabrics in a variety of prints add an air of whimsy to the aesthetic. “I always say that people need to think outside the box and do something that the neighbors are not doing,” says Olsen.

A diverse mix of vegetation also helps to bring both depth and contrast to the backyard space. “The plants flow in drifts of texture and color. White, orange and purple are the staple colors blended with various hues of green,” he explains. White Swan coneflowers, ‘Autumn Joy’ sedums, English boxwoods, a ‘Forest Pansy’ redbud and a sugar maple are just a few plants that embellish the cozy backyard. For an additional pop of color, the round stone beds are planted with a mix of Mexican zinnias and purple summer snapdragons, which both coordinate with the space’s color scheme.

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Star Quality

July 29, 2013 by ark_admin

Nestled in Little Rock’s Hillcrest neighborhood, Kelly and David Slade’s 1925 Arts-and-Crafts-style home features a striking mix of bold contemporary colors and vintage pieces. So, it’s no surprise these two design elements were at the top of the list when it came to their first child’s nursery. As soon as the couple learned they were expecting a little boy, Slade began planning the room’s design with the help of her cousin, Dayna Gober of DG Designs.

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Their initial inspiration for the space was a vintage movie poster, which just happened to feature a flick of the same name as the soon-to-be-born baby, Jack Slade. “I began to Google Jack’s name to see what would pop up,” laughed Slade as she told the story of finding the poster online, “and I found out there was a horrible cowboy named Jack Slade around the 1800s of whom there was a movie made in the 1950s.” After finding this version of the original movie poster, she knew its colors would be a great palette for the room. With the inspiration piece in place, she and Gober began to pull together the rest of the space.

“I read somewhere that babies love contrast,” shared Slade, “and I had been toying with the idea of painting a room black. I decided to paint stripes in a pencil-like shade of yellow and white on the ceiling to give a high contrast to the black walls.” To make it a smartly fashioned and furnished room for Jack, Gober paired the black walls with white furniture and lively patterns.

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Preppy in Pink

July 29, 2013 by ark_admin

In Magnolia, designer Courtney Smart creates a cheerful, sophisticated girl’s room

“We wanted fun patterns that exuded energy, excitement and movement,” says Courtney Smart of El Dorado-based Sydney Murphy Designs. The charming young designer recently created a vibrant yet mature space for twelve-year-old client, Elise McWilliams, in her family’s Magnolia home.

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“Children and teens usually have an idea of the colors or theme they’d like but it is often communicated through the mom, who has final say,” Smart explains. In this case, Mom—also known as Nicole McWilliams—had impeccable taste as well as confidence when it came to making decisions. The pair worked closely together on the project and an ease of friendship soon developed, making the process both comfortable and enjoyable.

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Flight of Fancy

July 29, 2013 by ark_admin

Butterfly accents, bright colors and graphic patterns inspire a whimsical Hot Springs nursery

Playful personalization was the name of the game when Jill White and her husband Chris set out to design a nursery for their daughter Stella. “I have always been obsessed with black-and-white stripes,” admits White, who also happens to be a designer with a Hot Springs architecture firm. “I’d had my eye on a Stray Dog Designs light fixture with black-and-white stripes and a blue finial for a while. After we learned I was expecting, I knew just the place to use it—the nursery,” she says of her inspiration for the bright room, which features a well-mixed blend of graphic patterns and floral motifs.

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Black-and-white prints weren’t the only love of White’s she brought into the space. “I’ve always liked butterflies, too,” she adds. “I was shopping at House to Home one day with my mom. We saw the large butterfly print and had to have it,” she laughs. The colorful pattern in the artwork plays off the bold prints in the space as well as the room’s blue-gray walls, which complement the chandelier’s turquoise finial.

The butterfly accent was a natural fit and seemed to grow with gifts from friends and family. “My mom surprised me at one of our baby showers with a needlepoint butterfly that my great-grandmother had made and had in her home,” notes White, “and a friend of mine painted another butterfly for us.” Both of these art pieces along with Stella’s favorite books and dolls are displayed on simple white shelves over a custom-built bench. For another hint of playfulness, White made a butterfly mobile from felt pieces. The colorful creation is now suspended over Stella’s crib, bringing her a smile as she wakes up each day. To bring in additional color on the walls over the crib, White covered the letters of Stella’s monogram with leftover fabric pieces.

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Fully FUNctional

July 29, 2013 by ark_admin

A Northwest Arkansas family defines their home with a casual, comfortable style that’s well suited to each person’s individual taste

For Michelle Trumbo, home really is where the heart is. Full-time mother of two and self-professed cooking, reading and gardening enthusiast, Trumbo is your typical multitasking mom who is “real” enough to know that a living space any less than family-friendly is unacceptable. Like a modern-day Vesta, Roman goddess of the hearth, home and family, Trumbo keeps the home fires burning from the most important room in the house—the kitchen.

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When Trumbo joined households with her partner, Joe Whiteside, the two knew right away that their home together must reflect the energy of their new family, including Trumbo’s daughters Holley, 13, and Anna, 10, in both the space’s function and its design. “There are a lot of kids in and out of our house, so it’s important that there’s no room that’s off limits. I want people to be comfortable in every room, and not feel like they’re in a show place,” Trumbo advised her friend of more than fourteen years and interior designer, Kimberly Harper of Harper Howey Interiors. Though Trumbo and Harper chose the kitchen as their starting point, their progress quickly became a full-home redesign and a shining model of form-follows-function philosophy.

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The Go-To Getaway

July 29, 2013 by ark_admin

A Conway family enjoys the amenities of a resort vacation year-round thanks to an updated cabana and poolside patio

To get away these days, all the Crain family has to do is step outside the door of their Conway home. “When I walk out there, I feel like I’m on vacation,” says Jennifer Crain of her home’s poolside retreat. The family, which includes Jennifer and her husband Chris as well as their two young daughters Camryn and Caroline, can often be found in the pool, huddled in the cabana’s kitchen or simply enjoying each other’s company while sitting under the stars. In fact, they enjoy it so much the recently constructed cabana and redesigned pool area are now the focal point of the home.

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However, it hasn’t always been this way. The pool and a small pool house came with the home when the Crains purchased the property. Four years ago the main house underwent a redesign and now with the girls getting older it was time to tackle the outdoor space and make it enjoyable for the entire family. To prepare for the renovation, the pool house was demolished to make room for a more contemporary cabana. Jennifer drew on inspiration from the family’s travels to envision a setting that would accommodate everything from small family gatherings to Chris’ Razorback football parties to large, poolside celebrations.

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The Green Life: Quality Counts

June 28, 2013 by ark_admin

Why She Built Green

“I made building green a priority for two main reasons: it will save energy costs in the long run and it’s the right thing to do. Most of the features that make the bath green are in the house as a whole. For instance, I oriented the house for passive solar gain in the winter, used energy-efficient windows and also positioned them for tons of natural light during the day (which was especially important to me in the bath) as well as maximum ventilation so I can get by with less air conditioning. I also used locally sourced materials whenever possible and kept the size of the house small to reduce my footprint.” —Kristin Musgnug, Homeowner

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How She Did It

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The Green Life: Efficient Kitchen

June 28, 2013 by ark_admin

Why He Built Green

“I like the challenge of applying building science to real world applications. Success in energy efficiency is getting the most bang for your buck in regard to the amount of time that a particular upgrade takes to pay for itself. Paying attention here can move a typical new home into what I call a ‘high performance home,’ making better use of our water, electrical and natural gas resources.” —Brandon Tedder, homeowner

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How He Did It

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Adding Character

Polished to Perfection

Beguiling Backyard

Star Quality

Preppy in Pink

Flight of Fancy

Fully FUNctional

The Go-To Getaway

The Green Life: Quality Counts

The Green Life: Efficient Kitchen

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