A South Arkansas fixer-upper becomes a happy first home at the hands of designer Jeremy Carter

Location, location, location—that’s about all this Monticello home had going for it when Halley Ryburn-Powell first considered calling it her own. Having recently moved back to her hometown, she found the house hunt to be more challenging than expected. Eventually her dad had an idea: “When I couldn’t find anything,” she says, “my dad came to me and said, What about the house next to us?” Sure enough, the rental property next door to her parents was available for purchase. “Of all the times I passed this house, I never imagined I would end up living here,” says Halley, who now shares the home with her husband, Johnathan.

Built in 1951, the house lacked the amenities and flow of modern living, not to mention the personal touches that would help Halley feel at home. Enter Jeremy Carter, a Little Rock-based interior designer who has become a friend of the family in recent years. Jeremy got straight to work on a renovation that touched every surface—from a new roof and refinished hardwood flooring to the addition of a back entrance, garage, and laundry room. “The only rooms that are in the same spots as before are the living, dining, and the kitchen, kind of,” Jeremy says. “We also reworked the staircase to the second floor and all the dormer windows. My goal was really to make it like an English cottage,” he adds.

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