LOCAL BUILDER, RICHARD HARP, AND INTERIOR DESIGNER, JILL WHITE, PARTNER WITH THE SMITH FAMILY TO CREATE A PERFECT, CLASSIC HEIGHTS FAMILY HOME.
By Julie Craig
Photos Provided By Rett Peek
Nestled in the quaint Heights neighborhood in Central Arkansas, you’ll find a timeless home designed by Jill White Designs and built by Richard Harp Homes. Its picture-perfect physique is charming and modest, yet makes the ultimate statement. The home was designed with careful thought and attention to detail to maintain the continuity of the Heights classic design style while creating an energy-efficient, high-performance home for the Smith family. In fact, that’s exactly what it is: timeless and true.
Pecky Cypress doors in the kitchen. A combination of wood tones creates warm while a hidden pantry looks like cabinetry.
Harp, an award-winning builder in the business for 26 years, worked with the Smith family and White to remove a dilapidated house to create their forever home for their family of four. Over a span of ten months, the team created the plans, specifications and constructed the five-bedroom, four-bath home. The design fits in perfectly with the neighborhood, harkening to 1930s classical architecture.
“Building a home from the ground up enables a level of energy efficiency that cannot be otherwise obtained from renovating an older home,” Harp says. Many green building products are cost-effective and affordable providing a positive return on investment on the home’s utility bills and sustainability not to mention additional human comforts. The top 3 most energy-efficient building elements for a high-performance home are the heating and air conditioning system, windows and doors and insulation.
The Heights neighborhood is kid-friendly with homes neatly situated on streets with mature trees, perfect for homeowners who have children.
Interior designer Jill White of Jill White Designs was involved with every decision and selection from the subtle paint colors to the warm cabinetry and flooring. “The family was the entire purpose for every decision made regarding this home,” she says. “This is their forever home, so every detail was made according to their present and future needs.”
The white painted brick jewel, described by White as “timeless, neutral and warm,” is kid-friendly not only because of its location, but because it has an incredible layout complete with a front porch, a wide-open living room downstairs, game room upstairs, spacious kitchen (with a custom range hood and glass-front cabinets inspired by a Pinterest photo the homeowners stumbled across) and an incredible backyard created for long, summer nights and lazy evenings around the outdoor fireplace. The roomy back patio offers a covered screened-in porch and a large living space for dining and family gatherings.
“We designed the space to enable the family to enjoy the outdoors year-round for every season,” Harp says. “For example, porch heaters and an outdoor fireplace were incorporated to enable the family to use the outdoor space during cold seasons.”
A pool designed by Elite Pools by Scott was incorporated for the family to enjoy summer fun. ”The backyard was designed as a complete backyard oasis,” White adds. The gunite pool and Zoysia synthetic turf was selected for low maintenance and sustainability.
Harp employs a “design-build” process to create a custom home built to each customer’s style and budget.
SW Alabaster walls and trim. The master bath and wet bar cabinetry are both SW Agreeable Gray.
“The process involves a few rounds of sketches and drawings, specifications and financial estimating which come together to build a unique and special home,” he says. “Our goal is to custom tailor a home to a family just like you might custom tailor a suit or dress to a person. There are a lot of questions, information and soul-searching with the client to ensure we’re fulfilling their needs. Well executed plans result in a wonderful home for a wonderful family!”
