At Home in Arkansas - June 2006

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At Home in Arkansas May 2006

Real Living May 2006

Cottage Collaboration
A husband-and-wife design-build team re-imagine their 1904 cottage to meet the needs of a 2006 family

by Laura Keech Allen

Houses are very important to Cathy and Gary Pursell. A designer and contractor, respectively, they spend almost every waking minute talking, thinking and working on houses, from renovations to new builds. They recognize and respect the innate power that a home’s design and location convey, and have created the ideal professional niche for themselves as Creative Heights Partners, specializing in the rejuvenation of homes in some of Little Rock’s most historic neighborhoods, including their own home in the Heights.

The Craftsman cottage the couple calls home was built in 1904, along with its identical next-door neighbor, for a pair of sisters. “Their father purchased a Sears Craftsman floor plan and had both homes built on the hillside,” Cathy says. Cathy and her daughter, Sarah Catherine, lived there together for five years, until she and Gary married (under the arbor in the backyard, no less) in 2001 and began talking renovation. “We immediately began scheming about the changes we would make,” she says.

With the addition of not only Gary, but also his two children and a dog, space was an immediate concern for the new family, but they were equally mindful of the home’s historic nature. “It was very important to us to maintain the integrity and history of the architecture,” Cathy says, “but also to incorporate and weave our own history and future into the house.”

Without altering the home’s footprint, the Pursells transformed it into a structure that functions beautifully for a modern family. By utilizing almost every square inch of available space, using the work of noted Louisiana architect A. Hays Town as an inspiration, the main floor’s layout was completely re-imagined, with a foyer and music room at the front of the house leading into the open kitchen, dining area, bar and living room, eschewing separating walls to create a single living area for the whole family to coexist. An office, master bedroom, bath and spacious closet (where Cathy tucked the stacking washer and dryer to save room and time) round out the main floor, while the unused attic was transformed into three bedrooms, two baths and closets galore.

Outside, Gary and Cathy continued their space-saving mission, transforming the entire lot into a series of outdoor rooms. “We didn’t want to waste any space, even outside,” she says. The walled garden now includes a barbecue area and pool, cabanas, and a private courtyard outside the master bedroom. “It’s wonderful to just throw open the French doors in our bedroom and enjoy the fresh air.”

As a contractor with 25 years of experience, Gary worked tirelessly to seamlessly integrate old and new into the renovation. Whenever possible, the home’s original materials were preserved, like the divided light windows in the music room and dining area and the original bricks used in the kitchen fireplace, as well as many beams, ceilings and floors. Other building materials were salvaged from homes of the same era, like the truly stunning pecky cypress and knotty alder woodwork Gary hand-finished with paste wax and incorporated throughout the home. Even the oh-so-modern flat-screen television in the den is beautifully integrated into a wall of windows.

A native of Louisiana, Cathy grew up immersed in a deep-South mixture of European styles, which informs her work to this day. “Our style has definitely been influenced by the melting pot of French and Spanish design in that area,” she says. By picking and choosing elements from a variety of design cultures, the Pursells succeeded in their mission to elevate their home to its full potential. Comfort and function work hand-in-hand with style to create a home that is a true whole, speaking to every level of its inhabitants’ personalities.