LIVING SPACES
By Nancy Peevy | Photos by Chadwick Turner
Fun and Homey with Tributes to Family
This Springdale homeowner’s sister helped her design the perfect downsized home
When Leah Bewley was looking to downsize to a smaller house, she knew she wanted her sister, Myra Graves, with Myra Graves Designs, to help her.
Leah was set on finding a house in Har-Ber Meadows in Springdale because she and Myra both have fond memories of the neighborhood.
“The reason she wanted to be back there,” Myra said, “is because when we were younger and we had littles, we raised our kids there. Now, even my kids want to be back there. It was their favorite time. It’s nostalgic. Our kids grew up like brother and sister. They’ve always lived close to each other.”
The 2,100-square-foot house Leah found in Har-Ber Meadows was built in the late ‘90s and had not been remodeled. However, it was well built with a floor plan that “had good bones,” Myra said. Leah liked the older feel of the home, which has a big front porch. She also loved the pergola on the back porch.
“It’s not a cookie-cutter house,” Myra said. “It has good, unique character.”
Both Leah and Myra knew the house would need a full remodel. They hired subcontractors to gut all the rooms and then totally updated the house. All the floors were redone. The hardwood in the bedrooms, dining room and office was refinished, and they added gray and white marble flooring in the kitchen and living areas.
As for the interior design, Leah’s goal was for the house to be “fun, homey and cozy but with pops of color.”
“I had a vision room by room,” Leah said. “I’m very traditional, but Myra’s got more of the fun, good pops of color, so she was able to help me add in a lot more color, which I absolutely love.”
Myra describes the house’s style as “traditional with a pop of whimsical.”
Leah also wanted her home to include touches of family. She and Myra have a third sister, and the three girls were born near San Antonio. Like Myra, the girls’ grandmother was an interior decorator, and they grew up around furniture stores in Kennedy and Victoria, Texas, owned by their great-aunt and -uncle. Their grandmother passed away last January at 99 years old.
It was important to Leah to include mementos from their grandmother. So, in her office shelves, she has pictures of her grandmother and her grandmother’s handkerchief, along with books owned by her grandparents and a photograph of an owl, taken by Leah’s uncle, that they had framed in their home.
Other personal family items include pictures of her parents in high school and a bird her father drew.
“We used a lot of heirloom stuff that’s passed down,” Myra said. “Leah is good with old and new. She says she throws away, but it’s fun to go through her stuff because I’m more of a ‘throw away’ person, and she keeps the sentimental stuff, which I appreciate.”
Leah likes “elements of old,” which the sisters found at antique stores. “And that makes the house new and old,” Myra said, mentioning that the sisters bought all new furniture at Dallas Market Center, a marketplace for design industry professionals.
Leah wanted wallpaper throughout the house, and the color palette for the house was inspired by the wallpaper in the dining room. “Myra had seen it and wanted me to use it since day one,” Leah said. “This was the first wallpaper that we absolutely loved, and we had to put it somewhere.”
The dining room chandelier and the yellow dining room chairs were in Leah’s previous house. “But they look so much better in this one,” Myra said. “The pop of yellow is just such an unexpected color.”
The lower cabinetry in the dining room was already in the house, but Leah had the upper cabinets added.
For the office, Leah said she wanted something “kind of moody” and “library-like,” so Myra suggested color drenching the room with green cabinetry and trim and a green sofa, which brings out the color in the wallpaper.
Color drenching is an interior design technique that involves painting a room’s walls, trim, doors and ceiling in a single, consistent hue or closely related tones, creating a moody and cohesive space.
In the kitchen, the cabinetry, countertops and island were fully replaced. Now, the cabinets go all the way to the ceiling, adding more storage. They also added a glass cabinet to display Leah’s blue and white dishes.
“One of my favorite things in the house are the lights above the island in the kitchen. We found those at market, and they’re called Ro Sham Beaux,” Leah said. “They were a big inspiration for this house and were one of the first things we bought.”
The sisters liked them so much that, on a girls’ trip last year to Charleston, South Carolina, they visited the factory where they are custom-made.
Leah especially enjoys cooking in her new kitchen and hosting family dinners for her son, his friends, and Myra and her family. She’s had as many as 25 people over on a Sunday.
“Everybody can come,” Myra said. “It’s just a known thing that we do that after church on Sunday. Leah has an open door.”
For Leah, this is the perfect home — one that fits her just right.
Home Pros Used:
Appliances: Metro Appliances & More
Cabinets: Jim’s Quality Cabinets
Décor/Furnishings: Dallas Market Center
Designer/Interior Decorator: Myra Graves Designs
Drapes/Fabrics: Callista’s Creations, Inc.
Fixtures: Gabby; Ro Sham Beaux; Cyan Design
Flooring: M & M Tile & Carpet Company, Inc.
Granite/Marble/Tile: Gunn Granite Company
Painting: Choice Painting Company
Plumbing/Fixtures: Anderson Electric & Plumbing Supply
Shower Doors: Prism Glass Co.