There's even a listening room for vinyl fans.
Everyone visits estate sales with the hope of finding treasure—but few walk away with plans to buy a house. For designer Jen Bienvenu's clients, though, the siren's call of an early 2000s Georgian-style estate in Arkansas was just too promising. They purchased the home shortly after visiting for the sale, soon tapping a trusted team—which included Bienvenu, as well as Justin Elbert of CJE Construction—to completely reimagine the space from top to bottom.
The pair of antique lovers found kindred spirits with Bienvenu, whose work centers mostly on the design and preservation of historic homes. Together, they mined the existing structure for architectural details worth salvaging, like custom millwork, while dreaming up ways to help it function effectively for their young family. "Almost every furnishing, object, and accessory—including a lot of the art—is antique or vintage," says Bienvenu of her time-honored approach to designing the space. "Supporting antiques dealers across the country was a great honor, and I was thrilled to have young clients who leaned into this style and process of sourcing."
The goal? To bottle the feeling of a storied family home that had been lived in for generations. To Bienvenu, that meant refinishing the home's original millwork and floors, and—in some instances—keeping some of the drapery or upholstery for that "inherited-over-generations look that’s reminiscent of English country homes," says Bienvenu.
In what can only be described as love at first sight (not unlike their experience with the home itself), the homeowners quickly fell hard for a Susan Harter Muralpaper for the entryway, providing Bienvenu with a stylistic reference point that ended up shaping the whole home, from the sumptuous jewel-toned palette to the fanciful fabric and wallpaper throughout.