Kitchen of the Week: Southern Charm Abounds in Arkansas

Having raised three boys who are now adults, Vicki and Wade Lunday were ready to update their kitchen and add space to better accommodate the way they want to live. The Lundays brought in interior designer Tobi Fairley to ensure that creating a new kitchen didn’t mean sacrificing the traditional charm and character that infuse their Southern-style home.

Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: Vicki and Wade Lunday
Location: Little Rock, Arkansas
Size: About 250 square feet (23.2 square meters)
Designer: Tobi Fairley of Tobi Fairley Interior Design

The kitchen is homeowner Vicki’s favorite room in the house, and she really wanted it to reflect her style. “I gave it some feminine touches, like the gingham and florals,” Fairley says, “but kept it from going too sweet so that her husband and three adult sons would still feel comfortable in the kitchen.”

Countertops: Quartz in Buttermilk, Caesarstone; cabinet paint: Antique White, Sherwin-Williams; pendant lights: Visual Comfort & Co.; island leg paint: Wasabi, C2 Paint; curtain fabric: Hot House Flower in Spark, Schumacher; island stools: Lee Industries; island stool fabric: Camden Cotton Check in red, Schumacher


The custom island is a great spot for prepping, serving and gathering with friends and family. The color choice for the island’s legs was inspired by nature. “The rural setting and all of the land around the home is very lush and green. The legs help to bring a bit of nature indoors, and it’s also a great classic color,” Fairley says.

Rather than a crisp modern white, the cabinets and subway tile are in shades of antique white that keep with the more traditional character of the home.

Discover other great ways to use gingham


Fairley says that the biggest challenge of the project was achieving more space to accommodate the way the family lives. Luckily, there was a patio area outside the original kitchen that wasn’t being used, so it was absorbed into the new kitchen’s floor plan. This additional space allowed for both a kitchen island and a breakfast banquette.

Fairley says she likes to mix florals and geometrics, because they balance each other. A striped rug with many of the colors in the room serves as a bridge connecting the two areas of the kitchen.

Banquette seat fabric: Gillian, Kravet; banquette back fabric: Elton Cotton Check, Schumacher; dining table and chairs: Hickory Chair; chair backs and curtain fabric: Hot House Flower in Spark, Schumacher; pillow fabric: Camden Cotton Check, Schumacher; chandelier: Visual Comfort & Co.; area rug: Montana Stripe, Dash & Albert


The kitchen is a big gathering area for the family, so Fairley wanted to be sure there was plenty of comfortable seating for everyone. The banquette helps maximize space.

This close-up of the dining chairs highlights how the red gingham picks up the red in the floral fabric. “Both the floral and gingham patterns, especially in red, have a great country feel that works well with the home’s rural setting,” Fairley says.

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