Designer Kevin Walsh Restores a Historic Little Rock Gem

When a 1903 building on a historic corner of Little Rock hit the market, designer Kevin Walsh and his husband, Brett Pitts, bought it — not because they were house-hunting, but because Pitts had kept his eye on the place for years, Veranda reported. The two-bedroom residence, which once held a grocery store on the first floor and living quarters above, had passed through the hands of designer Victor Zanovich in the 1970s and stayed in his family until Walsh and Pitts purchased it as a future retirement home and, for now, a place to entertain.

The purchase came with a to-do list. The building had been renovated in the 1970s, Walsh told Veranda, and the bedrooms, closets, and baths had been neglected in that pass. So the couple set about modernizing what needed it while adding detail to rooms that had been overlooked — a balancing act between honoring the home’s past and making it livable for the way they actually host.

A Kitchen Rebuilt for Company

The kitchen got the most structural attention. Walsh rearranged the entire room and added moldings to match the formality of the rest of the house, squeezed in a small breakfast table, and removed a hot water heater tucked under the stairs to build a pantry hidden behind a jib door. That same instinct — every square foot earning its keep — runs through the 2,600-square-foot residence. Walsh was deliberate about how they wanted to live and where everything would go.

The entertaining spaces show it. The living and dining rooms connect through double doors, and Walsh designed the floor plans for flexibility: three sitting areas in the living room, two in the dining room, a games table that doubles as a dining surface, and a banquette for overflow or informal meals. Dinner parties for six to eight people are the norm.

Honoring a Previous Designer

Walsh kept the entry’s existing Gracie wallcovering, installed by Zanovich himself, and layered in a 1930s Barovier & Toso Murano glass chandelier, a 19th-century Louis XVI walnut commode, and a Venetian glass mirror. Above the dining table hangs an 18th-century Genovese chandelier, surrounded by Gustavian chairs upholstered in Manuel Canovas mohair.

Designer Kevin Walsh Restores a Historic Little Rock Gem

“Our primary house is more casual, so I ran with a more formal flavor here. The goal was to bring this home back to its glory days. I also wanted to pay homage to Zanovich, who loved French interiors. I hope he’d be proud of this place too.” — Kevin Walsh, owner and lead designer of Bear Hill Interiors

The adjoining entertaining rooms are painted what Walsh calls a “grungy gray with green undertones” — a warm backdrop for art by Georgia artist Hope Fassett and other works from the couple’s collection, many by local and Southern artists, plus antiques gathered from fairs, estate sales, and trips to Europe. A casual banquette from Chaddock in lime Manuel Canovas linen sits beside gilded starburst mirrors.

Rooms That Wrap Around You

In the living room, a colorful seating area centers on an intricately carved mantel and mirrored fireplace surround, with an abstract piece by Rachel Harris flanked by watercolors by Mittie Hellmich above it. A vintage Chinese silk embroidery hangs over a Louis XVI daybed in a quiet corner, next to a Syrian marquetry table. In the stair hall, a Louis XVI desk serves as a perch, dressed with a Quadrille Roman shade trimmed by Samuel & Sons.

Kevin walsh attending the world premiere of all the money in the world in los angeles california

The primary bedroom is wrapped in a maritime mural by Iksel, and the primary bath carries a branch-inspired Ferrick Mason print on its curtains and walls, with a Waterworks tub. The dressing room holds a French bergère in Fortuny fabric beside an antique side table. Down the hall, the guest bedroom is wrapped in Paolo Moschino wallcovering with a sunny Cowtan & Tout ticking stripe on the windows and bed — and the guest bath, completely reimagined, keeps black-and-white marble mosaic tile flooring for its historic feel.

What the house offers, in the end, is a working argument about old buildings: that a 1903 corner store and residence can be brought back to its glory days without freezing it in amber, and that the best tribute to a previous designer might be a home that finally works for the people living in it now.