English Countryside Meets Modern Art in This Arkansas Home
After its recent transformation, this historic Fort Smith, Arkansas home is equal parts English country house and modern art gallery. Take a look inside! Image: Mark Roskams
Set on five lush acres in Fort Smith, AR, a stately home with more than a century of history has been radically reborn. Interior designer Chris Goddard of Goddard Design Group knows the property well. In fact, this marks his second full renovation of the space. What was once an English countryside-style retreat has been transformed into a refined, art-filled residence that reflects a new chapter for its owner.
Originally a modest stone structure built over 100 years ago, the home’s historical bones still shine through. “The original stone façade still remains,” Chris explains, “but the house has been added onto multiple times over the years.” The first renovation, designed by Chris for a married couple, reflected an English country house aesthetic: rich in antiques, old-world textures, and European charm.
But life changed. The couple divorced, and the husband, now the sole owner, sought a dramatic reinvention. “He wanted the house gutted and turned into the ultimate bachelor pad filled with modern furnishings and contemporary art,” says Chris. “A total change from what it looked like before.”
For Chris, reimagining a space he had once designed was a rare opportunity to stretch creatively. “Having spent so much time on the first remodel, it was great fun to reimagine a classic space in a more modern way without being disrespectful to the architecture,” he says. And while the layout remained traditional, with “perfect proportions that make for great flow and easy color transitions,” everything else was up for reinterpretation.
Chris’s aesthetic is known for its fearless individuality. “I never do the same thing twice or repeat furnishings or textiles,” he emphasizes. “Each client is different, and their interiors should reflect that. I have never understood formulaic design or repetition.”
That philosophy comes to life in every corner of this house, where authenticity meets modern flair. The kitchen island, for instance, is fashioned from an 18th-century Dutch painter’s table, grounding the space in history. The flooring throughout the home was salvaged and imported from Europe. “I wanted the background to be authentic to the time period the house was built and juxtapose that with modernity,” Chris notes.
Texture, art, and a sense of story are central to Chris’s designs. “I love spaces [that] tell a story or transport the homeowner to somewhere special,” he says. “The use of color saturation, lots of texture, outstanding art, and a bit of whimsy do just that in this residence.”
The standout room in the home — at least in the homeowner’s eyes — is the cigar room, formerly the formal dining room. It’s been transformed into a moody, masculine retreat. “We upholstered the walls in chocolate suede and centered two chocolate mohair chairs in front of the fireplace,” says Chris. “He spends most of his time in this cozy space.”
In the main living room, a Vladimir Kagan sofa and Yves Klein coffee table set a tone of sculptural sophistication. The family room, designed for comfort, features over-scaled furniture and a custom walnut bar accented with square nailhead-inspired paneling.
But perhaps the most defining feature of the home is the owner’s extraordinary collection of global street art. “He loves working with global street artists and muralists, and the house is filled with their works,” Chris shares.
Surprisingly, this complex renovation ran with relative ease. “This process went fairly smoothly, which is not the norm,” says Chris. “We had addressed all the major issues in the first remodel.” Originally slated for nine months, the project was extended to a year and a half due to the labor-intensive finishes and high craftsmanship involved. As Chris puts it, “A home is never really finished — as there is always something to add or enhance.”
Outside, the transformation continues. The home is surrounded by lush English gardens, thoughtfully landscaped with gravel paths, whimsical follies, and a picturesque pool — offering a serene counterpoint to the vibrant interior.
For Chris, the experience of revisiting this home was uniquely fulfilling. “This was a designer’s dream,” he says. “To reimagine a project I had previously done in a completely different style.” And what a stylish reimagination it is — where timeless architecture and edgy artistry come together in perfect, personalized harmony.
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Jenna von Oy Bratcher
Jenna von Oy Bratcher is StyleBlueprint's Associate Editor and Lead Nashville Writer. The East Coast native moved to Nashville almost two decades years ago, by way of Los Angeles. She is a lover of dogs, strong coffee, traveling, and exploring the local restaurant scene bite by bite.