6 min read
Jennifer Maune, chef, restaurateur, and, perhaps most notably, a finalist on MasterChef, discovered her Little Rock, Arkansas, home where most people discover things: on social media. It was a sprawling residence that was also used as a wedding venue, which is how she happened upon it nearly two years ago. “I was instantly captivated by its European design,” she explains. “It felt like a place meant for gathering and celebration, with expansive spaces both inside and out.” So she and her husband kept an eye on the property, eagerly awaiting its arrival on the housing market. Lucky for them, it became available last spring, and the couple, along with their six children (who range in age from five to 16), moved in.
“When it became available, we recognized it as a rare opportunity, not only to create a home for our family, but to build something more,” Maune notes. The best part, aside from the 14,100-square-foot residence, is the splendor on offer: There are culinary gardens, a barn, and a chicken coop, “extending our passion for food, hospitality, and intentional living beyond the walls of the home,” Maune adds.
Instead of jumping right into a renovation, Maune decided to get to know the space before simply gutting it, delaying her move-in date. “The home hadn’t been updated since it was built nearly 30 years ago, so it’s been a gradual transformation as we make it our own,” she explains. “Rather than a full gut, we’ve taken a thoughtful, phased approach, starting with the kitchen and dining room,” the two spaces she and her family use the most.
To some, this is merely a living space, but to Maune and her family, it’s the Great Hall. “It’s a large, open room with multiple sitting areas, but it’s also incredibly flexible; we can clear the furniture and use it to host dinners and charity events, which makes it one of the most dynamic spaces in the home,” the founder of Restaurant Fleur and The Garden Table Foundation adds, noting that she hosts a myriad of events in this sunny spot.
Given that the expansive windows add near constant sunlight, Maune can enjoy the space at pretty much any time of day—but she has a favorite. “We find ourselves here most often at sunset, as the view is especially striking with the infinity pool reflecting the sky, amplifying the colors and creating a truly serene setting for gathering.”
Complete with a pair of striking vintage French cabinets, which are original to the home, the sitting area is one of Maune’s favorite places to relax and take in the wooded area just outside. “This sitting area serves as the Great Hall’s formal gathering space, but it’s intentionally layered with soft textures and a warm, neutral palette to make it feel inviting and livable rather than overly formal,” she adds.
The custom furniture comes from a smattering of places, including Best Home Furnishings, Lulu and Georgia, and Bassett Mirror Company, making the space feel contemporary and cozy.
While Maune may still be in the process of updating and renovating certain spaces, others, such as the kitchen and dining room, have been completely transformed into new rooms that suit her style and her daily life. “The kitchen and formal dining room are where we’ve focused our major investments and updates so far,” Maune admits. “As a chef with a large family, functional and beautiful kitchen and dining spaces were a priority.” Her first order of business—in the dining room, at least—was shifting the color palette to make it feel a touch more modern. “We covered the walls and wainscoting in Sherwin-Williams Urbane Bronze, creating a moody, enveloping backdrop for the space,” Maune explains.
There is certainly no shortage of special objects, collections, and sentimental furniture in nearly every nook and cranny of Maune’s home. At one end of the Great Hall, a glossy Baldwin piano has pride of place; in the hall leading to the primary suite, a collection of chef’s coats and aprons acts as a living scrapbook; on the built-in shelves, pieces from Maune’s travels invite escape.
When she and her family moved in, they had a tall task ahead of them: Make the large, six-bedroom house feel more like a home, so she went out of her way to ensure each design decision was personal and reflected their lives. Her guiding light, she admits, was infusing the space only with things she loves. “Some of my favorite pieces are the small European vessels and decorative objects we’ve collected over time, which carry a story and add to that cultivated, collected feel I’m drawn to,” Maune suggests. “I love incorporating books that reflect my interests in design, entertaining, and travel, which keeps the styling feeling personal rather than purely decorative.”
Few spaces in any home—especially this one—feel more serene than the collection of bedrooms, where there was plenty of attention paid to every detail. “My goal was to create a space that feels calm, elevated, and restful, while still embracing the scale of the room,” Maune explains. Of course, that doesn’t mean there can’t be a touch of drama. While she left one bedroom suite more demure, she opted for full-scale dramatics in her own bedroom, where 12-foot ceilings add to the regal feel.
“The custom bed frame is a key design element,” Maune insists. “I love the dramatic, sculptural shape of the headboard because it adds softness and visual interest while helping anchor the space.” The extremely tall ceilings don’t hurt either, as they allow Maune to have fun with scale, especially when it came to the drapes and lighting. “With ceilings this height, lighting naturally becomes a focal point, so I wanted something that felt both statement-making and refined,” Maune adds.
While the second suite is not quite so dramatic, it’s still perfectly relaxing, complete with a warm, muted palette, a sitting area, and a fireplace. Maune also made a bold design choice in this space: She popped the bed into the bay window to take advantage of the light from all sides.
While the bedrooms relied on cosmetic enhancements, the kitchen underwent a full-scale facelift. Maune was fully prepared to spend the most time and effort here, which makes sense considering how much of her life exists within these walls. “I spent the most time planning the kitchen, as it really sets the tone for the entire home,” she admits. “Reworking the island size, selecting the right natural stone, and layering in finishes like lighting, hardware, and fixtures required a lot of intention to make everything feel cohesive.”
Maune ultimately decided not to completely demolish the kitchen and start from scratch, as one of the most eye-catching elements that came with the home is what ultimately drew Maune and her family to the property. “The bones of the kitchen, including the arched stone alcove for the range, are original to the home, and they immediately evoke that Old World, castle feel,” she explains. “Because the exterior already leans in that direction, we embraced those elements to create a sense of cohesion, allowing the kitchen to feel like a natural extension of the home’s architecture rather than something newly imposed.”
That said, those pre-existing elements were not perfect—at least not by Maune’s standards. They were a bit too dark for her taste, so she enlisted Tim Baitinger of Baitinger Studios to resurface the stone, making the previously dark gray flagstone warm and pale. That little nook houses the home’s original Viking range, which is framed by the arched stone surround that gives it that hearth-like feel. “It does have a grill and griddle, and the range itself is incredibly versatile and designed for serious cooking—perfect for a chef and mom of six who loves to entertain.”
As any chef—professional or novice—would surely insist, having dining spaces on par with the cuisine is a must. Maune, a longtime culinary expert, has four. The two coolest, though, are not where you’d expect; they’re tucked away in a stone-clad wine cellar and out on the deck.
The wine cellar is easily one of the home’s most promising selling points, with vaulted ceilings, constantly cool temperatures, and an almost medieval feel. What’s more, its most unique element is actually something you can't see: The entrance, Maude explains, is a hidden door tucked beneath the grand staircase that opens onto a winding stone staircase leading down to the cellar. She hosts everything from intimate family celebrations to wine pairings for private clients.
As for the second dining space, this one outdoors, what it lacks in Dark Ages charm it makes up for in convenience, as it sits just outside the kitchen. It does, however, feel connected to that Old World castle vibe with its set of stone arches that open onto the pool. “They add character while also framing the view of the pool, making this space feel both intimate and connected to the outdoors,” Maune says.
