Brad Cushman
Where I live: The Walton Heights neighborhood of Little Rock with my husband, Bobby Williams Cushman, and our tuxedo cat, Charlie.
Occupation: Gallery director/curator, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and studio artist
My favorite space is: The sun room/kitchen area
Why? It has floor to ceiling windows that face north. In the sun room, a large round wooden table with banquette seating is a great place to share a meal. Opposite that is a comfortable daybed, which is a great place to read or unwind. We have a large art collection and the dramatic daylight limits what we can display in that room. We have placed whimsical handcarved paintbrushes by Ron Koehler above the windows. We took out the wall between the sun room and kitchen to open up the space.
The view of the Arkansas River and the landscape is magnificent. The sun room and the view were two of the reasons we bought the house. Large oak trees frame the view much like a Hokusai print or a van Gogh painting. The view commands attention — the sunrises and sunsets, the dramatic colorful skies, watching the fog and storms roll along the river horizon. All of these elements of nature have inspired me to create paintings based on the view. It’s very hard to leave the house sometimes.
If I could make one change to improve this space, I would: Do nothing. We redesigned the space for entertaining and relaxing before we moved in.