LIVING SPACES
By Nancy Peevy | Photos by Chadwick Turner
Mid-Century Modern with a View
A locally influential architect designed this home in 1959
Architect Warren D. Segraves left a lasting influence on the skyline of Fayetteville. While he might not be as well-known as his classmate E. Fay Jones, his designs include many area churches, schools, houses and landmark buildings.
Segraves Designs in Fayetteville:
• Roberta Fulbright Fayetteville Public Library (now commercial space)
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• Fayetteville Federal Building (now the John Paul Hammerschmidt Federal Building)
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• Center Plaza Building (now the E.J. Ball Plaza building)
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• University of Arkansas Wesley Chapel
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• Collier Drug Store on Dickson Street
An early graduate of University of Arkansas’ architecture program, Segraves was “one of the first architects in northwestern Arkansas to promote and utilize the International-style mode of modernism in his work,” according to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas. He explored low-cost, simple, modern housing, and his designs were “notable for open, glass spaces, low-slung modern proportions and black-painted exposed steel framing.”
But his career started with his own mid-century modern home on Oklahoma Way in Fayetteville. He opened his architecture practice in 1958, and in 1959, he designed and built his home on the west slope of the Mount Sequoyah neighborhood. The house reflects his passion for designing low-cost, modest housing using modern materials and concepts.
On approach, the two-story house has small windows on the street side, with the back of the house being almost all glass, providing sweeping views of downtown Fayetteville and beyond. The diamond-shaped panels that form the roof are unique, and the exposed steel structure is rare in a home design. Triangles and diamonds are two decorative motifs repeated throughout the house, as seen in the roof, windows and door handles.
Wanting a concealed and discreet entry, Segraves designed it to be hidden from view, so guests had to walk all the way along the front of the house and around the corner to find the front door. Since many had a hard time locating it, Segraves redesigned the entrance in 1964 by enclosing the pathway from the carport to the door, creating a long hallway that ends at a stair landing that either goes up to the bedrooms or down to the living spaces and kitchen. Along the hall, he created storage hidden behind the paneling.
On the back of the house, deep overhangs on the first and second levels provide a shaded balcony and sundeck for the western view. The areas are accessed from two bedrooms and an outdoor staircase. The house’s features include unique built-ins in the bedrooms and kitchen as well as two large skylights that provide natural light for the house.
Segraves passed away in 1978, and his wife moved out and left the house to their daughter and son-in-law. A couple of other owners followed, and in 2017, the house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 2021, Jacob Perry and Andrea Ritchie bought the property.
Perry and Ritchie fell in love with the location and the panoramic views the house offered; they thought it would be great for entertaining. “What sells me is this view,” Ritchie said. “It’s beautiful, especially sunsets.”
At the time, the couple didn’t have any children, but Ritchie became pregnant a few months after buying the house. Their daughter is now 3, so a few areas have been childproofed. However, the family intends to keep the house as Segraves intended aesthetically and bring it back to his mid-century modern vision.
The couple pointed out some unique features in the home, such as a large potted plant and a framed rendering that are directly from the Segraves family. “This is really cool, this plant,” Ritchie said. “Her name is Blanche. She’s from 1958. She was a gift from Warren Segraves’ mother-in-law, and they’ve left it for every owner.”
The framed drawing by Segraves hangs above the fireplace.
There are tradeoffs to living in an older home. The bedrooms are small, and Andrea wishes the closets were bigger, but she said the view and the large open family gathering space make up for it.
“I prefer being downstairs with my family or outside with my family, so the size of the bedrooms doesn’t bother me too much,” Ritchie said. “I hope, when my daughter’s older, it forces her to come out with us a little more.”
Segraves designed the house to bring the outside in, and that’s one thing Ritchie enjoys, pointing out the porch and the windows that crank out in the kitchen. “I love how well it merges with the outdoor section,” she said. “I mean, obviously you have all this natural light coming through, which on cold days makes you feel less cooped up. But in the summertime, it’s like our house grows. It doubles in size because the outdoor space is like a large outdoor living room.”
Home Pros Used:
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Outdoor Paint: Schneider Painting
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Pool/Pool Service: Indian Summer Pool Co.
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Stair/Hallway Glass Railing: Natural State Glass & Mirror, LLC.
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Welder: Avery Findahl
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Windows: Fayetteville Glass Co.
They also love that the location allows them to walk to Ozark Natural Foods, bike to their daughter’s day care or enjoy a stroll with a neighbor. “I can count on my hands in 2025 when I’ve gotten out of my one-mile radius because everything is right here where we need it,” Ritchie said. “I consider going uptown to Target a big trip.”
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“We bought this house because it’s meant for entertaining, and we were pretty excited about that, but we didn’t know we were going to have a child,” Perry said. “But she danced during the Super Bowl halftime show for all our guests. So, it’s being used differently than I intended, but it’s interesting how we’re able to repurpose it into a different vision. Now, instead of having parties that start at 9 p.m., we’re having some nice parties that end with the sunset.”
And the family couldn’t have a better ending to their gatherings than that view.
The Warren Segraves House will be on the 19th annual Washington Elementary Tour of Homes that takes place May 3 from noon to 5 p.m. The self-guided tour features homes in the historic neighborhood around the school. Proceeds benefit the students, teachers and staff at Washington Elementary.