Herron Horton Architects’ Designs 'Home'work for Family & Future
Remember the iconic musical group, The Commodores, led by golden voiced crooner Lionel Ritchie? Now hum their hit song, “Easy.” That’s what having a conversation with Jennifer Herron and Jeff Horton is like. Their relaxed but polished style and down to earth demeanor put you at ease and make you feel like you’ve known them forever.
The married dynamic creative duo heads up Herron Horton Architects. Their groovy downtown Little Rock home is also their office. It’s a blend of style and function with an ever present tipping of the hat to materials that are sustainable, sensible and so cool. They built the structure on what was once a vacant lot on South Spring Street and run their thriving architecture business out of the front. The rest is reserved for living life to the fullest with their children, Jake, 15, and Ava, 12.
The widely known architects are firmly rooted in family with designs for having a collective, positive impact on the future. They are a refreshing mix of modern and traditional, conservative and progressive. I like to think of them as a blend of June and Ward Cleaver and Jane and George Jetson. So interesting and fun!
Jeff Horton grew up in Weston, Missouri, just outside of Kansas City. The town was known for its cash crop tobacco and a distillery. When he was old enough he actually worked in the tobacco field. He was raised in the country where gardens and childhood exploration were prevalent. “We would explore the woods and build forts with leftover wood, stray lumber. It would get used and reused,” Jeff remembers. “I was also into artwork a lot. I would make my two brothers sit for me to draw portraits. I had a little store in our basement where I’d sell artwork to my family,” he grins.
“When I was in 6th grade I would ride with my mom to her nursing school in Kansas City. There I would get on a city bus going down to the Plaza to Nelson Atkins Museum for art classes. I took art very seriously and I’d get frustrated when my classmates didn’t take it seriously,” he muses.
His introduction to architecture came on a school career day. “Architecture was one of the choices, so I shadowed a guy in North Kansas City for a day,” he says. “Later, my first few classes were drafting, so everything was straight lines. The teacher would get on to me. I like everything kind of messy. It’s a lot easier to be creative.” Jeff eventually went on to study architecture at Kansas University.
Jennifer moved to Little Rock’s Hillcrest neighborhood from Durham, North Carolina as a child. “I loved riding the city bus when we got bored. We went all over the city. It was like a labyrinth. We saw all kinds of life,” she smiles and remembers.
She grew up taking classes at the Arkansas Arts Center and attended Central High School. When she was making course selections, she signed up for mechanical drawing without really knowing what it was. She says, “There were only three girls in the class and the rest were boys. Mr. Clive Foy was my teacher. He asked me if I considered architecture, but I also loved the liberal arts.” Jennifer eventually also went on to study architecture at Kansas University.
That is where the two met, but not right away. Kansas University has a German reciprocity program where U.S. architecture students and German architecture students would study back and forth. Jeff took part in this program. When he returned to the States, they started dating their last year of school. They both laugh and he says, “I was quiet and she thought I was one of the German students!”
After finishing school, the couple went to San Francisco for a couple of years to work. They both had friends in Little Rock and Boston. They planned to come to Little Rock for three months then head east. They had a change of heart and decided to stay put. They’ve lived in downtown Little Rock since 1993.
Jeff shares, “In California, cars were always broken into. We were always kind of watching our backs. Helicopters flew over shining lights into neighborhoods.”
Jennifer says, “And here, when we hear a helicopter, it’s just heading over to Children’s. It’s life downtown with the diversity of people. There’s an urban beat and it’s beautiful. Ava bikes downtown and to the Rivermarket. She goes to stuff at Heifer.”
“Jake goes to Central. They grew up around different ages and different kinds of people. The kids have a sensitivity to others that they’ve learned from growing up here,” Jennifer affirms. “SOMA has grown so much. It’s neat to be able to just walk to get pizza.”
The Hortons also enjoy growing some of their own food in the gardens they have built alongside their home. At one time they also had chickens. Jeff and Jennifer both say this has helped the kids understand how food is grown and what all goes into it. “Jake volunteers at the Dunbar Community Garden and Ava is involved with Destination Imagination through her community outreach effort of childhood nutrition,” says Jennifer.
“Ava worked with an LRSD nutritionist to use Dunbar Garden lettuce in salad bowls at school which the students really loved. Destination Imagination is an organization that promotes whole program development for state initiatives and also a global competition. The kids have team challenges and instant challenges that encourage problem solving and collaboration between kids. They even sold garden items in the carpool line,” she says.
Jennifer and Jeff both say their focus is their family and raising the kids to be assets to the community. Jeff shares, “We’ve made a conscious effort to stay small and flexible. We chose to do that. It’s actually easier to have our office at home. We wish we’d had this set up when the kids were little.”
“I can just pop in and finish something then return to what I am doing with the kids. It’s more fluid, not so divided. We’re very close,” Jennifer shares.
Jeff says, “You can tell now that they’re older they really appreciate it.”
Jeff and Jennifer both spend a lot of time with Jake and Ava. Jeff does art with them like wire sculptures and painting. Jennifer takes them and their cousins places around town. Since summer is the busier construction season, the husband-wife team alternates turns with the kids to have special dedicated days and times with them individually.
When asked how they would describe their parenting styles, Jennifer says “We’re patient and calm. We almost explain too much. We respect their input and give them a voice. We teach manners and respect like crazy.”
“Spending time with your kids and showing them respect is so important,” says Jeff. “We appreciate their feedback. We’re designing the new Milam Library in Perryville, so I asked Jake what he thought about the teen section. He had the best ideas about how kids would want to sit and ways to accommodate technology.”
“The legacy we want to leave through our work and our parenting is that architecture is more than four walls and a roof. It’s something that can inspire and affect you in a way you might not know. It can surprise you. It’s the same with parenting. It inspires, uplifts and surprises you,” Jennifer says. “We’re so very grateful to have the time we’ve had with our kids.”