By Sharon Smith
This year’s Samford Legacy League Christmas Home Tour offers tours of five homes decorated for the holidays along with festive treats and a selection of pop-up shops.
The tour will take place Dec. 8. Presented by ARC Realty, the 2022 slate of homes includes two Mountain Brook residences and three Vestavia Hills residences that are an array of ages, architectural and interior styles and holiday décor.
Premium Sponsors of this year’s event are AllSouth Appliance, Community Bank, Cox Pools, Firefly Electrical, Fry Construction, The McFadden Team and Mountain Brook Plaza 280.
The Legacy League tour raises money to provide transformational scholarships for students with significant financial need and challenging life circumstances. That includes students who have endured obstacles such as homelessness, inner city violence, death or disability of a parent, foster care, abandonment, parental addiction or incarceration, or the sacrifices of full-time ministry.
Since its inception, the event has featured nearly 50 different houses and raised more than $300,000.
“We love how the community comes together to participate in this special fundraiser,” said Julie Taylor, executive director of the Legacy League and Samford University’s first lady. “It truly is a gift to those who attend and to the students whose lives are forever changed by the scholarships the event supports.”
These are the houses being showcased on this year’s tour:
Kathryn and Doug Eckert 2900 Overhill Road, Mountain Brook
Built in 1935, the Eckerts’ home has changed significantly over the years through multiple additions that enhanced its beauty and functionality. Architect Jeremy Corkern has worked on the home three times, twice for the previous owners before being engaged by the Eckerts in 2018.
In designing the most recent renovation, “We reimagined their house,” Corkern said, “turning the living room into a beautiful dining room, turning a study into a paneled office for Doug and adding a breakfast room.” The Eckerts also added a sitting room off the master bedroom, renovated the library and expanded the lower level.
During this major construction, the port-cochere was enclosed to create a chapel that features art, antique pews and a floor made of reclaimed French terra cotta tiles. After an extensive search, a 19th century English altar was found in New Orleans and acquired for the Eckerts’ chapel.
Though the Eckerts have a chapel in their home, they have a tradition of attending midnight mass at their church on Christmas Eve. Returning home, they enjoy hot cocoa and snacks by the tree before going to bed about 2:30 a.m.
“The world is magical at this hour on Christmas!” Kathryn said.
The Eckert house will be styled for the Christmas tour by designer Mandi Smith T.
Wansley and Ryan Griffin 2133 Southwood Road, Vestavia Hills
Overlooking a lake and the second hole of Vestavia Country Club’s golf course, the Griffins’ 7-year-old residence offers living and entertainment areas for all ages. In fact, the Griffins’ approached the previous owners about potentially selling because they were looking for a house that would be a “kid hangout,” and the owners already had started thinking about a move.
“The timing worked out well for everyone,” said Wansley Griffin, whose family moved to the Southwood Road home in June 2021.
The Griffins made the house their own by painting extensively, adding wallpaper, changing lighting fixtures and lightening the wood floors.
Their large top deck often is filled with visiting adults, while the smartly designed underdeck space – complete with a fire pit, ping pong table and TV – attracts their kids’ friends, just as hoped.
Another favorite space is a basement room filled with black and white photos of famous musicians, carefully selected by Ryan, a music-lover who DJs for fun.
Christmas is a sentimental time for the Griffin family, who decorates with many cherished items, including a manger scene Wansley’s grandmother gave them as a wedding present. The creche, along with ornaments her grandmother gave Wansley through the years, has helped keep her grandmother’s memory alive since she passed away in 2008.
One of the Griffins’ two Christmas trees is adorned with ornaments their kids have been given annually by their grandparents to suit their individual personalities and interests.
Bridget and Andrew Patterson 309 Sunset Drive, Vestavia Hills
With the combined talents and expertise of architect Jeremy Corkern and builder Robert Fry, the Pattersons’ goal “to build a house that looked like it had been here for years” came to fruition in 2020.
“The home lives well, entertains well and feels like it was always there,” Corkern explained. Salvaged historic bricks from streets and buildings that stood where Regions Field now sits make up the home’s exterior.
Inside, old oak beams hewn of reclaimed wood enhance the American colonial design. The light-filled residence overlooks Vestavia Country Club’s 14th hole with a view of the Appalachian foothills in the distance. Its open kitchen, outfitted by AllSouth Appliance, provides a fabulous area for cooking and gathering. Newly constructed outdoor space features a hot tub and sport pool installed by Cox Pools, whose team jack-hammered through numerous layers of rock to achieve the desired depth. The adjacent cabana accommodates multi-season use and enhances the picturesque setting.
Holiday decorations for the Patterson residence include three trees, each decorated differently. While the living room tree displays dressier classic ornaments, the playroom tree showcases their children’s homemade projects, and the screen porch tree has an “outdoorsy” theme. Among the many ornaments are souvenirs from places the Pattersons have visited and a collection of Hallmark ornaments to which they add annually.
Fresh evergreen wreaths and garland around the front door complement the home’s design, hearkening to the traditional décor of Christmases past.
Jenny and Scott Sobera 2824 Canoe Brook Circle, Mountain Brook
When the Sobera family purchased their Mountain Brook home in February 2020, they didn’t anticipate the haven it would become for them during the pandemic. They were attracted to the area for its convenience, the neighborhood for its friendliness and the tucked away street for its quiet beauty.
As months of COVID-19 ensued, their surroundings offered “serenity during a hard time,” explained Jenny, an avid gardener and birder.
The diligent care she gives her dermatology patients carries over to her greenhouse, where Jenny is currently “rehabbing” 50 orchids back into bloom, nurturing her succulent collection and tending to flowers she grows from seeds.
Birds thrive in the Soberas’ backyard, which houses at least 10 feeders at any time and features an array of blooms selected to attract feathered friends. With new landscape lighting, a waterfall pool, comfortable outdoor furnishings and carefully tended landscaping, the yard is a sanctuary.
Inside the graceful brick residence are lovely, practical spaces decorated by Jenny’s sister-in-law, Megan Houston, to fit the Soberas’ desire for a “livable, comfortable home.”
“We use all parts of our house on a daily basis,” Jenny explained.
During the yuletide season, fires warm the home while holiday jazz fills the air. Personalized needlepoint stockings, gifts from Scott’s aunt, adorn the mantle. Two live trees, bounteous houseplants, cut flowers and greenery reflect the family’s love of plants.
The Soberas’ four children – who are 11, 16, 21 and 24 – take turns putting the angel on top of the family tree, which features a collection of ornaments they’ve collected over time.
Julie and Beck Taylor Samford President’s Home
1994 Shades Crest Road, Vestavia Hills
Perched on the ridge of Shades Mountain in Vestavia Hills, the Samford’s President’s Home welcomes thousands of visitors each year, many of them during December.
A busy event space for the university, the house also is the dwelling place of Samford’s president, Beck A. Taylor; his wife, Julie, the university’s first lady and Legacy League’s executive director; their youngest daughter, Chloe; and Peanut, their goldendoodle.
The Taylors are fond of entertaining, particularly during the holiday season. One of their favorite traditions is their annual family Christmas brunch with biscuits and fried quail. Many generations of Julie’s family have quail hunted through the years.
With a panoramic view of Samford’s campus, Birmingham’s skyline and beyond, the richly decorated residence features four Christmas trees, yards of garland and festive ribbon, and special holiday pieces the family has collected over the years.
Reminiscent of a Christmas the Taylors spent in London, the snowy Christmas village displayed in the kitchen depicts Victorian England and scenes from Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.”
Along with viewing elegant furnishings and holiday decor, guests to the Taylors’ home will hear live Christmas music and nibble on seasonal treats. In the ballroom they’ll find a few carefully curated pop-up shops offering holiday gifts, art, food and other items. A portion of sales will support Legacy League scholarships.
Details
Advance tickets are required for the tour and may be purchased at samford.edu/legacyleague for $40 through Dec. 6. There will be no ticket sales at the door. Guests will select their start time and first home during ticket purchase. Limited slots are available; selection is subject to availability.
After visiting their first home, guests may tour other homes in any order at their leisure. Visiting all the homes will take 2 to 2½ hours. Homes will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Guests will drive to each home, and carpooling is recommended.
The Legacy League is a philanthropic organization with nearly 800 members, ranging in age from 22-100. The 2022 Christmas Home Tour Committee, chaired by Tricia Naro, has worked tirelessly to plan for this year’s event, which is one of the organization’s largest fundraisers. The annual tour draws hundreds of people every year, attracting visitors from across Alabama and multiple other states.
