By Ingrid Schnader Christopher Architecture and Interiors took an outdated, one-level ranch house and transformed it into a modern farmhouse with sweeping archways and pops of color. It was open for tours last week as the CAI’s 2019 Designer Showhouse, with proceeds from the tours benefiting Lifeline Children’s Services. The nonprofit works to help vulnerable children and … [Read more...]

By Donna Cornelius Jack Staub is in the midst of an interesting life. He’s written five plays, appeared on several daytime dramas, been an ad agency creative director and even inspired a character in the Academy Award-nominated movie “Metropolitan.” But he’s especially known as a garden writer and as one of the most knowledgeable edible gardening experts around. He’ll be … [Read more...]

By Donna Cornelius Fabric designer Lisa Fine loves to travel, especially to India, where she finds inspiration for her linen textiles. She’s lived in Paris, calls a New York apartment home and spends most summers in Dallas. There’s one place she’s never visited: Birmingham. But that will change when Fine appears at the Antiques at The Gardens show, set for Oct. 3-6 at the … [Read more...]

By Emily Williams Some of the oldest homes in Vestavia Hills dot Shades Mountain, built well before the city’s incorporation in 1950. The area was first established in the late 1800s by former two-term Birmingham Mayor George B. Ward, who built his Greco-Roman-inspired “Vestavia” estate where Vestavia Hills Baptist Church now stands. A wave of people built grand homes along … [Read more...]

Story by Lauren Helmer • Photos by Lee Walls You may not know her face, but you probably know her voice. Dru Cunningham Backensto is Birmingham Mountain Radio’s DJ host of the “Flipback Lunch,” which airs weekdays during her 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. shift, and the soon-to-launch “She Show,” featuring all female artists and dynamic local women as guests. Dru opened the doors to … [Read more...]