By Barry SmithPhotography by Emily Followill Styling by Eleanor RoperLife came full circle for designer Katie Kirby last year when she returned to Birmingham after living in Mobile for more than 20 years. Kirby first lived in Birmingham in the mid-1990s after graduating from college with a degree in nursing, starting her career and meeting her future … [Read more...]
Father Goose and the Treehouse: Children’s author Charles Ghigna—Father Goose—lives and works happily at home in Homewood.
By Barry Wise SmithWhen Charles Ghigna and his wife Debra moved into their 100-year-old English Tudor cottage in Homewood in 1976, Charles, affectionately known as Father Goose for his prolific children’s literature career, gravitated to a cozy attic space that he turned into his writing room. “The house became our forever storybook home, and the attic quickly became my … [Read more...]
Beauty and the Beach: An over-the-mountain family gets their own piece of paradise
By Barry Wise SmithWhen a busy over-the-mountain family visited friends at their vacation home in a quiet, gated community on the western end of 30A in Santa Rosa Beach, they started dreaming of owning their own piece of paradise.So when a new-construction home came on the market just down the street, the family jumped at the opportunity. “We love the area,” the … [Read more...]
A Resort-Style Ideal Home
By Madoline Markham KoonceTwo putting greens. A peninsula that extends onto a lake. A pool with tanning ledges and a bar. More than 6,500 square feet of interior space. It all sounds like a resort design, but in fact it’s a home–the 2025 Parade of Homes Ideal Home.Touring its colossal primarily stone-exterior is sure to feel like a vacation too. Located on a private … [Read more...]
A Not-So-Split-Level: A 1960s Brookwood Forest home with a recent facelift will be on this year’s Parade of Homes
By Madoline Markham Koonce Photos Courtesy of J.Fante StudioDrive down Stoneridge Lane off Overton Road in Mountain Brook, and you might do a double take if you’re familiar with homes on the street. Where a white split-level home sat not too long ago on a corner lot, you’ll now see a ranch home with a darker coat of paint that no longer looks so split in … [Read more...]