Visiting the statue of Vulcan is the best way to see Birmingham, but positioning oneself right under his derriere is the finest way to admire all of the City of Homewood. A patchwork of neighborhoods make up the city: gracious and traditional Hollywood; bustling downtown Homewood; shabby-chic Edgewood, and the very international Green Springs corridor. The common thread is a spirit of hospitality and a genuine welcome-to-my-neighborhood-now-let-me-show-you-around sentiment.
Shopping
Homewood is a design destination. Popping up among longtime favorites like At Home and Seibel’s are newer shops like Stock & Trade and Defining Home. Bring along your domicile’s wishlist and make a day of shopping for the house.
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AT HOME FURNISHINGS
This favorite features an astonishing amount of home décor in one well-edited location. Most everything in the store is in soothing neutral hues that complement your current aesthetic—sconces that can flank an antique sideboard; a sheesham wood desk to see your son from Legos to college; sophisticated scented candles and tableware. The store recently expanded—making room to display more sofas, chairs, and larger pieces of furniture. Don’t forget to stop in their sister shop, Three Sheets, just across the street. 205.879.3510 • athome-furnishings.com
SEIBELS
Nothing could make you covet your friend’s lake house more than a trip to Seibels. Far from kitchy, this is the place to go to outfit your spot on the slough. Or your mountain cabin. Or even your own den and back porch. Seibels can fill a comfortable space from top to bottom. That said, we’ll take a bed swing to go please.
205.879.3558 • Facebook
DEFINING HOME
Established in 2012 by residential designers Tom Adams and Adam Gerndt, Defining Home is more than just a retail shop. In addition to being able to purchase art and furniture off the showroom floor, it functions as a workroom and design studio where you can discuss ideas with designers to create your unique version of home. We’re partial to the Mitchell Gold+Bob Williams sofas that fill a room with style and ease. 205.803.3662 • defining-home.com
STOCK AND TRADE
It would be a mistake to allow the sheer size of Stock and Trade (20, 000 square feet!) to keep you from exploring every nook and cranny. The design team has created dozens of room vignettes to showcase the hundreds of styles they can offer in custom sofas, chairs, side tables, ottomans, bookshelves, beds, dressers, and more. Fair warning: you may stop in for a pair of lamps but walk out with a coffee table and cowhide rug too. There is a lot to love here. 205.783.1350 • stockandtrade.com
HILTZ LAUBER
What Hiltz Lauber lacks in square footage, they more than make up for in their caliber of offerings. These are the pieces that yearn for the backdrop of an elegant living room. Their Schumacher carpets and a Baker writing desk may start off in your home but are guaranteed to be enjoyed by your children and grandchildren. This is a design shop for designers—and lucky for you, retail shopping too. 205.879.0039 • hiltzlauber.com
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18TH STREET ORIENTALS
Chances are, someone in your family has already purchased a rug from 18th Street Orientals. Having been in business for more than three decades, they have sold more than their fair share of rugs from Turkey, Tibet, Morocco, and points farther East. Offering more than just traditional oriental rugs, they can show customers a wide variety of antique floor coverings as well as modern or contemporary designs. Not sure just what you want? Invite them over for a cup of coffee and discuss what would complement your existing space and still come in under budget. 205.870.3838 • 18thstreetorientals.com
HABITATION
Bill Aroosian’s shop in downtown Homewood is the perfect spot to fluff your current space or update a room with new fabrics. Habitation’s schedule of services includes everything from custom valances and headboards to duvet covers and dust ruffles. 205.879.5558 • habitationhomewood.com
B BAYER
Living in the South, we all know the saying “if it doesn’t move, monogram it.” We love this little Homewood shop for adding initials to anything from makeup pouches to table runners to tissue holders. We admit to being especially smitten with the Beaufort Bonnet Company goods, making any baby look that much more adorable! 205.870.4126 • Facebook
EDGEWOOD FRAME
Picking out lamps and sofas, pillows and rugs may be the easy part; it is what goes on the walls that give us fits. Having your pictures and art professionally framed is a gift you give yourself and a way to preserve memories. Edgewood Frame Shop can frame just about anything you can imagine—needlework and textiles to mirrors and precious artwork, christening gowns and antique souvenirs. They offer photo restoration and hand-tinting of black and white photographs as well. 205.871.6943 • edgewoodframeshop.com
Dining Out
The list of favorite restaurants in Homewood is lengthy. Trust us though when we tell you the not-to-be-missed include Johnny’s, Homewood Gourmet, O’Carr’s, GianMarco’s, and Jinsei. Downtown Homewood boasts the only Penzey’s Spice store in the whole state which is great for all those home cooks out there. Summer Saturdays mean a downtown farmers market where you can pick up the freshest tomatoes and peaches anywhere.
House Shopping?
Homes vary in size from cottages and bungalows to ranch-style houses to larger lots with older homes with historic value. The SOHO area of downtown Homewood is always jumping and quite desirable for young professionals or empty nesters. Condos still occasionally come up for sale.
According to the Greater Alabama Multiple Listing Service, the recent average sales price for a Homewood home was $309, 074; in the Edgewood neighborhood that number was $342, 552 and in Hollywood it was $471, 000.
The tight-knit historic neighborhood of Rosedale could be a good choice for those looking to invest. There has only been one recorded sale since the beginning of 2015, at $49, 900. Community gardens pepper the small network of streets here and things look promising.
See, Play, Do
Homewood boasts six area parks—large and small —but it is the red caterpillar in Homewood Park that remains a perennial favorite for local children. Next door, the pool and children’s water play area at the Homewood Community Center is a welcomed respite in any Alabama summer.
Adjacent to the park is The Exceptional Foundation, an amazing resource for families with mentally and physically challenged members.
Green Springs is fantastic for anyone with tastebuds. Home to many ethnicities, there are markets and restaurants that specialize in Middle Eastern, Vietnamese, Mexican, Latin American, and Korean cuisines. We happen to love the menudo at Gordo’s on Valley Avenue.
Of course, no visit to Homewood is complete without a visit to Ed’s Pet World. Not for the squeamish or faint-of-heart, Ed’s is the place to find your next exotic pet (think hedgehog) or meal for your pet snake (read: mice). We love that the giant roaming turtle has Ed’s phone number on his back, just in case he gets misplaced.
text by Christiana Roussel • photos by David Hillegas
