During Prohibition in the 1920s, a different sort of movement was underway in the Hollywood area of Homewood. Hollywood Land Company changed the landscape with a planned community of Tudor and Spanish-Mediterranean style homes. That era is celebrated with the bi-annual Historic Hollywood Tour of Homes, a project of the Holly Oak Garden Club. For the 2011 tour, a Spanish revival-style house owned by Rebekah and Mort Taylor, served as a decorators’ show house where Homewood decorators and retailers showed their styles. Check out the local talent and transformation that turned an echo of a home into a look for today.
Hollywood on Tour
The Taylors purchased their Hollywood house, circa 1925, in 1999, partly because they admired the work of its architect, George P. Turner. “The Mediterranean architecture, the mature wooded lot, and the neighborhood drew us in.” Rebekah says the decorators just enhanced the home’s features. “It’s amazing how beautiful the house is even when it is completely empty, ” Rebekah says. “The furnishings and other items were the icing on the cake.” Chairman Stephanie Kennedy saw a great opportunity to showcase the work of some of Birmingham’s talented designers in one of Hollywood’s first houses. The Holly Oak Garden Club hosts a tour of homes every other year. The 2011 tour raised approximately $15, 000 to support beautification projects in the neighborhood and Shades Cahaba Elementary.
Dining Room • Table Matters
The first step in making over the dining room was a fresh coat of paint. “Before we started, the walls were an ’80s pink color, ” says Harriet Luce, who works at Table Matters with owner Patricia Murray. “We chose floral white by Benjamin Moore to brighten things and to bring in the natural light.” The duo wanted to create an elegantly casual gathering space. They also wanted to work with the existing architecture. For instance, the arched top of an antiqued mirror repeats the arch of the stucco entry on the opposite wall. A round table and four chairs fit comfortably in the angular room. The decorators topped it with a beach linen cloth and Ikat fabric in a geometric pattern.
“The topper for the table was actually the jumping off point for the blue accents, ” Harriet says. “I love that pattern, and it brought in just a little color.” Place settings are pale aqua Merletto by Arte Italica, combined with Craven plates in a porcelain ivory. The pewter-edged cereal bowls team with pewter-stem wine glasses by Emerson. Simon Pearce pewter napkin rings with ivory-colored napkins combine with Busatti silverware, Juliska stemware goblets, and silver-sand colored placemats by Deborah Rhodes to complete the setting.
The table’s centerpiece, designed by Margaret Proctor, is arranged in an Arno cloverleaf pottery bowl, handmade in Italy. A spray of spring blossoms in a pale aqua ceramic vase (Merletto by Arte Italica) resides on the Antwerp console.
Master Bedroom • Suite Dreams
Kendall Jackson of Suite Dreams enjoys creating restful retreats. Her usual approach begins with an ivory or white palette with added punches of color. “It’s a smart idea for everyone, ” Kendall says. “It allows you to change out your pillows or make small changes to create a new look without having to invest in all new bedding.” A wall of windows was carefully curtained to create privacy and soften the wall behind the headboard. “I loved the windows. Natural light is always so great, but since these windows were so close together, I felt like the room needed some privacy, ” Kendall says. “I’ve always been drawn to a wall full of sheers. It gives privacy while allowing natural light to come in.”
Kendall designed the custom headboard. “It’s nice having a comfortable place to sit up in bed, ” she says of the winged sides and high, tufted back.
The bedside tables, cream with distressed finishes, hold seeded glass lamps, replacing an overhead chandelier. “Lamps warm up the room as opposed to overhead lighting, ” Kendall says. Beneath the bedside table, a stool topped with white ostrich fabric upholstery is an added convenience. “It’s a nice way to have extra seating, ” Kendall says. “You can move it out and use it as a chair if you need it, or you can put it under the table if you need extra space.”
Girl's Room • CE Tolivers
With a do-it-yourself attitude and an ability to find diamonds in the rough, Carla Edgeworth began this girl’s room with “a fantastic iron bed” discovered at a thrift store. “This started my wheels turning, ” Carla says. “I wanted to do something unexpected with the bed, so I decided to create a soft feminine look for a little girl by painting it purple and adding a sheer linen slipcover and lavender ties. “Next, I found some beautiful plum and lavender linens at Suite Dreams and the rest fell into place, ” she says. “I have a young daughter so I knew I wanted to incorporate a desk for artwork, a floor-length mirror with hooks, and a trunk for dress-up clothes.” A floor lamp, an America’s Thrift Store find, was transformed with elbow grease, refinishing, and painting. Carla discovered the shutters and prints at Scott’s Antique Market in Atlanta.
Nursery • Pam Evans
With a 7-year-old son, Pam Evans reminisced about her son’s early days when designing the home’s nursery. “I used things from his nursery and took inspiration from the birth announcement paper to come up with the color palette, ” Pam says. “I love the colors. It has a little brown, old antique gold, and French blue.” Mixing antiques and contemporary pieces, Pam used antiques to complement the modern crib. A micro-check fabric hangs from an antique French corona. An Italian chest and French mirror add historical appeal. Personal items include her son’s handmade christening gown, a ceramic impression of her son’s hands and feet, a silver rattle, personalized wooden block, and an antique silver cup. “This project was like going down memory lane, ” Pam says. “It definitely stirred emotions.”
Living Room • Birmingham Wholesale Furniture
Dan Cash, an interior designer at Birmingham Wholesale Furniture, was drawn to the living room’s stucco walls (painted white), hardwood floors, stone fireplace, high ceilings, and arched French doors. “The architectural features made a great backdrop for a transitional-style taupe linen sofa, ” Dan says.
Mixing in hints of color and texture, a lime green, floral print club chair and painted French country cocktail table reside next to a cream-colored leather wing chair with nailhead trim. An oil painting by C. Stewart and tortoiseshell obelisks add weight to the airy room.
RESOURCES
dining room: Harriet Luce & Patricia Murray, TABLE MATTERS 205.879.0125 • table-matters.com • email [email protected] master bedroom: Kendall Jackson, SUITE DREAMS 205.414.1922 • shopsuitedreams.com bedroom: Carla Edgeworth, CE TOLIVERS [email protected] • 205.368.2554 bed linens: SUITE DREAMS 205.414.1922 • shopsuitedreams.com lamps: LA CASITA in Tampa, FL • 813.388.7156 lampshades: VILLAGE FIREFLY 205.870.4560 nursery: Pam Evans of PAM EVANS INTERIORS and antiquities 404.643.9455 personalized block: CRAFT-E-FAMILY 866.996.2124 • craftefamily.com rocking horse: MAISON DE FRANCE in Leeds 205.699.6330 antique etchings: ARCENEAUX ART GALLERY 205.824.5800 living room: Dan Cash, BIRMINGHAM WHOLESALE FURNITURE 205.322.1687 • birminghamwholesale.com kitchen: Rob Garrard and Steve Thomas of SOHO RETRO 205.870.7655 • shopsohoretro.com • [email protected] • steve @shopsohoretro.com back patio: Lydia Pursell , LEAF AND PETAL 205.871.3832 • leafnpetal.com spruce party planning: Missie Crawford and Libba Hardwick 205.937.0305 • sprucebirmingham.com artwork: Pam Till through ARCENEAUX ART GALLERY 205.824.5800 hallway art: BETH BRADLEY 205.901.4630 • [email protected] landscaping: CATER DESIGN LANDSCAPE, LLC 205.835.5652 • caterdesigns.com
Cara D. Clark
