For Katy and Brandon Bishop, house hunting Was a straightforward endeavor. They knew exactly what they wanted and where they wanted it. Finding their historic Tudor-style home in the Hollywood area of Homewood was simply a matter of waiting for the right real estate to become available. “We love the character of the older homes—the style, the history, the charm, ” Katy says. “We looked for six months, then saw a ‘Coming Soon’ sign in front of a 1925 Tudor on the street we wanted.”
Though the Bishops knew the house needed considerable work, they still moved forward. “We talked to architects and builders and found out we could make it work for our family of five, ” Katy says.
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To add a floor to their newly acquired historic Tudor, the Bishops went straight to a remodeler they trusted. “Twin Construction does a lot of work in the Homewood area and has a great reputation.” — Katy Bishop |
Adding a second story, Twin Construction converted the three-bedroom, two-bath cottage into a five-bedroom, three-bath home. For the interior décor, the Bishops worked with Jan Ware of Ware Designs.
“She’s one of those people that you love the second you meet her, ” Katy says.
“She is easy to work with and I love her look. It’s a clean, simple, easy-living style. It’s sophisticated but comfortable.”
Jan and Katy set about transforming the house using a lighter paint on the traditional outdoor Tudor beams.
“I really love old English Tudors, ” Jan says. “But I didn’t want this home to look like a typical Tudor with dark Tudor board. It already has the dark, old brick. I wanted to lighten things.”
For the interior, Jan chose easy-keeping fabrics to withstand the wear and spills inevitable with young children. She also wanted to blend the home’s English design with Katy and Brandon’s modern flair.
“We took an English look and spiffed it up with touches of contemporary, ” Jan says. “There aren’t many fluffy details.” In the den, a pair of sofas covered in linen make the space comfortable for children. An elm wood coffee table was discovered during one of Jan’s trips to the beach. “The kids can lay up there and put their feet on the table, and I’m not worried about them hurting anything, ” Katy says. “Also, you can dress the room up and have adult time.” Iron sconces mounted on wood flank a limestone fireplace at one end and reflect the home’s era of origin.
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The dining room hosts a variety of finishes and textures: a natural wood table with a wax finish, shimmery drapes, and white painted chairs. Metal artist and designer Lucy Smith created this floor mirror for the dining room. To see more |
In the dining room, Katy wanted to use the dining table and chairs she’d grown up with. For an update, host and hostess armchairs were given a metallic silver pattern finish to match the drapery, and four guest chairs were shellacked by artist Daniel Whitsett for a contemporary look.
Instead of a formal living room, Jan suggested a reading room. In the center of the room, a wood coffee table is comprised of driftwood pieces with a glass top. The table from At Home is teamed with a sofa and two reading lamps from Richard Tubb.
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“We didn’t do a formal living room, but a reading room instead, ” Jan says. “It’s a great conversation room, small but warm, with wall-to-wall linen silk windowpane drapes in back. It’s casual but gives an elegant feel and brought in creamier yellow to blend with the earth tones. |
“It had been a really awkward space, and I did not know what to do with it, ” Katy says. “When Jan came in, she made it look so beautiful.”
A tapestry by Sally Powell brings in cool blues and mossy greens. The chairs are cane pieces refinished in gunmetal gray, with down-filled cushions covered in a herringbone polished cotton. Like other elements in the home, the reading room is part of a design concept the Bishops find lovable and livable.
The master bedroom on the main level remained untouched in the construction, just getting an interior update.
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A focal piece, an oil painting of geese in flight by Birmingham artist Laura |
The custom headboard in dark slate cut velvet is comprised of three panels and defined with silver nailhead trim. Set between two small windows made use of the natural light while anchoring the bed in the space.
A cozy sitting area includes a desk and two chairs, along with a figure painting that brings a strong turquoise to the soothing space. Beneath the painting, a contemporary lamp on the desk “is a totally modern pop, ” says Jan.
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Also in the master bedroom sitting area is a figure painting by artist Catie Radney, an Alexander City resident, captured Jan’s attention with its subtle splash of turquoise. dkgallery.us |
A mercury glass floor lamp beside the desk and a Lucite ghost chair in front are combined with two antique French chairs, reupholstered in pale gray flannel and positioned on opposite sides of a stool covered with charcoal gray embroidered fabric.
The pewter-sheen bed cover, complements the custom titanium silk drapery with Scalamandre-tape trimmings. A lotus flower fixture in silver hangs above the bed.
“I think the fixture added a little flair to the room, ” Jan says. “It’s romantic, yet cool and edgy.”
“Despite the renovation, this is not a big house, ” Katy says. “But with the smart, thoughtful additions, it fits our family just right.”
RESOURCES
interior design: Jan Ware: WARE DESIGNS 205.585.7891 • janwaredesigns.com front door finish: Daniel Whitsett, PAINTWORKS DESIGN STUDIO paintworksdesignstudio.com • 205.879.2751 den: sconce: VILLAGE FIREFLY 205.870.4560 custom pillows on sofa: through WARE DESIGNS elm vintage coffee table: PIZITZ 850.231.2240 • theseasidestyle.com/pizitz-home-cottage cream pots on the coffee table: RICHARD TUBB INTERIORS 205.324.7613 • richardtubbinteriors.com console: AT HOME: • athome-furnishings.com • 205.879.3510 mirror above console: CENTURIES 205.879.2295 dining room: antique chairs finished by Daniel Whitsett, PAINTWORKS DESIGN STUDIO dining room host and hostess chairs and window drapery by J.F. FABRICS through WARE DESIGNS mirror by LUCY SMITH METALS through WARE DESIGNS library: cypress and glass coffee table: AT HOME: “trees” canvas by Mary Margaret Binkley from ArtVentures through WARE DESIGNS sofa: RICHARD TUBB INTERIORS master bedroom: coverlet by BAG A TELLE 205.414.6001 painting over desk: Monty Stabler Galleries 205.879. 9888 • montystablergalleries.com desk lamp: AT HOME 205.879.3510 • athome-furnishings.com custom Kravet headboard through WARE DESIGNS coverlet: BAG A TELLE painting beside bed: Laura Beers through Jan Ware WARE DESIGNS master lamp and chandelier: VILLAGE FIREFLY remodel by: TWIN CONSTRUCTION 205.802.3920 • twincompanies.com.
by Cara D. Clark, produced by Missie Neville Crawford
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. 
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.”
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.
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.”
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.
The kitchen branches off the great room. Scott, an accomplished woodworker, did some of the work himself, including the hood over the stove and the island. Built with whitewashed pine leftover from the basement flooring, the hood is supported by two intricately carved corbels that Lane found in Hannah Antiques.
house, empty for a decade before the purchasers closed on it, was in a sad state of neglect. So the new homeowners gutted the interior, and added more than 20 feet to the rear of the house, as well as finishing the original attic. Much of the additional space on the main floor went into creating the hub of the home—the family kitchen.
A fixture inherited with the house—a distinctive yellow stove—inspired the kitchen’s palette. Appreciating its vintage character, the homeowners built the room around it. The intense hue of the stove is echoed in the fabric of a custom banquette, and throughout, the room is accented with dabs of cerulean—from the Eames stools hugging the island to the tea kettle on the stove. Spots of accent color filter throughout the house emphasizing and uniting the colorful walls.
In smaller areas, color is more assertive. In the dining room, the intense blue of the walls sets off the gleaming white of the round table and contemporary chandelier. A sunroom off the living room became a snug library, painted a deep forest green, in contrast to the living room itself, where clean white walls and furniture offer an upbeat conversation area..jpg)
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Jo Ann’s Caviar Pie.jpg)
Ginger-Laced Chocolate Truffles
colors besides cream, blue, and deep purple, so when I found this painting by Millie Gosch, it added the extra punches I was looking for with its muted oranges and chartreuse green. This room is basically three colors, but adding the artwork, a few colorful accessories and a textured rug makes the room come together.
Layers of color.
A Starting Point.