Filed under: events, our work | Tags: Birmingham, dining room, Doug Davis, kitchen, Mountain Brook, Paige Schnell, seasonal
We’ve mentioned before how much fun we have styling events in homes that we’ve been privileged to help design. By now, regular readers of our blog are familiar with a wonderful home in Mountain Brook, Alabama’s Colonial Hills neighborhood that we designed the interiors for. Early last week we shared photos of the home’s exterior, all decked out for the season with fresh evergreen wreaths and hot pink bows.
Guests to the evening dinner party recently held at this home were greeted with a ten foot Christmas Tree, hung with mercury glass and silver ornaments and ringed with yards of charcoal grey satin ribbon. Some of the ornaments are tied with hot pink organza to bring this home’s signature accent color into the holiday decor. Paige arranged a tiny grouping of hot pink rosebuds on a glass and chrome table (which we stole from the Guest Bedroom!) to add a festive touch.
We had charcoal grey mohair left over from a sofa we had made for another room crafted into stockings to hang from the antique French limestone mantle.
We sat tables throughout the home to accomodate the nearly 30 guest for the event. Each table was styled similarly, with arrangements of white hydrangea or hot pink roses in simple glass cylinders–tied with more grey satin ribbon. Mercury glass votives were arranged to add sparkle to the tabletop. Doug found pink glass ornaments at Henhouse Antiques and placed them as party favors for each couple.
We put more tables in the Den to accomodate all the guests and then strung yards of cypress garland on the adjacent staircase.
[Off topic, but did y'all happen to see that this home's staircase made an appearance this week on a new blog, Limestone & Boxwoods--which we are loving, by the way. Check it out here]
Because we are suckers for detail, we made sure every aspect of this party was styled. In the kitchen, we placed more pink roses and mercury glass votives in the center of the island. Pink organza bows tied to glass cake plates make desert just a little more fun.
A bay leaf wreath from Williams Sonoma is the perfect touch for this holiday kitchen and will look great even after the party is over.
Filed under: our designers, our shop, our work, works in progress | Tags: Birmingham, Doug Davis, Mountain Brook, shop, Southern Living Idea House
Hello Tracery Blog readers, Doug from the Birmingham office here–
Thanks so much for all of your kind comments about my new place that we posted on Thursday! I am loving it and though I was a little reluctant to show off my work in progress, I am glad you all liked it too.
To answer a few questions that were posted in the comments or on Facebook:
My coffee table is the ‘Open Weave Coffee Table’ by Design Workshop. I saw it last November at High Point and ordered it for myself on the spot. I love it! We actually have one in our Rosemary Beach shop at the moment…it retails for $539 . In a small space like mine, particularly one where you have to walk through the room so much, its compact size and open design work really well–a big wooden table would have really fought with the piece below the television I think. Let us know if you are interested, it’s a great piece at great price!
The diptych paintings above my sofa are by my good friend Laura Mimbs Clark, entitled ‘Fall Waters I and II.’ We actually considered the pieces for use in a project a couple of years ago but I liked them so much I ended up buying them! I designed the center wall panel to be just the right width for them over my sofa (and, truth be told, the television on the other wall!) If you aren’t familar with Laura’s work, visit here site [here] to see more. We’ve used Laura’s work in several projects, including the Southern Living Idea House.
My wingback chair is the ‘Hamlin’ chair by Sam Moore. I bought it two houses ago (and before I even worked with Tracery!) from Richard Tubb Interiors in Birmingham’s Pepper Place (and just downstairs from our Birmingham office). I was sure when I moved in I was going to have to reupholster it in something more grey, but it works better than I anticipated. The antique brass nailheads do bug me though so it’s bound for a makeover sooner or later. And maybe white legs too.
And yes, I do promise to share more pictures soon…my kitchen is almost the way I want it and my bathroom is actually the only room that I’d call complete. Let us get through showing you all the beautiful Holiday decor we have left to share and then I’ll let y’all back in for another tour! Thanks again for your questions and comments…we love hearing from our readers!
Filed under: our work | Tags: Birmingham, Doug Davis, Dungan Nequette, Southern Living Idea House
It’s always nice to hear from an old client so we were excited when the owner of this wonderful 1920’s Spanish-Revival villa in Birmingham’s Redmont neighborhood called and asked if we’d do some holiday decorating on the home’s exterior. Doug had worked with our sister company Dungan Nequette Architects to make some alterations to the home’s interior and to spruce up the outside a couple of years ago.
This house is seriously cool on the outside…low slung with a great red tile roof, original ironwork and a very prominent site just down from the crest of Red Mountain. Doug selected very simple and elegant decorations that complement the home’s design and its simplicity.
Mixed evergreen wreaths with dark crimson bows and simple red berry sticks are displayed on the windows across the front of the home. We aren’t often a fan of red Christmas decor, but here this more sophisticated take on the traditional Christmas color works well with the tan stucco and dark greenish brown windows. Those shield plaques, by the way, are original to the house…how cool are those?!
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Simple, easy and elegant…the perfect complement to this wonderful home!
Filed under: our work | Tags: Birmingham, Doug Davis, Mountain Brook, seasonal
Regular readers of our blog might already know that Tracery designer Doug Davis moved to a new place this fall. Doug designed the renovation for this 1942 attached bungalow, located just up historic Montevallo Road from Mountain Brook Village. Though there are still a lot of things Doug wants to do with his new place (what designer doesn’t always have a list of unfinished projects in their own home?), he did take a few photos to showcase some holiday decorating ideas.
On the lightposts that flank the courtyard entrance, Doug placed bundles of mixed greenery tied with silver ribbon that matches the cool grey color scheme of the buildings. You can see a light dusting of snow in these first few pictures…photoworthy as it’s a rare occurence in Birmingham!
On the front door, Doug hung a fresh green boxwood wreath. Inside the white-paneled Living Room, simple touches add festive cheer without overwhelming the relatively small space.
On top of a vintage wooden cabinet, Doug placed branches (cut directly from the backyard!) in a glass cylinder filled with moss. Hung with mercury and clear glass ornaments the arrangement is the perfect alternative to the traditional Christmas tree.
On the antique sideboard that sits beneath the television, Doug arranged a collection of birch wrapped votives of varying sizes, white pottery and vintage-inspired tinsel trees (from Henhouse Antiques).
In the front windows, Doug hung more clear and mercury glass ornaments using charcoal grey wool knitting yarn. The vintage plug-in candles are a tradition in the historic bungalow court where Doug lives and are passed down from resident to resident of the units.
We hope you enjoyed this brief tour of Doug’s new home…there’s more to share another day. Next week, Tracery principal Paige Schnell will swing open her screen door to share her take on coastal Christmas decor.
We’ve had a lot of fun interjecting little bits of hot pink into the otherwise charcoal and white interiors of a recently renovated home in Mountain Brook, Alabama’s Colonial Hills neighborhood. When it came time to decorate the exterior of this home for the holidays, we decided to keep with our theme.
Starting with the mailbox, which is draped in fresh cedar garland, we used rolls upon rolls of hot pink velvet ribbon to bring color and vibrancy to this home’s exterior.
A large evergreen wreath adorns the large front window of the home. A ten foot Christmas tree twinkles in the double-height Foyer beyond, decorated with mercury glass and silver ornaments tied with hot pink organza ribbon.
Smaller wreaths decorate the windows and doors overlooking the Front Terrace. A large wreath hangs on each side of the lighthouse-esque stair tower. In the small leaded glass encircled Vestibule which leads to the Master Bedroom, another tree wrapped in hot pink ribbon displays family ornaments.
We’ll be posting interior images of this home later this week, so check back for more soon!
–updated–
We should have have originally noted that this renovation/addition for this beautiful home was designed by our sister company Dungan Nequette Architects. You can visit their website [here] to see a photo gallery with more pictures from this residence.
Filed under: our designers, our work | Tags: Anna Kay Porch, Bess Marshall, Birmingham, Doug Davis, Lake Martin, Mountain Brook, seasonal
We’ve previously shared photos from the exterior and main living areas of a prominent Tudor Revival home located in Mountain Brook, Alabama, which we designed the interiors for and recently decorated for the holidays. We’ll conclude a peek around this beautiful home today with a few photos from the Guest Cottage.
Connected on the ground floor via a porte cochere, we dressed the front door of the Cottage with fresh garland. We like to double the thickness of garland to achieve the full effect shown here…single widths tend to look a little skimpy. Just like around the front door, we added giant pine cones for a natural flair.
Inside the Cottage, which includes a large Living Area styled after an old English-style Great Hall, is a towering Christmas tree that displays over 30 years of family ornaments–many of which were handmade by the homeowners’ now grown children.
Along the loft railing which overlooks the double height Great Hall area, we strung more garland and pine cones.
Atop the antique French limestone fireplace, an arrangement of mercury votives are mixed with fresh magnolia and unique beaded glass trees, which we found at Henhouse Antiques in Mountain Brook’s English Village.
You’ve seen all there is to see of this home’s Holiday decor, but there’s plenty more left to show you. Tomorrow we’ll share some photos from another Mountain Brook home, this one beautifully decked out in charcoal, white and hot pink! Bess and Anna Kay are at Lake Martin decorating a home we recently finished today, and Doug is scheduled to decorate the exterior of a wonderful Spanish Revival villa in Birmingham’s Redmont neighborhood tomorrow. Plus, we still need to show you the inside of Paige’s house and Doug’s house, all dressed up for the season…stay tuned, there’s a lot more to come!
Filed under: events, our community, our designers | Tags: 30A, Alys Beach, Paige Schnell, Rosemary Beach, Seaside, SoWal, Walton County, Watercolor
We’re going to take a brief break from Christmas decorating today to tell you about an event next month everyone at Tracery is very excited about. January 15 – 17, the first annual 30A Songwriters Festival will be held all along Scenic Highway 30A–our home at the Beaches of South Walton County, Florida. Featuring nationally recognized artists like the Indigo Girls, Jeffrey Steele, Shawn Mullins, Rodney Crowell, Sam Bush and Chely Wright; the event is going to a very fun weekend! The festival kicks off Friday afternoon with a reception party for all artists and attendees at the world famous BUD & ALLEY’S Restaurant on the beach in Seaside. From there plan on three days of non-stop, intimate concerts including solo performances and multi artist “in the round” singing and storytelling sessions. Your ticket/wrist band will allow you to travel up and down the Beaches of South Walton and freely access all shows in beautiful venues in Alys Beach, Rosemary Beach, Seaside, Miramar Beach, WaterColor and Grayton Beach.
Tracery principal Paige Schnell is one of the founders and organizers of the event and we’re all chipping in to help make this event a success. We’d love for you to join us–January 15 – 17 is Martin Luther King weekend, so it’s a great time to head to SoWal and listen to some great music in an incredible setting.
Visit the 30A Songwriters Festival website [here] to get more details and to buy your tickets…they are going FAST and there’s a very limited number available due to the intimate size of the venues so we suggest you buy tickets NOW, not later.
We can’t wait to see y’all there!
As promised, here’s a look inside the Tudor Revival home we’ve spent the past couple of days decorating for the Holidays.
Just inside the front door, the center hall table is set with a beautiful arrangement of orchids in a copper pot–created by our very talented friend Rachel Craige. Fresh magnolia leaves are mingled with mercury glass votives on the white marble tabletop.
At the bottom of the stair, we wrapped live garland around the newel post and then added ornaments, satin ribbon and white dried popcorn berries. We like to let garland puddle on the floor just like drapery.
Adjacent to the Foyer, the home’s formal Living Room features a lavish Christmas Tree and other seasonal touches.
Atop the skirted console table (which we designed and had made custom for the room), we placed more fresh magnolia intertwined among oversized mercury glass ornaments.
The Christmas Tree is covered in an assortment of ornaments which we selected specifically for the room. Beautiful gilded crosses mingle with wooden Italianate shapes, and mercury and iridescent glass. Soft velvet ribbon cascading from the crown atop the tree matches the velvet yardage at the base. We like to use hemmed yardage as a tree skirt versus a traditional tailored circular skirt because of the added fullness and softness it brings–in fact this skirt is actually a pair of velvet drapery panels from Pottery Barn!
Filed under: our work | Tags: Doug Davis, Mountain Brook, Paige Schnell, seasonal
Paige and Doug, along with Paige’s mom Pam, spent most of today decorating the exterior of the beautiful Tudor-Revival renovation home we’ve shared with you on the blog before. Our Birmingham readers will probably recognize this prominent house, and because the house is so visible we knew the exterior decor had to be perfect.
We began decorating at the front gate, wrapping the large gas lanterns with evergreen and then wiring in giant pine cones to complement the home’s wooded and natural setting.
Around the beautiful limestone surround of the home’s front door, we hung yards and yards of more natural garland. We added warm white LED lights to the garland to add sparkle and to call attention to the entry.
Near the front door, we strung more garland along a small Juliette balcony with more pinecones. We love how the fresh green of the asparagus fern in the limestone planter complements the color of the garland.
Although the exterior of this house is large, we added small bits of garland wrapped around lanterns and on limestone window sills to make things festive and fresh for the holidays.
The interior of this home is spectacular at the holidays…the finishing touches are being completed right now so check back tomorrow for more of this beautiful home all decked out for the season!
Filed under: our work | Tags: Doug Davis, Mountain Brook, Paige Schnell, seasonal
We’re working on some pretty involved Holiday decor this week…but that doesn’t mean every detail of seasonal decoration has to be over the top. Regular readers of the Tracery Blog know that we love simple design solutions–and the mantle we decked out today is a great example of that.
The fireplace in the Family Room of this Mountain Brook, Alabama home is rustic and simple–two simply carved ‘legs’ topped with a square mantle shelf–all of antique french limestone. Paired with paint-glazed pecky cypress paneled walls, this room is warm and casual. We wanted the holiday decor of the mantle to match the feeling of the room. Paige and Doug draped fresh green cypress garland over the mantle shelf and then wrapped charcoal grey satin ribbon through the greenery. Since grey is the signature color of this home, the color of the ribbon is a nice tie in to the overall design scheme found elsewhere. To complete the design, Paige and Doug placed three tall white candles in simple clear glass hurricanes.
The end result is just as simple and relaxed as the rest of the room, but still festive for the Holiday season. And it’s an easy solution anyone can recreate for quick and easy seasonal decor.
The wonderful encaustic over the fireplace, by the way, is by Nashville artist Charlotte Terrell. We purchased the piece from The Loretta Goodwin Gallery in Birmingham, as well as another diptych by the same artist which hangs in this home’s Keeping Room. We think the natural beauty of the cypress garland is perfect with the rustic theme of the artwork, don’t you?
