Springtime in Talladega

 

On Saturday we traveled to my sister’s house in Talladega for what turned out to be the perfect Saturday for a tour of homes and great fellowship with my sister and her husband.    Each year, Talladega hosts a spring pilgrimage called “April In Talladega”.      A number of homes and businesses are on tour and this was my first time for the spring event.   

Driving 1 1/2 hours north of Montgomery on winding back roads we arrived at my sister’s house around lunchtime.    They live in a beautiful area of town where there are only about 12 homes on her street.    Her husband enjoys working in the yard, especially now that he is retired, and the grounds show off his hard work.

 

Here’s the driveway going up to her house

Coming around the bend in the drive you catch a glimpse of their home which sits high on a hill with beautiful views on all sides

We left the guys (her hubby and mine) with PJ&J sandwiches(!) and we went to get some real lunch!    They didn’t mind, both of the fellas are watching their weight.

The first home we toured was pure Old South, complete with a hoop-skirted girl who greeted us on the front veranda.

 

In the front the azaleas were in full bloom.

Just inside the front door was this beautiful black and white marble floor which ran front to back in the main hallway.    Not original to the home, it was installed by the current owners. 

 

Typical of this style of home, the upstairs bedrooms ran off a large central hallway running the entire length of the home.    You can see they even have a bed in the hallway!   Growing up at my grandparents home, which was very similar to this one, we practically lived in the hallway during the summers to take advantage of the cross-breeze and yes, we had a bed in our hallway too!

Master bedroom….look at the size of that four poster bed, there was a step stool next to the bed so you could get in it

 

Small area for a baby which was right off the master bedroom at the front of the house

I thought this was a cute idea for a dresser in the baby’s room

These doors lead back downstairs

 

The yellow bathroom upstairs was very pretty.     It was hard to get a good picture because it was somewhat small but I loved her use of the yellow and white and the shower curtain was just gorgeous

  

You can see on the left a little bit of the window seat in the bathroom

The owner told us they had knocked out 3 walls to make the kitchen larger.

  

Just off the kitchen was an enclosed porch which had originally been screened in.     Loved this green cabinet and her pretty dishes!

On the same porch looking back toward the kitchen was this sweet white chippy table and lamps.

  

Back in the main part of the house we passed through the formal living room into the den which had been added in the 1950’s.     She had lots of silver throughout the home, including this beautiful coffee and tea set above.

And just look at the size of the dining room table!  All of these homes have dining rooms comparable to the ones we saw in our tour of Vicksburg and Natchez.     When these homes were originally built, many housed large families and entertaining was done on a grand scale.

I think the den was my favorite room.     From the formal living room, you stepped down into this beautifully paneled room with a huge fireplace, lots of blue and white porcelain and plants.

 

 

Right outside the den was the crown jewel of the house as far as I was concerned!     A to-die-for covered patio with black wicker, ceiling fans and he was even smoking something on the grill, plus the landscape didn’t hurt either!

 

 

 

This was apparently their storage building which I would love to have in my backyard!

I have two of these chairs which I have allowed to stay rusty but now seeing these painted black, I might have to give mine the same treatment

Looking back at that fabulous porch

This side porch was off the room above that had the green cabinet.    Can you imagine having all this outdoor space so beautifully landscaped and decorated!   

The second home we toured was by far my very favorite one.     It belongs to a young couple with three little girls.    From the outside of the house, you would never know she had it decorate the way she did….I only hope these pictures can show how adorable it is.

 

The first room you see as you enter to the left is the living room

Behind the living room was her husband’s “man room” she called it, which was basically an Alabama fan room.     My SIL would love this!   We are all Auburn fans with the exception of SIL.     My daughter is going to turn the twins’ playroom into part playroom/office/man cave and “let” him hang his Alabama stuff since she made the decisions in all other areas of her home.

She used four of these battery operated candles in front of the fireplace.    I picked up several of these after Christmas so I need to get them out and use them in my house.

Check out the big TV over the fireplace!    Every man’s dream TV I’m sure.

This was a downstairs bathroom.    She worked with the tile she had instead of replacing it. 

Now let’s go upstairs….I can’t express how gorgeous every single bedroom was.     I wish I’d had a wide angle lens for my camera because lots of things got cut off.   

First daughter’s bedroom and bathroom was done in hot pink and white with touches of zebra.    I really enjoyed seeing this because my little granddaughter Taylor’s bedroom is very similar.

 

The next room belonged to “the baby”.     The mom of these girl’s is a professional photographer and you can see some of her photographs throughout the home.     I also loved the big chunky frames in all of her daughters’ rooms.    

This bed is very similar to the one we are putting my Birmingham granddaughter in.      Haven’t decided whether or not we’ll be painting it but if we do, I plan to add some appliques like this bed has.

 

Loved this photograph of the little girl who occupies this bedroom.     Her mother took this picture.

 

On to the 3rd little girl’s room.     The room was furnished with two twin beds.     This would be an easy idea to copy if you could find two twin headboards, either identical or similar, at a flea market or antique mall, and paint them.       All of the bedspreads looked like they might be from the Shabby Chic line at Target.

 

 

 

Another easy idea to copy is this nightstand.    Just remove the drawers or doors and use the area for displaying books, toys and favorite stuffed animals.

This lucky little girl even had her own pink bathroom.    The beadboard is original to the house.    

The master bathroom was huge, just like all the other rooms upstairs.    Wait until you see her bathtub!    

 

Not sure I’d ever get out of this tub!

Back downstairs was the den/kitchen area, decorated to perfection.     The thing that struck me about this home was that it seemed very livable and comfortable.    Nothing was over the top but simple ideas anyone could use in their own home.    

 

What a cute idea for a “to do” area….these are those big letters from Hobby Lobby she has centered over a mail slot and blackboard

 

 

   

  

And finally a look at her dining room.

This home was such a pleasure to tour.    We saw two more homes but one was “stuck in the 50’s” and another one….well, what can I say, other than it was U-G-L-Y!     It looked like a bordello to tell you the truth!

After the tour, my sister and I killed a couple of hours doing a little shopping and lots of talking.      We finally went back to her house to get the guys and went to eat supper before going to see Three On A String.   

If you ever get a chance to see this group, I can tell you they are lots of fun.      The “concert” was held on the square in an old theater that has been renovated to accomodate all kinds of events.

We left about 9:30 last night and got home around 11:00….very tired but what a lot of fun we had.

In three weeks I will be joining my sister at her lake house for 3 days of rest and relaxation.     Like the song says “No shoes, no shirt, no problem”    we’ll be saying, “No husbands, no kids, no grandkids!”

Have a wonderful week!