Spanish Style Home in Birmingham, AL
This year is the 74th Annual Independent Presbyterian Church Holiday House tour, which is a tour of homes in Birmingham, AL. The tour is s fundraiser for local women’s and children’s charities. This year, Elizabeth and Patrick Adams were asked to participate with their historic, Spanish style home, located in the Hollywood neighborhood of Homewood, AL.
Elizabeth and Patrick’s appreciation for color, travel and fine art can be seen throughout the home. The Adamses downsized to this home in April of this year now that their children have left the home. They chose to keep only the furniture that was truly comfortable and only the art and accessories that felt meaningful or beautiful to them. Florals throughout the home were created by Elizabeth and her friend, Mary Blake Williams. Elizabeth ordered the 100 red roses shipped from Greenrose farm in Ecuador for the holiday house tour.
About the House:
The Adams’ Spanish style home was built in 1926 and is located in the historic Hollywood neighborhood of Homewood, AL. Elizabeth decorated the house herself. Displayed throughout the house are several pieces of art and objects that have a special meaning to the Adamses. Her father is an artist with several pieces seen throughout the Adams’ house. Elizabeth, herself is an artist, and her paintings can be seen in the hallway.
A lot of the pieces Elizabeth styles her home with came from trips out of country, but some can be found locally in Birmingham. Some can be found at Elizabeth’s store, ExVoto, in Mountain Brook Village. An extra special piece in the house can be found in the living room. The white pattern pillows in the wing back chairs are a fabric pattern made from a piece of art created by Elizabeth & Patrick’s youngest daughter, Madeline, before she passed away from a brain tumor in 2007 at age four.
The interior wall color and trim color are painted Dover White, The kitchen cabinets are a custom formula, the laundry room cabinets are Farrow and Ball 19 Lichen, the exterior wall color is painted Sherwin-Williams Oyster, and the exterior trim is painted Sherwin-Williams Inkwell.
Artists from the Adams’ Art Collection:
Craig Greene
Artwork by Nashville artist, Craig Greene, can be found in the Living Room and Hallway. More of Craig Greene’s art can be found at ExVoto in Mountain Brook Village and Rosemary Beach, FL.
Ali Stayer
Landscapes by Mississippi artist, Ali Stayer, can be found in Guest Bedroom 2. More of Ali Stayer’s art can be found at ExVoto in Mountain Brook Village and Rosemary Beach, FL. .
Carrie Davis
Carrie Davis’ art is found in the Hall Bath. Carrie lives in Charleton, SC. More of Carrie Davis’s art can be found at ExVoto in Mountain Brook Village.
Framed Mosaics
A framed semi-precious stone mosaic is located in the Hallbath in Elizabeth’s home. Four more of these mosaics can be found at ExVoto in Mountain Brook Village.
Other Artists in the Adams’ Art Collection:
Ashley Armistead - Birmingham, Alabama (landscapes in living room)
Camilla Brunschwyler Armstrong - Montgomery, AL (small painting of three figures in living room)
Ennis Everette - Birmingham, AL (ceramic tray on living room coffee table and ceramic lamp in front den)
Caty Radley - Lake Martin, AL (black and white painting of chairs in hallway)
Clark Walker - Montgomery, AL (farmer’s market scene in keeping room)
Erin Adrian - Birmingham artist (pink barn in keeping room)
Kelley Beville Ogburn - Mobile, AL (three children’s portraits in keeping room)
Mila Hirsch - Birmingham, AL (etchings in hallway)
Rick Mills - Montgomery, AL (large abstract in front den)
Alison Duncan- Marietta, GA (abstract figure above front den mantle)
Rik Long- Atlanta, GA (“Rooster Flag” in mudroom)
Jeremy Fowler- Nashville, TN (landscape in hallway and oil painting of trees in Guest Bedroom 2)
Allison James- Perry, GA (group of small abstracts in Girl’s Bedroom)
Ginny Elder- Nashville, TN (four color pencil hydrangeas in Font Den)
Ashley Terrell- Mobile, AL (large pink cloud landscape in hallway)
Julie Smith- Freeport, FL (Lake Martin historic map painting in Guest Bedroom)
Charlie Lucas— Alabama based folk artist also known as “Tin-Man” (painting on wood in hall bath)
As Seen on the Christmas Trees:
Ornaments
Wrapping Paper:
Wrapping paper is from St. Frank.
African Tote
Each African tote, as seen in Elizabeth’s house, is a one of kind. They are handmade in Africa and range in variety of colors and patterns. These totes can be found at ExVoto in Mountain Brook Village. They are also great to carry and display Christmas gifts wrapped in paper from St. Frank!
Local Furnishings:
Paige Albright Orientals
The textile wall hanging in the hallway, many upholstered stools, and most of the rugs and pillows throughout the home all came from Paige Albright Orientals.
Location: 2814 Petticoat Ln, Birmingham, AL 35223
Village Firefly
The chandelier in the kitchen is from Village Firefly as well as the table lamp located in the girl’s bedroom.
Location: 2816 Culver Rd, Mountain Brook, AL 35223
Candle Burning During Holiday House Tour:
ExVoto Joy Candle
This candle, in a fir scent, can be found at any of our three store locations. The Joy candle is in store purchase or pick up only!
Natural Moroccan Baskets
Elizabeth uses these baskets for blanket storage and potted plants. Found at ExVoto in Mountian Brook Village.
Coffee Table Books:
Both of these books can be found in ExVoto stores and are available for in-store pick up!
The Joy of Home by Ashley Gilbreath
Creating homes that bring families together, where they can celebrate life’s joys.
Interior designer Ashley Gilbreath’s fresh approach to Southern decorating is guided by her respect for family and tradition with an eye on practicality and warmheartedness. Her first book reveals the breadth of her casually elegant style. Whether it’s in town, on the water, or in the countryside, each home exhibits thoughtful planning and attention to detail in harmony with the client’s vision.
Saints of Old Florida
A collaboration between Melissa Farrell, Christina McDermott and Emily Raffield. We invite you to get lost in Old Florida, a place where a genuine essence of simplicity, adventure and community thrive. All of these saints are shared in Saints of Old Florida through personal stories, written contributions by area locals, meaningful recipes, vintage relics and authentic photography. A timeless book for those who love the coast.
More House Information
Front Porch:
-The antique sled holds fond childhood memories for Elizabeth as it was handed down to her from her aunt, who always decorated with it at the holidays,
- Vintage Harry Bertoia chairs hold sheepskins for the winter.
-Topiaries from Leaf n Petal
-Blue agave plants from Clay 30Aclay30a.com/ in Watersound, FL
-Large chimney magnolia wreath from Shoppe in Birmignham, AL
-Front door magnolia wreath from Weston Farms
-Bench from At Home in Homewood, AL
Living Room:
-Christmas tree from Leaf N Petal
-Tree skirt is a vintage kantha quilt from India
-colored lights from Grandin Road
-dried oranges from Magnolia Florals Texas via Etsy.
-The mercury glass ornaments are inspired by an antique ornament Elizabeth has from her grandmother’s tree (now displayed with others on the coffee table tray) and can be found via Luna Bazaar
-Elizabeth’s dad painted the large peach and pink painting and made the black and white landscape etching behind the tree.
-Craig Green was the artist commissioned by the Adamses for the painting with figures and numbers, which represent the Adams family and different significant numbers and dates are embedded in that painting.
-Raven Roxanne painted tbe large painting of abstracted magnolia
- Small and large landscapes by Ashley Armistead. More of Ashley’s paintings can be found at Patina in Mountain Brook Village.
- Pat’s uncle, Howard Adams, painted the landscape with the horse. Howard has a close bond with his horses and has painted horses since he was a child. Elizabeth won a Howard Adams painting at an extended family Dirty Santa and she chose one of his horse paintings because it represents “Uncle Bud” the best.
- Three figures were painted by Montgomery artist, Camilla Armstrong. Camilla was a student of Elizabeth’s father, and credits him for her change of major from music to fine art. More of her work can be found through Ashley Ayer Interiors in Montgomery, AL
- The rug is Turkish and made in 1981. Sourced From Paige Albright Orientals
-French buffet purchased years ago from an antique shop in Montgomery (now closed)
- White pattern pillows in yellow wingback chairs are very special. The fabric pattern was made from a piece of art created by Elizabeth & Patrick’s youngest daughter before she passed away from a brain tumor
- White ceramic platter with mushrooms on coffee table is by a local artist, Ennis Everette
- Vase holding amaryllis stems is Murano glass purchased by Patrick and Elizabeth while visiting the BF Signoretti glass factory where it was made in Murano, Italy. This vase was made by the youngest ever glass maestro, Alex Signoretti, at age 26, grandson of the factory founder.
- The trestle table behind the sofa was made using wood from Patrick’s grandfather’s horse barn.
-The lamp on the trestle table was created from an antique Chinese jar sourced from Slow Roads and converted to lamp by Stonehenge Lighting in Montgomery, AL.
-Antique Italian creche and nativity from Cottage Collections.
-Stools underneath trestle table sourced from Paige Albright Orientals.
- The elephant table is one of two, that were commissioned and brought home from Elizabeth’s father while he was stationed in Thailand in the 1960’s
-vase on pedestal was made by the mother of one of Elizabeth’s close friends as a wedding gift.
-The Moroccan side table was found at a neighborhood estate sale and holds a vintage sweetgrass basket from Charleston, SC. The nativity was handmade in Mexico, and the creche was handmade for this particular nativity by Elizabeth’s father as a Christmas gift.
-Stockings were purchased in North Carolina on the Adams’ first anniversary trip
Kitchen:
- Kitchen cabinet paint: custom formula
-Kitchen chandelier is from Village Firefly
-Natural, woven straw bull with horns is a vintage, Spanish, folk art piece purchased on a trip to Madrid
- the pink plate hanging below the bull was a gift from the couple’s daughter after her study abroad in Madrid, Spain.
-Elizabeth’s dad painted the small still life painting of the teapot and apples right out of art school in 1966
-watercolor painting of turnips by Alabama artist, Russel Everett.
-Blue plates are handmade glass and were purchased from the artist’s gallery by Patrick & Elizabeth on their first anniversary trip to North Carolina
-blue vases in window sills are actually water bottles from Madrid, Spain which Elizabeth loved and brought back in her suitcase to use as bud vases.
-Tall Pitcher on kitchen counter by Georgia artist, Jerry Chappelle, who passed away earlier this year.
-Small pitcher holding roses by a father and son ceramics team in Madrid, Spain.
-Dough bowl was Elizabeth’s grandmother’s bowl for making her father’s favorite biscuits.
- Much of the ceramics on the island came from a trip to Seville, Spain
-Large green ceramic platter is Peter’s Pottery, a Mississippi artist who trained under McCarty.
-Collection of Murano drinking glasses from a trip to Venice.
-Large green vase holding roses and rose hips is from Parish by Ashley Gilbreath.
-Candy from General in Birmingham, AL
-Italian fruit tart candle from John Derain in NYC
-small blue speckled dishes are by Memphis ceramic artist, Melissa Bridgeman, and are available from ExVoto
-Countertops are black marble
Keeping Room:
-The Montgomery curb market paintings of Clark Walker had long been admired by Elizabeth, and one hangs here.
-The painting, “Rooster Flag,” hanging above the curb market painting is by Georgia artist, Rik Long, whose father was acclaimed folk artist, Woodie Long.
-The pink abstract painting is by Elizabeth’s father
- Three paintings of each of the Adams’ children were painted by Kelley Ogburn. Elizabeth was amazed at Kelley’s ability to perfectly capture each of her children’s personality here.
- The painting of pink barn under the small mirror is by local Birmingham artist, Erin Adrian
-Small antique gilded mirror from Cottage Collections in Montgomery, AL
- rattan bench from Serena and Lilly
-Suzani pillow on rattan bench from Paige Albright Orientals
-Lamp from Becasa, paired with a vintage textile lampshade from Paige Albright orientals.
-juniper wreath from Shoppe, magnolia wreath from Weston Farms
-Small portrait at bar is by one of Elizabeth’s art professors, and friend of her parents, Jake Wagnon.
-Vases on bar area are from Black Sheep Antiques, Shoppe, and Parish.
-Ceramic tray and bowl on bar were commissioned by Elizabeth and made by Fairhope, AL artist, Lee Holmes.
-Rug textile wine holder from Paige Albright Orientals.
-African woven tote bag from ExVoto
-The gold reindeer is a family “heirloom” (circa 2005) and a beloved holiday tradition for the Adams children. The reindeer has seen better days, as the children would try to ride him and “feed” him when they were young, and Elizabeth questioned if it was tacky or not at the time of purchase, but will most likely never be found in a dumpster.
- Cabinet paint is Farrow & Ball “19 Lichen”
-The countertops are black marble
Hallway:
- Etchings by Mila Herisch
- Runner from Paige Albright Orietnals
- Elizabeth painted the pair of landscapes
- Elizabeth rebuilt the sconces, with shades and candle covers from Village Firefly. She believes the sconces may be original to the home.
- Painting of face at end of hallway By Craig Greene, a Nashville artist who ExVoto also represents
-small landscape by Jeremy Fowler, another Nashville artist
-large landscape “Cotton Candy Clouds” by Mobile artist, Ashley Terrell.
- Chairs painting by Caty Radley
Front Den “Ladies Lounge”
-This room is actually a fourth bedroom and most likely was the original ptimary bedroom. Patrick likes to tease Elizabeth by calling this room the “ladies lounge” and the name has stuck.
-Christmas tree from Leaf n Petal
-Glass icicle ornaments can be found by various artists on Etsy
-Miniature air plants from Shoppe
-dried lemons from Magnolia Farms via Etsy were made into ornaments by Elizabeth’s mother.
-Swedish Star tree topper in natural reed was made by an artist in Arkansas.
-Molded paper art above sofa was done by Elizabeth when she was in architecture school
-The portrait above the chest of drawers is a portrait of Elizabeth’s dad and was painted by his cousin when they were both in art school at University of Georgia
- Set of four color pencil drawing hydrangea by Nashville artist, Ginny Elder, circa 2005. (Ginny no longer makes these, as they are very labor intensive.)
- Lamp – created by Elizabeth from a vase by Ennis Everette. Converted to lamp by Stonehenge Lighting.
- Leather box is from a trip to a leather shop in Florence, Italy
- Art above the fireplace is by Georgia artist, Allison Duncan, and was purchased this year at Antiques at the Gardens
-Brown vases on mantle from Betty Margaret at Nest in Homewood, AL
- Green vase was purchased by Elizabeth in San Miguel, Mexico
-terracotta creche was made in Mexico and purchased by Elizabeth while in high school on a trip to San Antonio, TX
- Clay relic of a woman is from France was a gift from Elizabeth’s sister who brought it back from a study abroad.
- Antique jewelry mold on the chest of drawers
- Chandelier is an antique
- Rug, pillows and ottomans from Paige Albright Orientals
-Small French side table purchased years ago from an antique shop in Montgomery (now closed)
- The large abstract painting on the entry wall is by Rick Mills
- The antique dish was another gift from Elizabeth’s sister and from the south of France. It holds part of Elizabeth’s collection of antique keys
-Alabaster lamp from an antique shop in Saint Simons Island, GA
Hall Bath:
- Framed Semiprecious stone mosaic - more are also available at Ex Voto
- Carrie Davis, face, also an artist who can be found represented at Ex Voto
-Ceramic pendant light by Australian artist, Madeline King.
-Painting on easel is by an artist in San Miguel, Mexico and it is an ExVoto.
-decoupage tray by Nashville artist Ginny Elder, circa 2004. (Ginny doesn’t produce these trays any longer)
-vase by local Homewood, AL artist.
Girl’s Bedroom:
- angel painting by bedside table by unknown local Birmingham artist
- Group of Abstracts by Allison James from Georgia
- Table lamp from Village Firefly
-jewelry tray in green speckle glaze by Memphis artist, Melissa Bridgeman. More of her jewelry trays can be found at ExVoto.
-Set of three candy covered trees made by Elizabeth
-Face wall vase holding flowers was made by their daughter, Ellie, in elementary school and is now adorned with earrings from an artist Elizabeth discovered in San Miguel, Mexico. More earrings by this artist can be found at ExVoto.
- Coat rack was from Elizabeth’s parent’s house and was one of their first pieces of furniture.
-Holiday dresses hanging on coat rack are from ExVoto.
-Hand stitched, Otomi tote bag hanging on coat rack was a travel treasure brought home from San Miguel, Mexico and more can be found at ExVoto in Mountain Brook Village.
-table top tree from Leaf n Petal holds felted ornaments handmade in Nepal. More of these ornaments can be found at ExVoto, in store or online.
-Pine bed came from a shop on Miami Circle in Atlanta when the couple first married.
-Two block print quilts are layered together. From India sourced via Etsy.
-Pillows on bed are from Paige Albright Orientals
- Flag is an antique from Ghanna when still part of Great Britain
- Chairs are from Elizabeth’s childhood best friend’s mother’s antiques shop
-The well-worn nutcrackers displayed in cabinetry are nothing overly special or collectable, just more beloved Christmas memories for the Adams children. Elizabeth would buy a new nutcracker or two here or there each year and let the children play with them.
Bedroom Wing Hallway:
- 2 small Landscapes by Elizabeth
- textile piece as wall-hanging from Paige Albright Orientals
- Elizabeth’s dad’s etching, 1st edition, portrait is of Elizabeth when she was 2 years old
Guest Bedroom:
- Jeremy Fowler painting of trees in entryway
- Landscape by Ali Stayer, a Mississippi artist, who ExVoto also represents
- Large print over the bed is of the Golf club where Patrick and his dad play in Ireland
- Large painting by Elizabeth’s dad
- historic map of Lake Martin- by Pat’s cousin, Julie Smith, layered stencil and paint. Prints are available via Julie Smith.
- Rug and pillows from Paige Albright Orientals
-Antique French bed purchased years ago from an antique shop in Montgomery (now closed)
-brown throw blanket on bed from Marguerite’s Conceits in Mountain Brook Village.
-Block print quilt from India sourced via Etsy.
-Landscape painting over chest by Elizabeth
-Antique chest of drawers and bedside table from Found in Birmingham, AL
-Antique mirror over bedside table from David Sheffield Antiques in Santa Rosa Beach, FL
-Horn accessories collected by Elizabeth over the years.
-Collection of Italian, leather covered wine bottles form Cottage Collections in Montgomery, AL
-The tall crystal vase holding an amaryllis stem and winterberry is a golf trophy won by Patrick.
-Olive wood nativity
-orange leather tray on chest from Elizabeth Stewart in Charleston, SC
-African woven basket on chest holds antique jewelry findings Elizabeth discovered at a Paris flea market and an antique landscape postcard found at John Derian in NYC.
-topiary from Leaf n Petal.
-Hand turned wooden urn was made for Patrick and Elizabeth by Patrick’s cousin, Julie Smith.
-An antique African mask hangs in the bathroom. Found at the Chelsea Flea Market in NYC.
-Small brown glass apothecary jar from Black Sheep Antiques in Harpersville, AL
