About 35 miles south of Birmingham is a cute little town called Montevallo. American Village is located here, as well as an older college that was founded back in 1896, The University of Montevallo, a pretty college campus that sprawls over 160 acres. I’ve shown you a few pictures of this area when I wrote about The American Village last year and the countryside down there is just beautiful….peaceful countryside everywhere you look.
It’s a quaint little Southern town with a wonderful feel of days gone by, a slower pace and small-town charm.
My friend, Mary and her hubby, live in Montevallo and I recently visited her at her home of less than 2 years. I think you’ll really enjoy seeing Mary’s home. Even though it’s a new home, it oozes cottage charm. Mary’s done a wonderful job with putting it all together, incorporating her family antiques passed down to her from both grandparents. She has collections of old and new items and the feeling is definitely cozy and cottagey. You would feel right at home in Mary’s house. We visited at her house and then had lunch at a new restaurant in the little downtown of Montevallo, the Alabama Coach Company. It’s set in an old train depot and we had hamburgers and talked decorating. See above pic.
The livingroom is warm and cozy with a chaise lounge in the corner. I love this piece. She said she splurged on the Karastan rug, but otherwise she loves a bargain just like I do.
Mary and her daughter painted this window canvas one day after getting inspired to create something of their own. It’s a cute piece that looks great with all of the colors in Mary’s home. She recently added some new draperies in the diningroom as well as the livingroom, after I picked up some fabric swatches in Atlanta last fall when I was over there visiting. She had told me she was looking for an inspiration fabric to make some drapes and I came back with several to show her in the colors I knew she was looking at. She found this pretty blue/green/chocolate check and had them made up by a friend who also has her own drapery business. I was anxious to see the drapes in person and they really do make the room.
She made some matching pillows to go in the chocolate leather chairs too. This fabric was really perfect for her room.
Mary in Montevallo
These pics were taken with my hubby’s camera and not my new one.
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Mental note: Must add Montevallo to ‘places to visit before I die’ list! I visited the link you provided and spent a bit of time sight-seeing there. What a beautiful town!!! Almost nothing in Canada can compare with that kind of charm and history!! And given the temps we’ve been experiencing, now would be a perfect time to go….
She has done a wonderful job.
My kids graduated from Montevallo High~ I guess that makes me an official Montevalloean. If you’ve driven in the fire day parade its official!
Are you wearing red today?
Thank you for taking such detailed photos of Mary’s beautiful house. It does inspire using family heirlooms in lovely new fabrics.
Thanks for the tour–I love a peak into other people’s homes because you say, Hey, I can do that!!”
It is funn to take a peek into others homes and see how they decorate. Thanks for sharing!!
I am not sure my last comment went through…so here I go again.
Loved so many things in this blog. The trim around the bathroom mirror reminded me of a project I did. I added mdf decorative molding to a plain mirror. To avoid making those tricky angled corner cuts, I used rosettes for the corners. So the long pieces only needed straight cuts with a handsaw. I put in place with liquid nails. Don’t put the glue too close to the edges or the glue can be seen in the mirror.
Adding trim to a plain mirror can give such a custom look.
PS. sorry about messing up your name. I like Rhoda much better anyway.
Again, love this post…call anytime for tips on setting-up a design business. (314-652-1759)
Dana
Oh my goodness! I had that same bedroom furniture when I was a little girl…full size bed, too, lol! I enjoyed this tour…thank you!
Best Wishes,
Julie