There are definitely some interesting and effective color combinations-- but the rooms don't seem to work togerher. To me it seems like a variety of experiments in color vs a cohesive colorful home.

hmmm.... not feeling it. I like most, not all, of the colors but would find it jarring to go room to room.

One of my favorite style houses and I love the exterior. The inside, not so much. Red, yellow and purple purple will probably never be found in our home - and no orange either LOL. The screened porch is more my taste. I agree that the rooms/colors do not flow.

I like it too. Cute house.

Who was it here that wanted to decorate a living room in corals, pink and black? JustTerrlyn maybe? Anyway, I would describe much of the interior style here as "Hollywood Regency" and it rreminded me of that poster's style. (Couldn't fine the post though, darn.)

Many of the rooms are lovely. Hate the dark blue walls.

You all make a good point how the colors are jarring from room to room. I was looking at the rooms individually as if they weren't related to the rest of the house.

I can't find the picture of the entryway I downloaded but I'm going to see if I can copy it, sorta, but first I need to find just the right prints.

You should see what their neighborhood looks like. Looking at the house from street view, it's definitely a cottage.

I'm looking at their wedding pictures now. That's what coffee does to me late at night. :)

@Allison0704, thought I would tag you since this is a Mountain Brook houseOuse. (this is what this website does that drives me crazy! I type house, it adds Ouse…but not every time!)

Would a man or teenage son be comfortable in that house?

Who says it's a woman's house? If it is, perhaps no men or teenage sons to please, or perhaps without the stereotyping, some men and teenage sons would like it. Not all women like it, so perhaps a wife or daughter wouldn't like it either.

My husband and teen through early 20s sons would all be fine in that house. They are perfectly comfortable enough in their own skin and masculinity to appreciate pink, flowers and traditional/classic design. They are more Spartan than I am, like my grandmother, actually. Left to their own devices, the house would have more modern Italian and German furniture.

I don’t live easily with bright colors. i like the kitchen and the sunroom, but it kind of feels like a Showhouse.

It's a 'show' house, but I like it. I do like that kitchen fixture.

Bb, I also thought about tagging Allison.

Justdoit, a married couple decorated it together.

Oakley, a married man/woman couple?

The first paragraph of the article identifies the husband/wife. man/woman.

I much prefer the no color version -- but i would truly want something between the two versions. I am with Tina, love the sunporch and also like the kitchen and playroom.

At that price and the house next door is 10 ft away? No way!

Not crazy about the interior either. I do not like the kitchen with all the open shelves, etc.

I just can't imagine paying that much for that house. So much is wrong with it.

I like color and I like neutrals, but i do not like either iteration of that house. Love the style and architecture, do not love the unfinished looking deck, chain link fence and messy appearance of underdeck, lack of privacy. All tilework in the house, neutral as it is, is exceedingly busy. It’s a shame, as the neighborhood is beautiful; I know it well.

I'm obviously not getting to the same house that you are all seeing.

blfenton: go to the link: Stunning use of color

I'm with Kswl, neither version would work for me. Two extremes. I was fascinated by ALL the slipcovers in the first version. They worked hard to bland out every inch. I also found the extra wide seating interesting in the kitchen and on the patio.

I like a lot of the colorful rooms as they look so cheerful. Some of the fabrics are just yummy. The all-neutral just leaves me cold.

But what I find most jarring is the listing. I'm trying to understand if it's just wrong or if there's something about that area of AL that leads to California type pricing...$1.9 mil for a 3 bedroom house? And what's with the 87 sq ft lot?

Pink was considered a "masculine" color through the end of the nineteenth century and the "pink for girls/blue for boys" dichotomy was not well established until the 1920s. Pink was considered a "red" color and that sort of "vitality" was masculine, the sentiment was.

Not to turn this into a thing, but I think that it's interesting that in the 21st century people will still look at a room and if it's anything but brown or gray say "Would a man be comfortable in that room?", and then there is the subtext of trying to figure out whether the man who lives in that colorful house is either a sissy naturally, or is just henpecked by his wife who forces him to live in these "girly" rooms.

Because the flip side of this with nearly every room I see posted in the forums anymore, which is either brown or grey with never anything but a geometric pattern to be seen is "Would a real woman" be comfortable in that room or is the woman who lives here butch, or "overly masculinized", and we all know how potentially offensive that sort of sentiment could be. Except that it's not all that offensive in this society because being a tomboy is something that is, if not encouraged necessarily, is not considered a negative, but being a "sissy" even if you are heterosexual, is shameful.

"being a tomboy is something that is, if not encouraged necessarily, is not considered a negative, but being a "sissy" even if you are heterosexual, is shameful."

It's because male/masculine is the default, and anything else ... meaning female/feminine ... is considered to be something less. It is so ingrained that even descriptors used for inanimate objects that are assigned genders in other languages match the gender...a language where a bridge is masculine will be described as strong and sturdy...a language where a bridge is feminine will be described as lovely and pretty. I recently read "Invisible Women" and was stunned at the ubiquitous ways in which the male is the default. While it's no surprise that it happens, it is surprising to me that it is still happening so extensively.

Ill never understand the appeal of gray. Such a depressing color.

My ex’s favorite color was beige.

That house went from no color to borderline too much color, although i do still like most of it.

I agree dedtired. It is a rare room for me where gray appeals...it leaves me feeling cold. I remember one time I had to go to a co-worker's house to get work done as he was laid up. We were in a bedroom converted to an office and it was gray and damp outside, gray in the room with no curtains or anything to soften the space. I ended up working with my coat on because I felt so cold, even though he turned up the heat for me. It's as much emotional as physical.

I remember one time, my Mom was so proud of a dress she made in gray as she could wear it with anything and dress it any which way with scarves etc. It wasn't too long before we started referring to it as the "prison dress" as the gray looked so drab despite her best efforts to jazz it up.

Annie, yes, it’s that particular area of Birmingham that brings the price to what it is. I’m a little shocked at the price tag on this one for the size, but maybe Allison will weigh in.

I dont care for either version either although both seem to be popular. I like portions of both, but the first is way too neutral with no color. I love the sun porch on the updated version and some parts of the other rooms we see. Don’t care for the navy walled room.

I find the kitchen interesting:

If you look closely, there is actually very little color in the room...the soft green on the island and the valance, the pale peach on the chair cushions....the rest is added with accessories....the art, the books, the fruits the urn, the flowers and the rest of the table setting.

It reminds me of what Lynette Jennings used to say...beige goes with everything, but at some point you have to add something other than beige for it to go with. Here they do it with the accessories and very easy to swap out if you want to go with something less vibrant.

The second iteration of my parents' bedroom, c. 1975 was blue grasscloth (which I believe is still there) and beige linen drapery with heavy cotton tassels and matching bedding and the uphostery was a small geometric flower that coordinated with the drapery and the lighting was delft (Blue flowers)

The problem was that the drapes and bedding were extremely heavy, like the bedspread needed to be taken all the way off the bed because it was too heavy on their feet. It took two people to make and unmake the bed

A local decorator came after the dog died, (which triggered a more general redecorating) and she said to my mom "This is a beautiful bedroom, now where do you sleep?"

Apparently all the primary bedrooms she did for couples who shared the room were floral and "feminine" despite husband sleeping there, too. She said that the only objections that men seemed to have in her experience was bedding that had ruffles or lace that would touch them when they were sleeping. They didn't have any negative feelings about floral patterns or pastel colors. She thought my parents bedroom was rather masculine compared to most of the work she did.

California type pricing

Not really, even areas you might not think of as upscale can have higher-end enclaves, almost everywhere.

I've never understood or agreed with the "gender divide" in decor. Anything in excess is a bad idea. Anything tasteful can be enjoyed by most. And people who think men would be uncomfortable in a colorful home are, IMHO, carbon-dating themselves.

@Lizbeth-gardener - Thank-you. I only noticed the first link.

Again not to turn this into a thread about something else, but I think that with increasing gender fluidity, there is a sort of reflex gender identity panic where if you are insecure about something you don't want other people identifying you as x, y, or z, just because you appear to like something that has been more associated with female tastes if you are male, and vice versa. And the potential problem of gender fluidity is that it creates even more pigeonholes into one feels pressured to put oneself or others into. The linking of one's entire identity including color preference, musical and artistic tastes, even choice of car, to sexual behavior is a relatively modern concept, I think.

if you are insecure about something

This.

Oakley - I enjoyed the colors, thanks for the post.

Can anyone identify a source for the carpet in the nursery?

Not sure carpet wise but it looks like something Stark or Patterson Flynn Martin would do and it would not be on their website but in a showroom. They do custom work so it could be a custom color of one of their patterns as well. I think there is some color enhancement in the above picture because the brown floor is reading purple.

@oldbat2be I was looking at this article in my Southern Living mag this morning. I will check for you and see if there is a source list.

@palimpsest you are probably right. The colors look much better in the actual magazine.

While I have no gray in my house, I will say I have seen some beautiful gray rooms. I think it is all in the depth of the color. I love a rich, plush, gray velvet, for example. We have friends who renovated a parent's home and moved into it. It's all done in gray with white trim. The gray paint they used is beautiful. It's kind of a medium gray with much depth. It just looks so creamy and luxurious, like you could sink right into it. If that makes any sense LOL! The house is older and they refinished the beautiful wood floors to a rather dark shade. The kitchen has white cabinets but the island has the same dark wood (wood floors in kitchen too). She has used teal as one of her main accent colors. She also chose some beautiful fabrics for her window coverings. While I don't see that house for us, I love their home and think it is beautiful. (I can't give up my blues and greens!) It is a very cozy house, not cold feeling at all. I think it is all in how it is done.

The linking of one's entire identity including color preference, musical and artistic tastes, even choice of car, to sexual behavior is a relatively modern concept, I think.

Somehow modern and behind the times all at once.

About the price of the house, it's all about location. According to Wikipedia it's the ninth wealthiest city in America.

That type of carpet can be bought at most carpet stores. One thing I noticed in both versions of the decor is there isn't one sofa where I'd want to take an afternoon nap.

With all the trees I don't think I'd mind a neighbor that close to me.

@oldbat2be I'm sorry, there is no source guide. : (

@Oakley no way could I be that close to another house! Gotta have my privacy and lots of green space around me. : )

Thanks for tagging me, @bbstx I know the area well. That is actually a cut through road from Overbrook to Montevallo, so heavily traveled. Would not be my choice. Mountain Brook is large, with four villages, four elementary schools plus JH and HS. One of the best school systems in the state. Centrally located so an easy commute. We moved there for the school system, and our three also attended the preschool program at their elementary school (but no longer an option). 20yrs in our first house, and our house we sold last year was also located there.

~~~~~~

But what I find most jarring is the listing. I'm trying to understand if it's just wrong or if there's something about that area of AL that leads to California type pricing...$1.9 mil for a 3 bedroom house? And what's with the 87 sq ft lot?

That is MB pricing, @Annie Deighnaugh although IMO it is too high of an estimate for that street/that house. It would probably sell for 1.2-1.3M right now. Lot sf is obviously wrong.

This house, about 10 minutes from the OP link sold recently for $5M, and it needs gutting IMO. If you ever purchased checks from Designer Checks, you helped pay for them to build it in the 80s.

I don't care for the greige look - to bland. The brightly colors are nicely done and with two small children it will be fun for them.

Off to read more comments.....

@Jilly The original brick color was most likely red.

@Zalco/bring back Sophie! LOL Funmy you said "Spartan" as that is the MB HS mascot.

@maddie260 and the "show" house comment - it is the South and many, many people in MB and surrounding cities (Homewood and Vestavia Hills to name others) love to decorate their homes. Some are still deep into the traditional decor of their parents, grandparents and great grandparents, others have fun with color and even modern furnishings. Many are heavily into entertaining. I am not saying some do for "show," but others do because it's in their blood - like myself.

I would say one of the four areas, Crestline, is ful of social butterflies and don't seem to mind living so close to the house next door. The neighborhood is a swarm of parents and children out and about all. the. time. Too much for me! This house is techincally zoned for MBE, but very close to Crestline.

I look at real estate across the country a couple times a week and look by decade, so I pretty much limit myself to looking from the top of the market down to about 700K-800K, and it seem like to me that Alabama, Georgia, and Texas have the most highly decorated/show house style interiors of anywhere in the country. Not necessarily the flashiest or most ostentatious like the California market, but the sense of "completeness" and attention to detail. And I think people are capable of living with it kept exactly like that, too, it's not just put on, or staged for photos.

i don’t think any region of the country has a particular claim to ’show’ decorating? I’ve seen it all over this country? I did not mean my post to be offensive.

Edited for punctuation

I have this unrealistic image that much of the South looks like Verandah. It's a look i love.

@mtnrdredux_gw Veranda and Southern Accents (RIP) have always been my favorites.

@maddie260 I did not take your comment as offensive. I wasn't suggesting the South tops decorating, but Pal's last post says it well.

Palimpsest and Tina Marie - Thank you for the input on the carpet source.

Not my taste but only because of the flowers and blues. I'm so happy to see some color though.

Edited: Jojo, I'm going to "try" for Green, coral and maybe some pale creamy yellow. I haven't had much luck on chairs yet. There has been an abundance of post modern furniture on my FB sites but nothing exactly right so far.

I love it all, except for the baby's nursery which is too monochromatic IMO.

I was getting a "Storybook" CA vibe just a titch from it, so seeing the inside's transformation, I also got an "old Hollywood" vibe but just a titch.

Maybe shades of grey and white plays better in a hot, hot state like AL, but it has no appeal to me here in chilly MI. I tend to like the British or Scandinavian styles with the emphasis on natural colors and materials with pops of color, or rich warm tones, only because they hide dirt and stains . . .

Perusing local real estate listings I am aghast at how some of the places have been mutilated in an attempt to force a "modern farmhouse" look on every space, irregardless. No worse than the "Tuscan" terror of the 90's but just kind of frustrating if you want a nice house but one with some subtlety and authenticity to it. Like looking for a needle in a haystack.