Parade of Homes Showcase House for Mobile Event Goes Back to Tradition
By Kathy Jumper; Real Estate Editor
Builder ,Eric Brewer, went back to tradition with the two-story showcase home he built in the Richmond subdivision for the annual Parade of Homes, organized by the Home Builders Association of Metropolitan Mobile. The home tours continue today from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Nov. 13 and 14 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
There are 70 new single-family homes at prices ranging from less than $100,000 to more than $500,000. The parade features homes by 39 builders in 35 subdivisions in Mobile County. It also includes two homes with kitchens remodeled by TCM Remodelers. At least 5,000 to 7,000 people are expected to walk through the new and remodeled homes during the tour, according to Susie Cleveland, executive director of the home builder's group. "This is a way to show off new products and the latest in building and design techniques," she said.
Brewer's furnished showcase house off Johnson Road will also be open for tours Wednesday through Friday, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. There is a $3 donation to tour the showcase house, with $1 admission for children 12 and under. The proceeds will benefit the Child Advocacy Center. For more information call 661-6523 or www.hbamm.com.
"We tried to pull out all the stops," on the showcase home, said Brewer of Brewer Homes. The four-bedroom, 3 1/2-bath home features amenities such as 1,700 square feet of hardwood floors; upscale bath, kitchen and door fixtures; hand-pottered sinks and porcelain tile floors. The 3,825-square-foot house is listed for $399,900.
"Styles are cyclical," Brewer said. "We're going back to the traditional look with entertaining rooms and casual rooms. We've gone back to sectionalizing the rooms. It's an open plan, but we haven't removed all of the walls."
Brewer, who designed the house plan, said the style and interior furnishings are a mix of English and traditional featuring a weathered exterior brick called Old Natchez.
The rooms are decorated in colors of warm gold, muted green, garnet red and poppy red, said Suzanne Weeks of Finishing Touches, co-lead decorator. The ceilings throughout the house are painted in warm, rich colors rather than white.
The house features 10-foot ceilings on the first floor and nine-foot heights on the second floor, with a 20-foot-high domed ceiling in the entryway. The formal living room adjoins the family room with a see through fireplace that is covered in a product called Weathered Stone®, that resembles real stone.
The formal dining room has hand-stenciled details on the walls, lush crown molding and 18-karat gold details on the Baccarat crystal chandelier. The bonus room was constructed as a private home theater with a 96-inchscreen TV and surround-sound system, a wet bar, stainless steel floors and leather seating. There's about $10,000 worth of theater equipment in the room.
The kitchen features granite countertops, chestnut-finished custom cabinets and black appliances. The master suite is decorated as an English gentleman's suite and the master bath has a marble tub, bronze accessories in the shower and porcelain tile floors. The upstairs bedrooms include a guest room, a room decorated for a teen-aged girl and a pink-and-white little girl's room with hand-painted rabbits on the walls and a secret room or cubbyhole for child's play.
The decorating committee for the showcase house includes Weeks; lead decorator Pat O'Neal of Pat O'Neal Interiors; Shirley Delchamps, BLP Mobile Paint in Daphne; Vivian Whitten, Southern Interiors; Bess Marks and Ginger Woodward, La-Z-Boy Furniture; Sue Ellen Gallaspy and Kate Dempsey, Villa Dauphine; Gail Clarke, Bath & Kitchen Concepts; Fonda Trawick, Fonda's Floors & Interiors; Marilyn Stills, Simply Shutters; Karon Webster, Designs by Karon; Sandy Harding, Gas Light & Log Shop; Georgi Starr and Dee Budlong, Clay Structure; and Dawn Bowers, Spring Hill Lighting.
Local remodelers are hoping to start a trend with the entry of two remodeled homes in this year's tour. Jeff Johns of TCM Remodelers pitched the idea to the local home builders after seeing more remodeling tours offered across the country. "We're hoping this will spark some interest and enthusiasm in the remodelers group, attract new members and bring us some new business," said John Thomas of TCM. "This will show the public what can be done with remodeled homes." Tour map, Page 2J CUTLINES: Eric Brewer, below left, of Brewer Homes built the showcase home for the annual Parade of Homes for the Home Builders Association of Metropolitan Mobile. There are 70 new homes and two remodeled kitchens on the tour held today and Nov. 13 and 14 from 10 to 5 p.m. The four-bedroom showcase home in Richmond subdivision off Johnson Road features the latest and greatest in amenities, decor and design. At left, the living room adjoins the family room with a see-through fireplace. Below at center is a prep sink in the kitchen, which features granite countertops, chestnut-finished custom cabinets and black appliances. Below right is a pink-and-white little girl's room with hand-painted rabbits on the walls and a secret room or cubbyhole for play. At bottom, the formal dining room has hand-stenciled details on the walls, lush crown molding and 18-karat gold details on the Baccarat crystal chandelier. BILL STARLING/Staff Photographer The showcase home's master bath has a marble tub, bronze accessories in the shower and porcelain tile floors. The home is off Johnson Road in the Richmond subdivision.