Fairhope Real Estate: my favorite homes for sale

For a small town in Alabama, fairhope has a thriving, albeit expensive, real estate market. Any home downtown, on the bay, and near the polo fields can run well over $1,000,000, which for a town of 12,000 people, is quite a hefty price tag. But judging by the massive influx of new residents the town has seen over the last few years, there are certainly people willing to pay the price to live in such a wonderful community.

House 1: This home is located in the posh Point Clear Polo Club. It was built by Bill Purvis, who is a well known local builder famous for his amazing craftsmanship, attention to detail, and beautiful designs.

This beautiful home is located on 7+ acres features 5 bedrooms, 5 full baths and 2 half baths, a four stall horse barn, and is currently listed a $2,295,000.

The library

The great room

I love the painted wood ceiling and the stone fireplace.

The formal dining room. The wide-plank floors are gorgeous.

This is one of the few kitchens with white cabinets and marble in Fairhope, I like the blue island.

The luxurious master bathroom.

This home has great views of the Point Clear Polo Fields,

as it sits right next to them. many other homes in the area have their own private

Polo fields.

See more photos and listing information here.

House 2: This newly built home is in the heart of downtown Fairhope and features 4 bedrooms, 4 1/2 bathrooms, a back alley garage, and views of the bay.

Front porches are very prevalent in Fairhope, especially with 2nd story balconies.

Though you can hardly see it, this view of Mobile Bay is the main reason

this house is so expensive.

Light interiors and high quality millwork seem to be the trend in Fairhope new builds.

Probably the only other white kitchen in Fairhope,

the normal kitchen trend in a new build around here seems to be pecky

cypress cabinets and dark granite. homes around here have cypress cabinets and dark granite.

See more photos and listing information here.

House 3: This unique Mediterranean bay front home is situated on two acres and features a guest house, wharf, pool, and boathouse. It is listed at $2,900,000 and has 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, and 2 half baths.

The front facade. I love the huge gas lantern.

The backyard features a terrace, pool, boathouse, and a wharf. Landscaping by Howard design studio.

The carriage house. I love the iron work over the garage doors.
The charming ivy covered guesthouse.
A close-up of the back facade. Most bay front homes treat the back facade as the true "front" as it can be seen by the many boats in the bay.

This has to be one of my favorite fireplaces ever. It goes perfectly with the house.
The gourmet kitchen. I love the stone hood.

Such great paneling! Very unexpected in a bathroom.

And finally, the amazing view of Mobile Bay.

See more pictures of the home and listing information here.

All images courtesy of Coldwell Banker Reehl Properties

A great new blog!

I'm sure many of you know all about it, but in case you don't, I feel the need to tell you about an amazing new blog called "The Enchanted Home" The author of the great new blog is chronicling her journey as she builds a beautiful, elegant manor home situated on eighteen acres of Long Island's "Gold Coast". Though the home is quite large, the owner and her arcxhitect have done an impeccible job adhering to classical architectural principles, and in turn the home, though still under construction, already appears to have been there forever.the side of the home. The room behind huge bay window is the breakfast room!

This is probably my favorite new blog, and it is definatly worth checking out!

All images are courtesy of The Enchanted home.

Merry Christmas!

image courtesy of http://pattyhodapp.wordpress.com

I know I have not been the best at putting out new posts, but Thanksgiving was extremely hectic (my home was filled to the brim with 24 family members) and then in just a blink of an eye it was time to start preparing for Christmas. To add to the chaos, I had hip surgery last week and have been on crutches ever since. However, I do realize situations like these have not stopped many bloggers from conjuring up amazing, inspirational posts. I promise to try to update more often, with better post in 2011 (because let's be honest, I know I will be to lazy to put out another post before the new year.)

I just wanted to wish all of my detecated readers a very merry Christmas, filled with great memories you and your family will cherish forever, and a healthy, happy New Year. God Bless!

So Sorry

I am incredibly sorry about my lack of posting, but I have been incredibly busy this past month. I have many posts I am currently working on, so please, don't give up on this blog. To hold you over, here are some beautiful pictures I snapped while on a recent trip to Austria and Switzerland. enjoy!

the town of Lucerne, Switzerland:




Helbrun Palace in Salzburg, Austria:

An Elegant Georgian Home

My two favorite home styles have always been georgian and French Country. I will go through phases where I really like one for a few years, then abandon it for the other. For the past year, I have been obsessed with the French Country style, so much so I almost forgot about Georgian architecture.

One day, while sorting through my inspiration files, I found this picture I had printed out. The beautiful Georgian home ignited in me my lost love for Georgian architecture, and I quickly went to the architect, Mark Finlay's, website to find more pictures of the home.

This is the beautiful shot in my inspiration files, I love its symmetrical facade, curved dormers, and the charming ivy creeping up the side. The amazing thing is, this is the back of the home!

After looking through the pictures on Finlay's website, the interior proved, unsurprisingly, as elegant as the exterior.



The welcoming foyer. Notice the beautiful moldings, a trademark of Finlay. I also like the warm colors, which, in my opinion, make the room feel warm and friendly instead of pretentious.

The formal living room. I love the fact that the furniture placement is symmetrical, echoing the symmetry found on the exterior and throughout the home.



The informal first floor Billiards room. This could've easily been made into a formal room, but I like the fact that the owners decided to make it family-friendly with the orange paint color and the license plate map.

The huge family room, perfect for a large party. It appears as if the Billiards room opens onto this room. I am assuming the rug is seagrass, which has been prevalent throughout the home.



A glimpse from the breakfast room into the charming kitchen. I like the tall cabinets and the contrast between the white cabinets and black countertops. A view from the other side of the breakfast room, into the keeping room. I like the visual interest created with the coffered ceiling. Stunning.

This is an extremely elegant home, inside and out. It has reminded me of my love for Georgian architecture. what is your favorite style?

To see more photos of the lovely home, click here.

All photos courtesy of Mark Finlay Architects, AIA.

My favorite historic home

I know I haven't posted in a while, but I am waiting for permission from a blogger to feature their blog on my site. In the mean time, I would love to share some pictures of my favorite historic home, Old Westbury Gardens. Old Westbury Gardens is the former estate of John Shaffer Phipps (1874-1958), heir to a U.S. steel fortune. It has been open to the public for tours since 1959.

The home is located at 71 Old Westbury Road, in Old Westbury, New York.

According to Wikipedia the home is in the Charles II style, and has twenty-three rooms. The homes gardens, which it is most famous for, span 160 acres.

the stately front facade, courtesy of Historic Houses.

The beautiful garden facade, courtesy of Best of Long Island.

More on this home later, but I wanted to post something to hold you over until I get permission from a blogger to do my next post.

-David-

A Buckhead renovation... for the worst

Recently, while scouring the Atlanta real estate listings, I came across a home that I instantly recognized. An old favorite of mine, that I had seen years ago.

The beautiful 1920's Spanish home as I remembered it. I loved how dignified it looked with the towering trees. Photo courtesy of http://www.buckhead.net/tuxedopark/

And now the home in the real estate listing:

The home is definitely different. I'm not a fan of what they did to the stucco, but it only gets worse from here.

These next pictures are beyond words, in a bad way.

This almost makes me sad, to think that every room of this home was stripped of its history and replaced by gaudy, over the top details that, to be honest, make me want to throw up.

This is something I need the Atlanta residents' opinions on: Did you notice this home being renovated? How does the house look in person? Personally, I think the owners absolutely ruined a beautiful home.

The owner happens to be notorious real estate developer Lee Najjar. I do not like to gossip, and this is a home design blog, not the tabloids, so instead of gossiping, I suggest a quick google of his name. You will most likely find out more then you would want to know about this man.

To each his own I guess.

Photos courtesy of Homes of the Rich