dwelling-small things considered-august 2005 issue

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Each issue Birmingham magazine publishes a homes feature. This article profiles the Simpson home in the Redmont neighbohood of Birmingham.

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Page 1: Dwelling-Small Things Considered-August 2005 Issue
Page 2: Dwelling-Small Things Considered-August 2005 Issue

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THINGSCONSIDEREDAttentiontodetailturnsa historicRedmontParkhouseintoa

home.By Chris Copeland

Photography by Beau Gustafson

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he attic space in George and BethSimpson's home has been finished,connecting the upstairs study to a play-

room over the garage. It is quite an attrac-tion for their grandchildren, who love tolet their imaginations run wild in the"secret passageway." Beth says that ifthere is any kind of theme to their house,it is the consideration of their grandkids;yet their stately home reveals that theyhave good sense for other small things aswell.When George and Beth considered

purchasing their Redmont Park home(built in 1926) two years ago, fitting theirlarge antique furniture inside became amatter of inches. The distance betweentwo hall closets upstairs was the exactmeasurement of an antique French buffetbought at auction. They had the wallrecessed, and now the buffet rests per-fectly in the hall without obstructing thepathway. George and Beth also made amodest adjustment to the breakfastroom, which previously had three win-dows. The center window was walled up,creating space for an English buffet thatgives Beth more storage as well as a place

to display her china.Other changes around the house

came easier thanks to George's company,Simpson Commercial Contracting, which

: specializes in plaster and stucco work.When the back of the house was extend-ed to enlarge the kitchen and den, theresulting exterior wall looked rather plain,so George's company crafted a stuccoquatrefoil seven feet in diameter. Bethsays, "Yousee it in cathedrals and a lot ofEuropean buildings, and it breaks up thatwall so it's not such a big expanse."The stove hood in the kitchen was also

fashioned out of stucco, adding to thecozy atmosphere of the kitchen."Traditionally in homes of this era, thefront part of the house would have beenmuch more formal," says DennisGoodwin, a close family friend and homedecorating aficionado. "Beth wanted thehouse to feel very comfortable, and thisI lent itself more to a 'come in, sit downand enjoy yourself' kind of thing."Another small change that George and

Beth made to their home was addingmolding. Picture molding existed in themaster bedroom, but the house had nocrown molding. Beth, however, felt it wasimportant to retain the original spirit ofthe house when they updated. "The frontwe didn't want to change because of itbeing on the national historic register,"she says.

Rather than renovating these frontrooms, she and George installed ornateplaster molding and ceiling medallions,using a different style in each.

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"Dependingon what yourmoldingswere (histori-cally), theywere sup-posed to tieinto what theuse of theroom was...Here (in theliving room)you have thesheaths ofcorn; so thatstands forabundanceand plentyand hospitali-ty," explainsGoodwin.

HospiCalitycertainly defines the Simpsons,whose doors are always open, especially tofamily. When deciding on renovations, themost important detail for them was creating afamily-friendly home, especially for theirsmallest visitors, the six grandchildren, whomake good use of the pool their grandparentsadded. George and Beth's three daughtersvisit frequently, and Beth says "Nothingmakes me happier than co look out che win-dow and see [the grandchildren] out thereswimming."Other renovations to the home have also

made family visits more accommodating. Thefourth bedroom was enlarged and given a pri-vate bath, and what was formerly a second-story sleeping porch off another bedroomwas converted to a nursery for the babies. Infact, Beth says their fondest memory in thehouse so far was having the entire family stayunder one roof this past Christmas.

It's easy to focus on the large floor plan orthe fine antiques inside the Simpson resi-dence, but there's one almost overlookedpiece of furniture that tells the true story ofthis home. "We love our old, old, old pieces,but this mahogany rocking horse Georgemade is one of the things we love, and it'sonly about five years old," says Beth. "Eachone of the grandchildren, as hard as thatthing is, they want to ride it." ~

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