Having just returned from Austin I thought I’d post this story I’ve been working on featuring the Birmingham architect, Bill Ingram.  I hope to have some exciting new things to ramble on about Texas, and family.

 

 

This story began with the July/August issue of House Beautiful and morphed into features about the talented Bill Ingram, Architect from 3 different magazines…

I’ve grown to love House Beautiful magazine again.  Unbeknownst to the magazine, we had a falling out several years ago when they seemed to lose their way and were publishing images of homes that held no appeal for me.

The July/August issue is one of my favorites.  It’s their annual small spaces issue.  It is such a testament of good design to see what so many talented designers can do with limited square footage.  I live in 1,725 square feet of space and am always open to new ideas for storage and décor and have been inspired by some of the small homes.

I’ve chatted about my love of cottages before.  The attraction may be a direct result of my living in a small home but there is something so cozy about small spaces that live large.  For more about my love of cottages and their features visit HERE, HERE and HERE.

But it was definitely thunder bolt city (do you remember that line from Four Weddings and a Funeral?) when a 12-page spread on a 1,400 square foot cottage in Mountain Brook village, Birmingham, Alabama caught my eye.  The interior design is by talented architect, Bill Ingram.

I love the knot garden in lieu of lawn in the front yard of this perfect cottage.

 

Not to start with a bathroom, but this is a particularly well-designed bath and I’m in the midst of remodeling our guest bathroom so I’ve got bathroom design on the brain.

 

This small kitchen has been designed to flow beautifully into the living room.  Well designed small spaces utilize every available inch of the house and this cottage works really well…it lives large.

 

Each room in the House Beautiful issue featured clever use of the small space and provided me with inspiration for my own cottage.

So I began to do a bit of reading about him and got lost in Google finding additional features in Southern Accents and Country Living magazines.

In addition I found this quote on his philosophy:

“My philosophy is:  When you see something perfect, buy it.  If you don’t have a place for it, you’re going to have to force yourself.  You’ll wind up with a house full of things you love.” -Bill Ingram

Sound advice and when I haven’t followed something along those lines I’ve often wondered why I bought the item, does that ever happen to you?

 

 

 

 

If you visit Bill Ingram Architect take the time to read his view on lifestyle.  It’s no wonder his design appeals to so many, he speaks of simplicity “papers the senses, does not overload”.  Aren’t we all seeking that peace?  He believes in the marriage of lovely old things with a restrained “modern”.  Juxtaposition, its what intrigues us in design when we happen upon it.

One of his houses located on Lake Martin was featured some time ago in Southern Accents {sadly this magazine is no longer published}.

This house isn’t quite a small as his Mountain Brook house but it isn’t huge and I love the open feel to the great room and kitchen.  High ceilings do an amazing job of giving the space an open, airy feel.

 Love the chandelier and the chairs.

 

                                                                                               Lunch on the veranda?  Yes, please.

After finding these images I continued to search and discovered a cottage in Alabama that Bill Ingram and designer, Betsy Brown had a hand in.  The article is featured in the 2007 Country Living magazine (another one bites the dust. :-()  Maybe it was the Christmas decorations but I loved the charm of this home as well.  So many cottages, so little time.

 

 

 

 

And lest you think Bill Ingram is king of cottage design, here are some of his other designs from his website…