House Tour: Funky Southwest Style in Alabama

Michelle Reynolds is a slipcover maker and a frequent writer for HGTV.com and DIYNetwork.com. She gave us a peek at her and husband’s colorful Birmingham bungalow.

I live in my imagination most of the time, and in the 1927 Spanish Revival bungalow I share with my photographer husband (he took all these photos), I get to travel the world through daydreams and creativity. Bold prints, bright accents, thrift-store finds, hand-me-down furniture, DIY projects, and lively art are combined and encapsulated by hardwood and Saltillo tile floors, earth-toned walls and niche spaces to display a mosaic of expression. In this house, we bring colors of the outside in to help define and convey our relationship with nature and the world at large.

Picture books of Mexican haciendas and Spanish interiors were the inspiration for the living room. Saltillo tiles, pine, teak, and wrought-iron furniture set the tone. The walls are painted in four different shades of brown, which creates the illusion of an aged plaster finish. By painting the large brick and plaster hearth with a chalky ecru paint, we gave it a slaked lime look. DIY lamps with Moroccan goatskin shades and glass globes keep the room warm and cozy, while drop cloth curtains, linen and canvas slipcovers, and a beige rug lighten the dark, lamp-lit room. Color is added to the living room with the addition of throws and pillows that are often changed out according to mood or season.

A DIY lamp is made with a birdcage stand and a glass globe from a thrift store and paired with a Moroccan henna table lamp, the lights provide a warm glow against the dark walls in the living room. A simple canvas slipcover refines an old vinyl-covered thrift store chair.

Thrift store and hand-me-down furniture are some of my favorite pieces, and different styles and eras get thrown together in this room along with remnants of fabrics, exotic textiles and handmade pillows. A large paper-mache skull that I made years ago for a Day of the Dead Festival, keeps watch over us. DIY lamps give a warm glow while daylight illuminates through the French doors.

This is the snake room. A rich fallen-leaf brown provides a good earthy backdrop for brightly colored textiles and fifty-one snake-inspired pieces of art. Folk art repeats the color palette across the room and through the house. A heavy antique table from a dry goods store serves as a desk and an extra dining area.