Open House #6: Rockledge Estate
One thing I’ve learned from spending so much time looking at homes in the Birmingham area is that they are building a lot of new ones with all of the character and charm of older homes. There were several that I thought were older homes at first. This one, for example, which is on Rockledge Road in the exclusive Mountain Brook neighborhood, was “recently constructed” per the MLS, even though it looks like it’s been there forever.
According to the MLS, it’s on the market for $2.75 million and sits on 1 acre. It has bluestone porches, a mahogany front door, 10′ ceilings, wrought-iron handrails, copper gutters, travertine floors in the kitchen, and a slate roof.
Let’s start the tour!
What do you think? Do you like it or not? We’ll be looking at our final houses tomorrow and taking a vote on which of these homes you would most like to buy. Will this make your short list?
UPDATE: Hooked on Houses reader DaK has done it again and found an aerial view of this home, too, for us to look at (if you missed the aerial view of Homewood Manor, go check it out–the lot it’s on is far from ideal when you see it from the air!). You can see how big these places are from this angle, that’s for sure. Rockledge is the one toward the back in the center of the photo:
Did You Miss Any Other Open Houses this Week? Go Catch Up!
- Open House #1: French Chateau in Birmingham
- Open House #2: Shook Hill Mansion
- Open House #3: Sleek Greek Contemporary
- Open House #4: Southern Traditional
- Open House #5: Homewood Manor (the mystery of what “Vulcan” is has been solved and I just updated the Homewood Manor post with photos of it!)
If You’re Hooked on House Tours:
- Fantasy Open House Series One in Hyde Park, Ohio: Paxton Avenue
- Fantasy Open House in Hyde Park: Rookwood Drive
- Fantasy Open House in Hyde Park: Edwards Road
- Fantasy Open House in Hyde Park: Observatory Drive
- HGTV Green Home ‘08
- Designed to Sell? The Purple Angel House
- The Spite House in Virginia (only 7 feet wide!)
- Cobble Court, a French-Norman Estate in Ohio
- Stokesay Court, the manor used in the Keira Knightley film “Atonement”
- Coco Chanel’s elegant Parisian apartment at 31 Rue Cambon
- 1908 Gaslight Mansion in St. Louis
May 8th, 2008 at 10:54 am
Okay. So this is my FAVORITE house so far this week! Second fave is the previous house. I have always loved stone houses and I would deffinately fork over the money for this one. The interior is beautiful and there aren’t any oddities that I could see. I would love to live there.
May 8th, 2008 at 11:25 am
Again I’m not sure about the decorating but I do like the bones of this house. The location is much better than house #5. It appears to overlook a country club.
May 8th, 2008 at 11:27 am
NIce House! Again with the deocorating…ugh those drapes in the Dining Room and all that money for a house and they have the cheapest grill on earth on the patio..that grill is insulting the house…LOL. It’s nice..but not my style so… no to buying it.
May 8th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
I like the bones of this house. The fact that is stone is a huge plus. I also like their use of arches throughout — doorways, the built-ins, etc, someone really took some time on this. BUT…could they get anymore chandeliers under one roof? I count 6 and we haven’t even seen the whole house!
May 8th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
It’s kind of dark and castlie at first–if that makes
since. Now the kitchen is absolutely gorgeous,
and the living room is really neat structurally. I
really like the oddness yet warmth of this house,
but I can’t decide if I’d buy it.
May 8th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
Beautiful home. I say home because it has a family feeling to it. If I can’t picture a family in a house, it won’t do a thing for me. I love the solitude of it. Hey, I live in Alaska! We love our independence and privacy.
Lynn
John 15
May 8th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
Seems like alot of roof to me.
May 8th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
Love the arched bookcase and entertainment center ( I assume) in the family room. All in all this is the best so far. Bring on tomorrows entries, so I can call the movers.
May 8th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
This house is beautiful although I’ve never been a fan of stone houses. The decor is a bit stuffy for me but the bones of the house are fantastic.
And for anyone that’s interested, I lived in B’ham for a while and my parents still live there and this is one of the best areas to live in.
May 8th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
I am not a big fan of stone, either. But I do like the layout and the rooms. The decorating style reminds of something you used to see on Dallas - like J.R.’s house.
May 8th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
I don’t like it. I think the exterior is puny to other houses we have seen. The entrance inside the house is pitiful. The kitchen is nice, but I’ve seen kitchens just as nice in the 500k range in NC. Not for me.
May 8th, 2008 at 7:52 pm
Pretty and real personality in the decorating. Not my personal style but I would sure like to have a friend with a home like that so I could invite myself over for some coffee and scones.
May 8th, 2008 at 9:37 pm
Happy Mother’s day Julia
Kathy
May 9th, 2008 at 5:50 pm
This one is NICE!. I hate their furnishings and drapes and just about everything they put into the house. I think my stuff would go much better. Love the structures, door ways and wood accents. It DOES look like an older home!
May 9th, 2008 at 6:35 pm
After looking at all the homes, I would have to say, this is the one I believe I could live quite comfortably in. Of course, it needs a little redo decor wise, then it would “fit” a tad better. When I saw this one, I was drawn in immediately without looking inside.
Have a wonderful weekend, Julia!
Pat
June 24th, 2008 at 9:24 am
This is the best house so far. I love everything about it except the furniture in the Master. It should go under “scary decorating” and be burned. Oh and I would put a different railing on the stairway. I would sleep on it and maybe buy it.