Saunders Bradford

What is a proud mother to do? Especially when it's just the day after Mother's Day?

 Well…I thought I just might share a beautiful project that Birmingham Home and Garden magazine has featured this month! Yes, my angel baby…my son…is the 'Bradford' in Saunders Bradford. Mitch and his business parter David have been building this company for at least 10 years! 

I remember when they used to just dream about it! Now…it is definitely a reality!

This feature in Birmingham Home and Garden is the perfect example of why clients love to work with Mitch and David. Cathy Still McGowin and Jean Allsopp captured every detail perfectly! Cathy is such a gifted writer and editor and Jean is truly an icon in Birmingham with her gorgeous photos! Not a magazine article happens without her expertise in the photos! I'm so glad they both captured this so well!

The homeowner in this project definitely had been keeping great notes on what she wanted! 

That certainly helps the builder when trying to incorporate every aspect that the homeowner desires. 

It also is very helpful in creating dreams that come true!

As you can see from these beautiful pictures she obviously likes to mix the old with the knew! 

Send her my way! That is exactly what I want the name of Mulberry Heights Antiques to evoke in the minds of the people that are working on their dream homes.

What a treat for a mother to see her son's name mentioned in making this dream kitchen happen! I have to admit…I have collected pictures of Pamela Pierce's designs as well so I recognized it from the get go! In fact, you can see an earlier blog post on her right HERE!

But to see that your son truly had such a hand in making this possible…well…this time I just couldn't help but be a proud mama! 

I will stop here for fear of embarrassing him!

But really…check it our for yourself! This is amazing work…my son or not!

 He is amazing…his company is amazing and Saunders Bradford is headed for great things!

They recently were awarded 2nd place in the state for the Space Renovation category for the Alabama Remodeling Excellence Awards 2014! Again….a proud mama here! What can I say?

 I wouldn't choose anyone but Saunders Bradford for my next remodeling job or a total re-build! 

If only I could start tomorrow!

Hope you are all doing well! I sure do miss blogging as much as I used to and I would love to catch up with you! I hope you all had a very special Mother's Day in one way or another! You can click on any of the links I suggested above and spend many hours pouring over glorious homes and photos! Enjoy!

Courtyard Gardens

Boy was I surprised and delighted when I saw Judy Carn's Facebook status yesterday! I could hardly wait for my copy of Traditional Home Magazine to arrive in the mail!

Judy and Jim Carns have been friends of my families as well as my husband's family for as long as I can remember. I remember when they moved from their family home of many years to this beautiful "garden home" which is right down the road from me. I pass by there daily and I've always heard how incredible Judy's garden is!

And boy is it ever! I would truly be in heaven with a courtyard like this! It looks so serene and peaceful as well as being perfectly beautiful and manicured.

I love that it appears to have been this way for forever when in reality it hasn't!

I love the attention to color and detail...

Even down to this set of keys hanging from a gate! How fun!

What a fun place this would be to entertain guests as I am sure they do! 

Again, the attention to detail and purpose is amazing! And Cathy Still McGowin you did an amazing job writing this article and Jean Allsopp ….as always your photography is unreal!

I would love to have a small pond and/or fountain one day. I know they are so peaceful and tranquil... that sounds really nice right now! 

In fact, being that it's been such a cold January for everyone absolutely any part of this sunny, warm and inviting garden sounds wonderful right now!

Being surrounded by this lushness would most definitely help sweep away the winter blues! 

For me at least!

I know these pictures were taken last spring but what I wouldn't give if my back patio and yard even looked alive right now! Let alone so vibrant, healthy, beautiful, etc….

Isn't it perfectly gorgeous? Wouldn't you love to be lounging on this loggia at this very moment?

Next time I pass by Judy's neighborhood I think I might just have to "drop by" and see this for myself! It was great to see it in print though and I know she is super excited about it being published in such a great magazine! As she should be!

Judy has definitely created a wonderful place for her and Jim to enjoy their empty nest stage. Not only is this home in a superb location and not only is it perfectly beautiful….it is a sanctuary of sorts…a place they can retreat to if they want or a place to enjoy entertaining with such a beautiful backdrop! Maybe one day MY Jim and I can find something similar! Sounds pretty darn nice if you ask me!

Hope everyone enjoys a wonderful weekend and that you can pick up this great edition of Traditional Home. We actually have a another friend who's kitchen remodel is in this issue as well! 

Take care!

A Little "Mother's Day Happy"!

Yes, this is one of Birmingham's best magazines…as well as one of the most respected…those two don't always go hand in hand…they definitely do in this case! I couldn't be more proud to have my son and his construction company in two of their featured articles this month! So, since it's almost Mother's Day weekend I thought it only fitting to share it with you!

There are so many different things that I'm proud of about all three of my children but when one of them is in "print" I will always stop and take notice! And rightfully so! 

Mitch Bradford, you've made me proud since 5:46 p.m. February 12th, 1984.

He never even told me about this! I hear about his talent and I hear my friends and his customers that I meet sing his praises! They always talk about Mitch and David and their incredible company and tell me what a fabulous job they do! They love their work and they really love their work ethic! That almost means more to me than their actual "creations"!

( seriously, do you see his name in print there?)

Ok, Cathy…I am confessing here…I didn't know what you were talking about when I first ran into you at Publix a few months ago! I pretended like I did! I remember feeling stupid and that I hoped you didn't notice! I hope I pulled it off! I had no idea that Mitch and David would be featured in such a wonderful way! Thank you for allowing them to do that! I know they earned it….but thank you!

What a fun project to work on! And what fabulous experience to gain from this architect, Cherri Pitts.

I must confess as his mother that sometimes I am awestruck! I'm often awestruck at just his wonderful ability as a husband and as a father…but then I'm seriously awestruck at the work he was always designed to do…the work that he succeeds at…his creativity….his craftmanship that is a gift that was given to him from day one.

Oh, and I certainly loved this second feature! It truly screams Saunders Bradford! I love it! One day…I promise you we will use them to totally redo our entire home! I so don't want to leave this neighborhood or our lot…and I know Mitch and David are the perfect ones to help make our dreams come true! You should have seen my pantry they just did when all of my shelves collapsed! What an angel to come to my rescue!

This is Mitch's work at it's finest and I can tell just from reading these articles that his heart and soul were in every part of it! I love the fact that whatever Mitch does it is done with integrity. And one thing the clients probably don't ever think about when they first hire him is this…he will only do a job to the best of his ability! He will put his heart and soul into every aspect of it. Otherwise, he wouldn't feel right about it and he wouldn't be happy about it. And more than anything, Mitch wants to be pleased and happy about what he does and he expects his work to reflect that. And even more than that, he wants the customer to be pleased. Wow…isn't that refreshing?

So yes, this is a very biased blog post! But, it's Mother's Day…

( almost!) And Saunders Bradford is amazing! I'm more than proud to not only be Mitch's mom…but also a good friend to David Saunders! This has always been their dream….they seriously have been doing this for as long as I can remember!

Thanks for taking the time to look at these great articles in Birmingham Home and Garden Magazine. 

Thank you to the editor, Cathy Still McGowin and her expertise at picking out just the right builders, designers, architects, you name it…to make Birmingham Home and Garden the magazine we've all come to know and love! I wouldn't expect any less from it!

I hope you will all pick up a copy of this wonderful magazine if you get a chance to!

(Please disregard that in one of the source sections he is referred to as Mike…his name is Mitch!)