The Southern Living 2016 Idea House in the town of Mt. Laurel located in Birmingham, Alabama debuts this weekend. It is the 27th year that the magazine has created a home built to inspire consumers.
This year to celebrate Southern Living's 50th anniversary, the magazine enlisted five interior designers to work on the home including Atlanta designer, Margaret Kirkland.
Kirkland designed a dining room inspired by an image from the March 1989 issue of Southern Living.
"We were looking for young designers with a classic aesthetic that were fresher and were representative of all over the south. Margaret is so good with color that when she uses antiques it really modernizes them and makes them feel young and fun," said Zoe Gowen, senior editor of Southern Living.
Other featured designers include Mark D. Sikes, Lauren Liess, Amy Berry and Ashley Gilbreath.
Kirkland is good at everything, said Gowen, but her dining rooms are really fantastic. "We knew we wanted to give her that space," she said.
In her interpretation of the 1980s era dining space, Kirkland mixed modern art and antiques for a fresh take on a classic style.
"It was a mix of high low with color and pattern that she is good at," Gowan said.
The August issue is available July 15 and the Idea House will be open for viewing until December.
"We want readers to take away that classic style never has to be boring or fussy and that you don’t have to be super trendy. Even with five designers in the house who all have a different aesthetic, there is a common Southern sensibility of color, pattern and a very livable aspect to that," Gowen said.
Here is a gallery of the 2016 Idea House:
Tickets for the 2016 Idea House are available for purchase at the door: 10 Nolen Street, Birmingham, AL -- Wednesday - Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 12 - 4 p.m. on Sunday. A portion of the ticket sales will go towards Children’s of Alabama and the Library at Mt. Laurel.
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