Some homes loom large in the memory, first capturing us during childhood, then retaining a sense of mystery and magnetism into our adult years. But few folks get to own the house they dreamed of in their youth. One lucky Mobile, Alabama, couple encountered just such good fortune in 2004, when they purchased a 1929 Tudor revival home originally designed by acclaimed local architect John Platt Roberts. Growing up, Kasey and Jay Stubbs both thought fondly of the Spring Hill abode’s ivy-covered façade, sheltered in the arms of live oaks. Jay recalls riding past the residence on the way to school as a child, always thinking it was unique for the street. Kasey’s grandparents once lived right next door. “I’ve loved this house forever,” she notes. “The camellias my grandmother planted still flourish there to this day.”
The couple initially called on friend and designer Katie Kirby to make a few updates to suit their family. But the couple waited more than a decade—after the arrival of their fourth child—to dive in to major upgrades (requesting Kirby return once again for the more ambitious overhaul).
Goals included improving daily usability while protecting their characterful home’s original integrity. And architect Robert V. McCown became a visionary partner in that journey. “I’ve always admired this house from afar,” echoes McCown, whose faithful take on the renovation lifted inspiration from old English country style while introducing modern amenities. “We wanted to nod to the history of the house—but still make it fresh.”
This time around, Kirby aimed to conjure something “moody, earthy and comfortable, yet dynamic” for her clients. The family appreciated the structure’s traditional divided layout, but they also craved more fluid circulation to fit the bustling pace of their daily lives. McCown responded with practical revisions that incorporated a dedicated powder room and added a small extension to the twin daughters’ bedrooms along with an en suite bathroom. Still, the transformed kitchen is where the architect’s updates are most prominent.
Capturing square footage from a small breakfast nook previously adjacent to the cooking area, McCown created breathing room for more cohesive cabinetry and a new streamlined pantry. Now, he notes, the cook space serves as a hub within the home, eliminating any bottlenecks. Moreover, introducing twin arches along the perimeter smoothed the transition between the kitchen and a new multipurpose space that supports both living and casual dining.
General contractor Cay Rogers’ team then painstakingly cut through thick masonry walls to insert a window above the cooktop, highlighting the verdant views while allowing sunlight to pour into the room. “Having natural light shine on those darker finishes really brings them to life,” McCown shares. To add decorative flourishes, the architect composed another Tudor-inspired arch detail to frame this new opening—a motif he repeated on doorways throughout the home, cementing its sense of continuity.
Kirby and McCown leveraged their mutual love of wood for the living room, retaining the dramatic barrel-vaulted ceiling but updating its existing plaster walls with white oak paneling—a material that continues to the family room’s reeded built-ins. True to Tudor discipline, that moody warmth extends to the home’s restained floors, dark kitchen cabinetry and tongue-and-groove paneling that “brings in the color of tree bark,” Kirby notes. “It just wraps you like a cocoon.”
The designer’s approach is marked by a light-and-dark dichotomy as well as a deft mix of old and new. “I like to incorporate pieces that have history, and these clients own a few that melded beautifully with modern lines,” she shares. Their family heirlooms include a charming Welsh case piece, a romantic four-poster bed and a formal dining set inherited from Jay’s mother. And although the silhouettes and dark wood tones of each could lean traditional, in Kirby’s hands, they became crisp, fresh accents. Further animating her scheme are contemporary artworks commissioned of Southern artists, including local painters Kelley Ogburn and Brent Smith.
Outdoors, the past and present grow alongside each other. Landscape designer Greg Blakeney worked in tandem with the owners to incorporate new plantings while preserving their property’s vintage foliage. With a balance of nostalgic and modern elements, the abode now feels fully composed for the Stubbs family, who entertain often. “We love to host at our house, so we wanted a place that felt comfortable, warm and inviting,” Jay notes. Theirs is a home that has already hosted generations, and because of a dedicated design team, it gets to enchant yet another.
