I know a place

June 26th 2012 Comments: 2

Sometimes when I am lost I fall into a kind of trance as if sleepwalking find myself unconsciously falling toward a place known by few though by some Its architecture began long before I get there, for it transcends the physical. Though I go alone, I always carry someone with … [read more]

McAlpine Journal: Blount Park

court/house wedding

June 19th 2012 Comments: 3

In residential design, much emphasis is given to the entrance sequence, mainly the door and the foyer just for this reason. It’s the designer’s opportunity to play an overture to introduce the play within. In most instances, however, the visitor’s welcome to the home is not arrival by foot at … [read more]

Wall to Enthrall

June 12th 2012 Comments: 8

“If you see a wall that needs something on it, let me know.” Those were the parting words of our friend and host last fall as Mark Montoya and I left the villa he and his sister have on the Amalfi coast of Italy. And, so began one of the … [read more]

enchanted garden

June 5th 2012 Comments: 17

When the collaboration is at its best, your host offers himself up and, in the end, teaches you more.  Such was the case of this client and his Lake Martin, Alabama home.   He came prepared for our first meeting with scores of sketches and even more ideas.  With this … [read more]

McAlpine Journal: Gardens

ascending order

May 29th 2012 Comments: 4

On the contrary, stairs can be fluid, poetic gestures in the architectural landscape, waiting patiently to whisk you away. The act of ascending (or descending) stairs is really a vertical crossroads in the journey. Traversing to another viewpoint; a new perspective is added to the walk. Crawl atop to the … [read more]

McAlpine Journal: Giles Home

on finding home

May 22nd 2012 Comments: 5

I rest along the way in this beautifully set camp of my making But it is only a marker of what I know now it is not meant to hold For I love to fall through water in the moments when rush parts And brushes back to touch and accept … [read more]

McAlpine Journal: Fireplace

giveaway

May 15th 2012 Comments: 72

Thanks for being so interested in our ramblings, musings and images. To show gratitude to our readers, we’d like to welcome spring with our first giveaway. Everybody loves beautiful weather, budding life and free stuff. The prize is our little book, “Finding Home” (uncoincidentally the name of this blog ). … [read more]

McAlpine Journal: Finding Home

changing hands

May 8th 2012 Comments: 3

This is not the rule; it’s actually a rare exception. Over the past 30 years we’ve had hundreds of our houses trade hands and it’s always interesting to watch into whose hands they fall. In the early 1990s, we designed a large, contemporary home for a couple on a difficult … [read more]

McAlpine Journal: Press

redefining dining

May 1st 2012 Comments: 5

The dining room. It’s the space we were traditionally made to sit up straight and behave for a few excrutiating hours during holiday dinners.  It’s also the room we couldn’t wait to leave.  I think it’s because we seldom go in there; it’s simply not on our daily radar. Sometimes … [read more]

McAlpine Journal: Gwinn Home

(Our) Houses of Veranda

April 24th 2012 Comments: 3

It’s a spectacular folio spotlighting homes from Veranda’s 25 year history in the publishing world. We are honored and humbled to have three of our homes included in this book. Two are located in Nashville, Tennessee and the third one is a second home in Rosemary Beach, Florida. We’d like … [read more]

McAlpine Journal: Design Details
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