THE HOUSE WITH THE PINK DOORS

Birmingham stylist and designer Lindsey Ellis Beatty splashes every inch of her mid-century home with joyful color

- BETSY CRIBB

When Lindsey Ellis Beatty first toured her family's would-be home in Mountain Brook, Alabama, the former magazine editor fell hard-not necessarily for the 1950s house itself but for the details. "I loved the doors and the hardware," she says. The rambling corner lot, complete with a muscadine vine, was equally tempting. "With three boys, my husband, Kevin, and I were like, 'Oh my gosh, that yard is amazing," she recalls. "The lot and location were most appealing, and I thought, 'I can fix the house and make it livable. "

For their young family, that meant converting the attic into a bedroom, turning the existing darkroom into a play area, and flooding every nook and cranny with easygoing upholstery and vibrant color. In the 10 years since, they've continued to reimagine the house to suit their evolving needs.

"That's one thing about us: Nothing stays the same for long" says Beatty. "We're constantly reshuffling, rearranging rooms, and moving people from one spot to another. We're always reworking how we live in this house."

For instance, the darkroom turned playroom is now her office, and their sons' hangout is a rec space in the basement. "As everybody grows, what we need changes," she says. "That's something that was appealing about this house from the start. It's a very flexible layout; there are lots of different ways to use it."

But even as the house bends and flexes, one thing hasn't changed: Beatty's much-loved front doors, which she covered in a chalky Palm Springs-inspired pink (Benjamin Moore's Victoriana, 1263) right after they moved in. "I talk about repainting the doors every other month," she admits. "Kevin always says, 'Leave them alone! They look good; it works with the house. It's your thing!' " Here, Beatty shares her moves for a family home that is beautiful, comfortable, and perfectly personal.