New Build, Old Soul

This circa 2021 home in Birmingham, Alabama, could pass for a historic landmark

- Christina Pérez

MOST OLD HOMES HAVE SECRETS. This one’s no different. In the living room, there’s a door disguised as a bookshelf. In the dining room, hidden cabinets are tucked into the walls. And in the kitchen, what looks like a glass-fronted hutch is really a modern refrigerator. But the house’s biggest secret? It’s not old at all. Completed just two years ago, the English-inspired home outside Birmingham, Alabama, is an entirely new build. It just seems like it’s been in the family for generations. “We wanted a place that felt aged and well-worn, with a soul and a history,” interior designer Fran Keenan says.