Back from Venice Beach and found a little bit of it in Alabama: Spanish Colonial Revival

What better than a weekend at the beach, I guess probably living there! But since I am not so lucky to live on the beach, I can walk up and down and awe at the houses that are lucky enough to be there.



My favorite house on Venice Avenue, steps from the beach!

My favorite style of house on the beach is the Spanish Colonial Revival Style. For those of you that don't know, this style came about early in the 20th century. I do not think anyone considers it a major architecture or influential movement, but I think it is one of those understated styles that most people enjoy - if you live near a coast. Notable design features are:

• Rectangular, courtyard, or L-plan
• Horizontal massing
• Predominantly one-story
• Interior or exterior courtyards
• Asymmetrical shape with cross-gables and side wings  

The biggest places where this movement took off are the California and Florida coastlines. But in my research for this blog I found a piece of Spanish Colonial Revival architecture right here in Alabama, Mobile to be exact! The George Fearn House was built in 1904 and was the first piece of Spanish Revival architecture to be built in Alabama.



Mobile, Alabama

You might be saying, Tracy, you do interiors, not architecture! You're right! But where an architecture movement starts and interior movement follows! Spanish interior can be as modern and sleek as simple mediterranean colors with arches and dark woods or more fully embraced with Spanish-style textiles, brightly colored tiles, terrcotta flooring, and so on!

So, that is my little tidbit on Spanish Revival for the masses. I enjoyed my time in Florida! I wonder how wierd a Spanish Revival home would look on my dream 60-acre land with horses? Probably ridiculous! The search for the perfect style home continues.....