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Ourhouse Magazine

Hot House

Written By: Tara Coalson

When the children grow up and move away from home, most couples don't build a bigger house, but that's exactly what Bruce and Beverlee Gordon did. In fact, not only is their new home bigger than their last, the Gordons went all out to create one of the most unusual homes in Birmingham.

Their southwestern style house in Greystone Crest is perched on top of a mountain affording the Gordons and their guests an incredible view of the valley below. From their house, the Gordons can see from Medical Center East to the Galleria and the Summit. “My husband represents the people who owned the property" said Beverlee. "He just happened to see the lot and said he would like to build a house here. I had always wanted a house with big bathrooms and big closets, so I agreed. We decided to build this style house because our children attended school in Arizona and California and we had admired a lot of southwestern style buildings during our visits. We've always liked this kind of architecture, plus we didn't know a lot of people building that kind of house here.

The Gordons chose architect John Scholz to design the house after, seeing several of his plans in house magazines. "We wanted keep it low maintenance because we have dogs and cats and we wanted something they couldn't mess up, or if they did, it would be easy for us to clean," said Beverlee. Since they wanted a house that was easy to take care of, Scholz suggested they build much of the house from concrete. Incredibly, the roof that looks like Spanish tile, the tiles inside, the interior and exterior columns and even the mantel are made of concrete. To avoid hav-ing their furniture ruined by their pets, the Gordons ordered extra leather for their leather sofa in morning room. When they have company, they can take the top layer of fabric or leather off the sofas and have a clean layer underneath for guests. Stained and leaded glass windows by Jan Freeman add beauty to the sitting room, bedroom and arched front doorway. The fact that the Gordons are animal lovers is apparent by the many sculptures they have around their house. A fountain featuring three birds of paradise anchors the circular driveway and greets guests as they arrive, while bronze panthers welcome them inside. Beverlee collects Mexican sculptures and has two Phoenix birds in the living room. The showpiece of their animal collection is the huge wooden bear that guards the outside of the home. "Our son bought us this bear at an auction just north of San Francisco;' said Beverlee. "It is carved from a burnt piece of redwood. He decided since we were going to live on top of a mountain, we had to have a guardian bear."

The most unusual feature of the house is its pool. Designed by the architect, the pool's negative edge makes it appear that the water is running off the side of the mountain. It is actually caught by an unseen trough below and recirculated. A rocky waterfall leads from the pool to flower beds above, creating the feel of a mountain stream. A round hot tub adds to the serene feeling projected by the waterfall and the pool.

"We love living here" said Beverlee. "We even have a great view from the laundry room which always makes it easier to fold laundry. It's really an informal kind of house as witnessed by the fact that we have a coke machine, a slot machine and a video game sitting basically in the middle of the living room."

The Gordons mountaintop home seems to have it all; casual living, a view from every angle and a home they enjoy both inside and out.

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