The Glass House: Tour an Interior Designer’s Light-Flooded, Midcentury Modern Home in Birmingham

Interior designer Paula Coldiron says her neighbors call her home "The Glass House" thanks to all the windows. "They know us well now, because they can see what we’re doing," she says. "They know what we have for dinner. They know what we’re watching on TV." But she fell in love with all the natural light in every room, including the living room’s large sliding glass door, and decided to make it her own.

“This area was really dark; it was probably the darkest room in the whole house,” Paula says. But a fresh coat of white paint on the classic brick fireplace and a pop of black-and-white abstract art on the mantel helped to brighten up the space and showcase the outdoor patio from the sliding glass door. Plus, that original parquet flooring looks right at home.

The natural wooden mantelpiece is original to the 1948 home. “I just loved the rough, honed look of the mantel and how it was original to the house,” Paula says. “The guy who lived here before dabbled in woodwork and the mantel is something that he did.”

Paula can't get enough of the natural light in her modern dining room. To keep the natural wood theme going, she paired a lighter toned dining table with darker wooden chairs beneath a reflective copper pendant light.