OTMJ OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL u OTMJ.COM
SOCIAL
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2024
SPORTS
HOMES for the HOLIDAYS
More than 100 birds are perched on the naturalthemed Christmas tree in Mark Kennamer and John Paul Bruno’s kitchen. They sit amongst dried hydrangeas, pinecone and mushroom ornaments, and ornate ribbon that deck the tree.
1924 Glamour
Courtesy Samford Legacy League
Interior Designer Mark Kennamer Showcases Historic Forest Park Home in IPC Holiday House Tour By Madoline Markham Koonce
Samford Style
14th Annual Christmas Home Tour to Feature Renos and Rebuilds By Sharon Smith
A
ttracting an average of 11 million viewers each month, HGTV has offered decorating tips, inspiration and ideas for 30 years. Move over, HGTV. On Dec. 12, there’s an even better destination for inspiration and ideas right here in Birmingham – and it’s one that changes lives, too. Wondering what that may be? The answer, of course, is Samford University Legacy League’s annual Christmas Home Tour. Now in its 14th year, this beloved yuletide event is a community favorite. Since its inception, the tour has fea-
See SAMFORD STYLE, page 16
W
See IPC, page 18
Journal photo by Maury Wald
Homes on the tour include Mary Catherine and Scott Laney’s in Mountain Brook.
alking into interior designer Mark Kennamer’s Forest Park Colonial feels like Christmas morning came a little early this year, as it is decked with live greenery, florals and family ornament collections all curated with his eye for design. You can see it for yourself on the 75th anniversary of the IPC Holiday House Tour to be held Dec. 14 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Along with Kennamer’s home, featured homes in this year’s tour are the Dumas Home in Mountain Brook and Henderson Home in Mountain Brook. After running out of decorating projects to do in a two-bedroom condo in Highland Park he’d lived in for 13 years, Kennamer found the 1924 Forest Park white Colonial seven years ago and made it his home. “I’m very symmetrical as far as my aesthetic goes, so it checked all the boxes for me,” Kennamer said. Although the house is 100 years old, Kennamer and his husband of two years, John Paul Bruno, are only the fourth owners to live in it, and they inherited a lush landscaping job from the previous