When Kevin and Leigh Misso began designing their new home in Homewood, Alabama, a suburb of Birmingham, they weren't afraid to create exactly the type of structure they liked best.
“We designed the house after a 19th-century French castle,” said Ms. Misso, 38. “We love traveling around Europe and buying antiques,” she said, especially when we wander around France.
It doesn't matter that the house is on a street lined with densely packed 20th-century houses, from houses with neoclassical columns to low-rise bungalows.
The area's architectural clutter seemed to give the couple the freedom to play. “There are English Tudor houses and some houses with Spanish influence,” Ms. Misso said. “We thought it would be interesting to incorporate some French architecture into our street.”
The couple was well positioned to build anything they wanted. Together they own River Brook, a design and construction company that takes the first sketch and builds a move-in-ready home. Ms. Misso is the lead designer and Mr. Misso is the construction manager.
The Missos previously lived one street away from their current location. But as they had more children – now there are three, ages 3 to 7 – and their children grew, they started to think it would be nice to have a bigger house and a bigger garden.
“It was about the kids just being able to run and play and having a yard big enough where all the kids in the neighborhood could come over and play flag football,” Mr. Misso, 42, said.
In 2023, a huge tree fell on the house behind her former home, causing severe damage by collapsing the roof and damaging a foundation wall. Aware that their octogenarian neighbors were already considering moving, the Missos entered into a purchase agreement for the property and planned to demolish and replace the building. They closed in March for $450,000 and got to work.
When she designed the new house, Ms. Misso said, “I wanted it to feel like it had been there for 200 years.” The resulting two-story, 6,500-square-foot home features polished mortar and limestone blocks framing the windows, doors and exterior corners. At the front of the house is an outdoor space within an arcade of arched openings.
Ms. Misso wanted a place where she could watch her children play, but an ordinary wood-framed porch would not fit the character of the house. “Verandas can really feel like a farmhouse,” she said. The masonry provided the strength and grandeur she desired.
On the other side of the house, she added a tower that contains a sitting area for the master suite on the main floor and a play area for the children above. Inside, the conical ceiling is painted with red and white stripes.
“We painted the ceiling of the tower to look like a circus tent,” Ms. Misso said.
In fact, in the interiors, she deliberately mixed fine antiques, many of which the couple bought at Paris flea markets, with contemporary furniture, lighting and art, and added a few whimsical touches.
Although the exterior was inspired by French castles, she wanted the interior to feel more like a modern Parisian apartment, she said: “When you come in, you see all these trimmings, casings and classic architectural details, but then you see this juxtaposition with modern art and modern furniture.”
In the foyer, a modern draped yarn chandelier by Mexican firm CoLores Decor hangs above a 19th-century Italian bust on a fluted base. In the living room, an 18th-century tapestry restored by an artisan in Paris adorns a traditional paneled wall above a massive new pink marble coffee table from Four Hands. In the kitchen, reclaimed 150-year-old wood beams, an antique mirror, and a crystal chandelier add a sense of age, but a bright blue freeform wall sculpture by Montana Moore adds a contemporary touch.
The attached, screened veranda also appears playful and rich in contrast. Outfitted with black-and-white striped curtains, the porch's wooden ceiling and valance are painted with matching stripes, making it appear as if the room has been entirely draped in fabric.
When the house was ready for the family to move into in April, it cost about $4 million to build. Now the Missos have a house they love, where the kids can play inside or outside, and where the parents constantly come across reminders of the places they've visited and the artists and antique dealers they've met along the way.
“I was sitting in the living room the other day just looking at this tapestry and thinking about all the rooms that thing was in and what it probably saw,” Ms. Misso said.
“We look around and love seeing things that have a story and a story behind them,” she added. “We’re just so grateful that we get to call this our home.”