Birmingham-loving couple find, renovate ‘perfect home’

Jeremy Harper, a co-founder of Birmingham Mountain Radio, and his wife, Mabry, a travel agent, said they love the Magic City.

“Birmingham has so many wonderful things to offer, and we’re proud to call it our home,” Jeremy Harper said.

“One of the things that’s excited us is watching Birmingham go through its revitalization and make so much progress,” Mabry Harper said.

These passions came into play when they went house hunting last year. “Living downtown was our core requirement … and we’re happy to have found the perfect home in the perfect location,” Jeremy Harper said.

That perfect home is in Avondale — a Craftsman-style house built in 1910 with a wide porch, round columns, high ceilings and a grand entrance.

And the Harpers are investing sweat equity, not just money, in the 1,800-square-foot home that they purchased in mid-December. They’re doing most of the massive renovation themselves. Despite the work ahead, they said they are happy with the house and their new neighborhood.

“I come from a family of carpenters and DIY’ers, and Mabry has incredible vision for making the space beautiful and functional, while at the same time preserving the charm and history of the home,” Jeremy Harper said, adding that they’ve gotten a lot of help from family and friends.

“We love the style and size of the home, the charm that it brings and the potential that it has to share with us in the future,” Jeremy Harper said. “We call her our ‘grand dame.’ She's like a Southern grandmother — as delicate as a flower yet steadfast as a battleship.”

“I think when we first walked in, it has a great hallway that makes it so inviting,” Mabry Harper said. “It’s how we both pictured our house to be.”

The couple moved in and started work immediately. They had the roof replaced and the hardwood floors refinished. They gutted and redesigned the kitchen. They updated the trim work to match the home’s original style. And there has been, Jeremy Harper said, “lots of caulking, sanding, and painting.”

After the kitchen is complete, the couple will focus on the exterior, including landscaping, a patio and improvements to the front and back porches.

The couple looked at several neighborhoods, but they said Avondale was perfect for them.

“We can walk pretty much anywhere, and there’s a great appeal in that,” Mabry Harper said, adding that they enjoy being so close to Avondale Park, as well as bars, restaurants and the ZYP bike station.

“The neighborhood is lovely, and the area is continuously improving,” Jeremy Harper said.