Demonstration
Custom home · Mountain Brook
A project book for the household and the design team.
House with a View is a published Blackstone residence in Mountain Brook: a transitional custom home of a little more than five thousand square feet, completed in 2023. This book demonstrates the private space a household and a design team would share — decisions, field notes, photographs, and finishes. The Hale household and Mara Ellison are fictional. They are not the owners, architect, or designer of this house. Choices stay in this browser and are not saved.
3 questions are open.
The Hale household
Sample client
Fictional household
Mara Ellison
Sample architect
Ellison Studio · fictional
Jeff Brown
Senior Vice President, Residential
Blackstone
Jeffrey Brown
Project Manager
Blackstone
Jake Cole
Superintendent
Blackstone
On the work
Questions asked the way they would be asked on site. A reply can be revised, and the earlier words stay in the thread. The Hale household and Mara Ellison are a sample. Nothing is saved.
Average to close is 7 days.
Opened 12 August 2026
7 days, from 12 August 2026 to 19 August 2026. Closed in this sample.
Ask · 12 August 2026
Jake Cole · Superintendent
The limestone for the pool is on site, and it matches the house. Can we set the coping?
Reply · 19 August 2026
The Hale household · Sample clientSample
Yes. Set the cream limestone.
Opened 18 September 2026
The ball is with the architect.
Ask · 18 September 2026
Jeffrey Brown · Project Manager
The mantel in the shop reads a little yellow. Do you want it left natural, or softened?
Reply · 22 September 2026
The Hale household · Sample clientSample
Leave it natural.
Revision · 24 September 2026
The Hale household · Sample clientSample
Follows the reply from 22 September 2026. That reply stays above.
We looked again in the afternoon. A light whitewash, not paint.
Opened 28 September 2026
The ball is with the household.
Ask · 28 September 2026
Mara Ellison · Sample architectSample
The chandelier is hung over the table. It can come up an inch or two if it feels crowded. What do you think?
Opened 2 October 2026
The ball is with Blackstone.
Ask · 2 October 2026
The Hale household · Sample clientSample
Standing under the porch, the ceiling feels tall. Can it drop before the boards go on?
From the field
Sample notes, written in the voice of the team. They are not a record of a private job.
Sample note
Jeff Brown · Senior Vice President, Residential
The covered porch is framed, and the columns are standing.
Sample note
Jake Cole · Superintendent
The pool terrace is cut, and the limestone is on site under canvas.
Sample note
Jeffrey Brown · Project Manager
Drywall is finishing in the great room. The oak for the mantel is milled.
Sample note
Mara Ellison · Sample architect
Proposing a wool runner the color of the plaster, with no pattern.
The house, as published
Open any frame. The set stays in order.
Finishes, fixtures, stone, hardware
Choose in the browser. The plates are studies, not a catalog, set beside the house as it was photographed.
This visit: no finish chosen.
Pool terrace
Great room millwork
Dining and stair
Throughout the house