Past Forward: Reviving an Old Southern House with Collections, Antiques, and Passion

Author Barbara Adkins, Foreword by Bobby McAlpine, with Susan Sully, Photographs by Hector Sanchez

When Adkins inherited her family’s nineteenth-century Greek Revival Alabama farmhouse—lived in by five generations of her family and listed on the National Register of Historic Places—it became the canvas for her singular eye. A gifted collector and beloved figure in the design industry for her antiques store, Black Sheep, Adkins revitalized the house, gardens, and grounds over the ensuing decades, leaning on her deep appreciation for thoughtful historic preservation and Southern decor.

Every room reflects Adkins’s instinct for artful interiors: heart pine floors underfoot, patinated finishes on storied antiques, flower arrangements foraged from the grounds, and everyday objects curated with connoisseurship. Layered vignettes, rustic textiles, and heirloom pieces elevated to the status of art create interiors that feel both collected and deeply personal. A powerful sense of place pervades the surrounding landscape as well, where seasonal color, historic plantings, thoughtful outdoor rooms, and a new summer house enrich the property’s character.

Hardcover / 8-1/2 x 11 inches / 240 pages