s a designer and builder for 40 years and counting, Ronnie Wilner
knows a thing or two about the spaces that can make a home spe-
cial. So when it came time for the owner of Moonlight Homes in
irmingham to create his own Birmingham residence, a Mission-style
structure tucked next to a 12-acre nature preserve, Wilner and his wife, Dr.
Nancy Fishman, wanted to incorporate as much of their inspirational view inside
their home as they could. The result: Three screen porches, each serving a unique
and functional purpose, were flowed into the plan.
The smallest of the screen porches, set off near the dining room, provides
warm breezes during summer meals and is a convenient spot to store wood for
the fireplace during winter months. Off of the master bedroom, which overlooks
the nature preserve, a middle-sized porch offers a private sanctuary to enjoy the
great outdoors.
The largest of the three porches is located directly outside the kitchen — with
AB
a view of the couple's garden and Koi pond — and so is designated for enter-
taining. "The porch connects the kitchen to the outdoor dining area," explains
Fishman, a Birmingham psychologist. Stucco walls, limestone floors and a bead-
board ceiling provide an organic shell for all-weather wicker furniture topped
with leaf-patterned cushions, which offers plenty of seating while maintaining
the open and airy feel of the natural environment. The space is personalized with
a pretty mix of accessories, mostly rescued from the couple's former homes, says
Fishman. China from a cottage Up North and artwork from a vacation home in
St. Maarten share space with a series of antique ducks displayed along the wall,
while hanging plants blur the distinction between indoors and out.
Wilner, 60, and Fishman, 57, have hosted everything in this space from their
turn at the neighborhood roving dinner party to too many barbecues to count,
including for their three grown children and two grandchildren. One of the rea-
sons Wilner wanted the porches to be screened, he says, was to avoid the bugs
Top: All of the plantings in the Koi pond were designed and planted by Wilner; rocks were selected, positioned and hand dug by Splashy Designs in Novi, which also installed the
waterfalls. Shades of purple and green pervade the garden, which includes vibrant annuals encircled by stones. Above: Hanging ferns are suspended from the walls of the largest
of the screen porches. A tea cart (and baker's rack, not shown) store glassware and china used for entertaining, while a large rug helps to define the porch's seating area.
22 • JULY 2007 • platilthIn