The Mobleys will soon call the Pink House ‘home’

Homewood residents Clayton and Rachel Mobley have a lot on their plates this year.

Not only are they having their first child together in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. They’ve also just purchased the famous Pink House at 214 Edgewood Blvd., and they plan to restore the house and grow their family there.

The Pink House has had a wild ride over the past few years. The house was built in the 1920s by Georges and Eleanor Bridges and was known for its pink stucco exterior and its “secret garden.” In 2018, a developer who owned the property presented plans to the Homewood Planning Commission to tear down the house and subdivide the property into six lots. An effort arose in the community to save the Homewood Pink House. After more than a year of the community raising money and spreading awareness about the property, the house was sold to a private buyer, Holley Ellis, and her family in the fall of 2019.

The Mobleys live in Edgewood near the Pink House. When the pandemic hit, they began taking morning walks on different routes around their neighborhood.

“We started looking forward to walking by the Pink House and seeing that beautiful building,” Rachel said.

The property wasn’t for sale, but Rachel laughed and said they were “busybody neighbors.” They decided to email the Ellises, and the Mobleys asked if they could hear some stories about the property or maybe take a peek of the Pink House.

“They were very kind and so excited to share all of the stories,” Rachel said of the Ellises. “Anyone who falls in love with the Pink House falls in love with the stories, and we got to hear all kinds of things.”

From these early stages of friendship, Clayton had already begun thinking about making an offer on the house. He didn’t think there was much of a chance, he said, laughing, and he didn’t have high hopes. But to the Mobley’s delight, the Ellises were willing to sell.

The weekend they visited the Pink House after making an offer — which was also Mother’s Day Weekend — Rachel found out she was pregnant. In January, Rachel is expected to give birth to the Mobleys’ first-born daughter.

“When I told Clayton I was pregnant, that’s when our attachment to the Pink House became a lot more exciting,” Rachel said. “We envision like, this could be where we raise our daughter. This could be where we have Easter egg hunts and trick-or-treaters.”

Although they had to dial it back this past year because of the pandemic, the Mobleys typically go all out for the holidays, Clayton said. He said he hopes to bring this same spirit to the Pink House.

“We’re really excited about lighting up the Pink House,” he said. “We obviously want a certain amount of privacy, but we do believe that the historic character of this house adds to the character of the neighborhood, and we want to open that up as much as possible. Especially around Halloween and Christmas — we’d love to make a path for people to walk and maybe do some apple cider. We want to allow the neighborhood to participate in what is a really unique and historic property.”

The Mobleys plan to bring the Pink Houseback to its “historic glory,” Clayton said, and they are currently working on plans for the property while still living in their Edgewood home. They will do their best to keep the historic integrity intact during the restoration process, he said.

The process will be a balance though. Clayton said they plan to live on the property for the rest of their lives and raise their children there. They will have to balance what they personally want in a house with what historical qualities they need to preserve, he said.

Many of the building materials in the Pink House are not only unique and old, but they’re also fragile, Rachel said. She said they will work with builders and architects who are sensitive to completing a historic preservation.

If anyone is fit to lead this project, though, it’s the Mobleys. Clayton is cofounder and CEO at a real estate investment company called Green Rock, and he said this has given him experience in historic preservation.

“We feel equipped to mix the practical with the history,” he said. “Right now the state of the Pink House is rough, and there are parts of it that are in danger of falling in. So it will be intricate to keep as much of the structure and support as we can and keep that historic quality to the house.”

Although they’re qualified to restore the historic qualities of the Pink House, they’ll have to hire professional help to tend to the property’s immaculate gardens.

“During COVID, I have killed so many plants — it’s unreal,” Rachel said.

“We love outdoor spaces,” Clayton said. “But neither one of us is very talented at that. We’ll hire some help for that.”

The house won’t be ready to move in before Baby Mobley is due to be born. Rachel wanted to do it right, she said.

“We want to make choices that, number one, won’t drive me into an early delivery date because of stress,” she said, laughing. “But also, we need to do this project right and do justice to doing all the research and looking at old photographs.

“It’s going to be meaningful. This is going to be our home.”