Mary Nelle Clem considers the living room in her cottage on East Washington Street as the center piece of her eclectically furnished home. The 1915 cottage was featured in the most recent issue of Cottage Journal magazine.

Walking into Mary Nelle Clem’s 1915 cottage is a bit like stepping into a storybook, where every swath of fabric, piece of furniture and antique collection tells its own, unique tale.

Located on East Washington Street between the courthouse square and the Old City Cemetery, Clem bought the three-bedroom, one-bath brick cottage about four years ago. She fell in love with its charm and saw it as an open canvas that she could use to showcase fabrics from her daughter Mary Catherine Folmar’s store, Cotton & Quill.

Stepping onto the open air porch, visitors are greeted by an old-fashioned porch swing and a mix of glass, flowing plants, statuary and wicker furniture pieces. At the far end of the porch sits a retro high-back wicker chair accompanied by matching ottoman, each covered in Cotton & Quill patterned cushions. On the chair rests a well-worn Bible and wire-bound notebook.

“This is my favorite place in the whole house,” Clem said. “I come out here every morning to have my Bible study time.”

Surrounded by palladium blue walls, the airy living room is the centerpiece of the home, according to Clem, who designed the space around the Cotton & Quill fabric she chose for the camelback sofa and window treatments. A purple cowhide rug on the floor mixes with an Asian lacquer cabinet against the wall and the 1960s-era plastic and leather rolling chairs positioned next to an antique marble-topped side table.

“I’m more of an eclectic decorator,” she said. “I’ve mixed different eras and pieces to bring this room to life. Not everything has to be exact. That’s the fun of it.”

Just off of the living room sits the guest bedroom where Clem played off the koi-patterned Cotton & Quill window treatment and four-poster antique bed to create an inviting, serene space. In the corner sits an antique double stroller with a story to tell.

The stroller, which looks like a couple of wooden fruit crates fastened to the bottom of a grocery cart, belonged to Clem and her sister, Susan, who passed away when she was just 7 months old. Clem’s mom, Shirley Wood, had borrowed the stroller from friends and returned it to them when she was done with it.

She came across the stroller a couple of weeks ago at the friends’ family estate sale in Athens.

“I couldn’t believe it, I called my mom and asked her if she saw the stroller if she would recognize it and she did,” Clem said. “I can remember it from when I was little. I had to have that stroller.”

She said having it at home near her feels like bringing it full circle.

Elsewhere in the home, a dining room has been filled with several antique collections, including a Delft bread and butter plate and a set of chairs featuring intricate needlepoint designs. It serves as perhaps the most traditional space in the house, even with a collection of vintage plates, platters and lids hung in a wave-like pattern over the door frame.

Collecting pieces from her favorite haunts in Huntsville, Athens, Fairhope and Gulf Shores, each room of the cottage contains a blend of timeworn items that have been with Clem for years and others attained more recently. The floors have been redone in pine and her cherished Toby Jug collection shares shelf space with old family photos and truly one-of-kind finds, like the deer leg and hoof gun rack she recently picked up.

Yet not all of her items are from estate sales and small business, such as the Ikea sofa that calls one room home.

“I like things with good bones,” Clem said. “You can always get more life out of a solid piece with a little paint or by recovering it. But I’m not afraid of incorporating modern pieces either.”

Clem said she’s drawn to “items that tell a story, things that will enhance my home and things that make me happy.”

In the future, Clem wants to change out some of her window treatments to incorporate her daughter’s new designs, all of which are hand-illustrated. She is also anxious to try out Cotton & Quill’s new selection of wallpaper, perhaps in the dining room.

“Her designs are all original. She has an amazing talent,” Clem said. “It’s always exciting to see what she comes up with next.”

More than anything, Clem’s cozy cottage gives her a sense of community, thanks to its proximity to the heart of Athens. Sometimes, Clem will ride her bike to the bank or, on pleasant Sundays, to First Baptist Church in Athens, where she worships.

“Not a day goes by that you don’t see someone walking, running or pushing a stroller outside my front window,” Clem said. “It makes me feel like I’m a part of everything, that I belong here.”

For the chance to see the home’s interior design in person, check out the Athens Ladies Civitan Club’s holiday home tour this December.