Built at a time of vast land speculation in Colbert County, the house represents the then-fashionable Spanish eclectic style not commonly found in the rural deep South.

Carter finished the house and worked the surrounding lands, planting corn and cotton, eventually acquiring 24 acres (10 ha).

Bertram Goodhue, the exposition's designer, combined Spanish Colonial and Mission Revival architecture with cues from other styles with ties to Spain, including Byzantine, Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque.

It was most widely seen in Southern California and Florida, including homes built for screenwriter Frances Marion, director Cecil B. DeMille, and actor Charlie Chaplin.

When Carter finished the house in the 1930s, he added a screened porch with a gable roof; this was destroyed in a 1972 tornado and partially enclosed with board and batten siding to create a sunroom.