The brick residence retains a cottage-chic facade with a clean-lined addition in the back
If you’ve ever visited South Windermere, the West Ashley neighborhood tucked behind Earth Fare, then you’ve probably admired its winding tree-lined streets, gracefully patinaed houses, and stunning marsh views. But when a Charleston born-and-bred business owner and community volunteer decided to move back home after more than a decade living out West, she was drawn to South Windermere by something deeper than its charm. She was raised here, in a creek-front, ranch-style abode, and the move was about reconnecting with her roots. “I love that multiple generations of families I grew up with are still here,” she says. “The parents have a house, and then younger family members have come to live here, too.”
Today, she happily occupies a handsome 3,830-square-foot brick residence a few doors down from her childhood home. And though she slipped right back into the neighborhood’s close-knit community, it took a year-long renovation to bring full-on domestic bliss.
When she bought the then-2,610-square-foot place back in 2009, she knew she wanted to overhaul certain elements, such as its choppy layout and too-small windows that did little to bring the outside in. “There was no relationship to nature at all,” she laments. But after falling in love with the lot’s graceful live oaks and an expanse of wetlands accessible by a land bridge, she took the plunge and bought it, warts and all. “I kind of walked right through the building, and once I got to the backyard, I thought, ‘I don’t even care what the house is, this is the property I want to live on.’ It was magical,” she recalls.
She lived in the home for a while, paying careful attention to what she wanted from a renovation. Ultimately, she craved an art-filled residence with outdoor rooms for communing with nature and a scale that, while cozy enough for one or two, could accommodate a crowd during her fundraising fêtes. But she didn’t want to tear down the existing structure or build an addition that towered over nearby homes. “I wanted to be able to live with my things in a house that worked for me, but I also wanted to honor the neighborhood,” she explains.
In 2012, she assembled her team, including architect Reggie Gibson; interior designer Lauren Sanchez, whose portfolio brims with projects that are bold, yet understated and inviting; and renowned landscape architect Sheila Wertimer of Wertimer + Cline, whose work graces hundreds of private and public spaces in Charleston and beyond. All agreed to heed their client’s number one directive: the residence must blend in with its surroundings and suit her beloved South Windermere.
The design team’s first order of business was establishing the new layout. Gibson and his crew were tasked with expanding the home’s footprint and opening up the existing rooms, which he says were “pretty chopped up.” To kick things off, he drew a single-story rear addition, sticking with 11-foot ceilings so as not to disrupt the street-facing roofline. “We didn’t want to go any bigger than we needed to,” he says. And because he envisioned a contemporary, clean-lined interior, he enlisted NBM Construction—a local firm that primarily serves commercial clients. “The house wasn’t designed with crown molding or traditional finishes, so their experience was right for the job,” the homeowner explains.
Post-construction, three of the original first-floor rooms serve as a butler’s pantry, study, and music room, while the new structure adds a screened porch; covered outdoor kitchen; primary bedroom; and open kitchen, dining, and living space, all built to the smaller scale the homeowner requested. “It’s like an old-fashioned ranch house,” she says. “When I’m in my bedroom, I can talk to someone in the kitchen without raising my voice.” And though the house feels cozy, clever design details allow it to seemingly expand to accommodate guests. For example, along the perimeter of the living room, built-in storage benches provide ample seating during parties. To better integrate the original rooms into the addition, Gibson designed an angled wall that runs along the entryway, gradually widening as it stretches out into the home. “It draws you in,” he says. And in several original rooms, he swapped out walls for floor-to-ceiling wood and glass shelves, which foster a feeling of openness. The partitions were custom-built around a few of the homeowner’s favorite artworks, such as a large, colorful piece by William Halsey that fits right into the doorway of the music room. “This was very purposeful,” she says. “It’s the first time I’ve had a chance to display both sides of the sculpture—it was always pushed up against a wall.”
The homeowner has a colorful personality and loves patterns. Knowing this, Sanchez set out to create an interior design that was bold enough to suit her client’s tastes, yet low-key enough that it wouldn’t distract from the long marsh views or the amazing art to be displayed in the home. She selected furnishings with a low profile, then layered in neutral textiles in an array of patterns and textures—diamond weave, flame stitch, modern floral, ikat, velvet, and more all live together harmoniously. The palette allows prized possessions, such as the black-and-white Andy Warhol hanging in the kitchen and the custom batik by local artist Mary Edna Fraser that cleverly conceals the living room television, to shine. “Even the walls are a soft creamy shade because it helps to highlight the art without detracting from all the other elements,” Sanchez says.
Post-renovation, the home’s rear exterior, with its shed roofing and floor-to-ceiling windows, is stunningly contemporary. Though the façade was freshened up—a limewash was applied to the brick; the front-porch pillars were replaced with sleeker, more angular versions; and a purposeless “balcony to nowhere” was removed, among other subtle tweaks—the house still looks at home in the neighborhood. The landscape follows suit: in the front yard, Wertimer chose plants that are typical of old Charleston and South Windermere, such as azaleas, camellias, and magnolias. In the back, simple grasses, like lomandra and sweetgrass, are compatible with both the marsh and the modern silhouette of the new structure.
The result is exactly what this homeowner had in mind when she asked for a respectful renovation. “People are probably saying, ‘She’s had contractors there for a year, and all they’ve done is paint the house and sweep the porch,’” jokes Gibson. “It looks nice from the neighborhood side, like she spruced up a little. But until you walk inside, you don’t realize it’s much more than a spruce!”
