Lovely, lovely Charleston

My firm has been working on a delightful project in Charleston, SC. Our darling client used to live in Princeton,N.J. She first moved to historic Charleston and we completely did her home on one of the most well-known streets there, Church Street. It was such a rewarding project. Beautiful lush silk draperies in every room, old Southern charm dripping everywhere. It truly was a favorite.

Not long after living in the eye of the public, with tourists longing to sneak a peak into the lush living room, she and her husband decided that living in the historic district was not conducive to family life, play dates, and privacy in general. They sold the house in 2 weeks (we shed a tear or two) and purchased an equally exciting home right on the beach of Sullivan's Island. Enter Black-eyed Susan. We quickly put our sadness from leaving the historic house behind us and began to get visions for the new beach house.

Our client is as easy going and agreeable as you can imagine. We had total creative license and she rarely (actually, I can't think of one thing she said no to!) disagreed to any proposed direction. Yes, it was a dream job.

In the last few months, we have been working on the outdoor living spaces. This is some serious living space! The interior color pallet is soft watery aquas and mild chartreuse green, very soft and unsaturated. Many of her photos can be seen on the screen in my retail store. Because the exterior "living room", lounge areas, kitchen, and fireplace gathering spot are such an extension of the home, the colors we have selected are a variation on a theme of the interior.

This is a rough collage of the fabrics, paint colors from the interior, and outdoor trims that we will using. The vision is exciting!

Exterior living space viewed from the pool. (Note two floors of scenic vistas).

View from the exterior living spaces looking out onto the beachfront.

Meet Robert Chesnut! He's a real character. He surely would not approve of this photo, as he is much more animated and charming than this photo suggests! Robert is the landscape architect on the project. To say that he is the most entertaining artist would be a true understatement. I'm quite sure that it won't be long before he has his own TV reality show!!

Stay tuned for more on this project and Robert Chesnut, I promise you'll be entertained.