Our New Charleston Style Home

I never thought we’d sell the little cottage that we’d lived in for twenty-five years, until a friend and I decided to read The Artist’s Way, by Julia Cameron. After every chapter the author compelled me to list things like: Five Examples of Imaginary Lives I’d Like to Live or Clothes I Wish I Had. Somewhere along the line I realized that I had always dreamed of living in a Lowcountry-style (coastal South Carolina) neighborhood, where the houses are close together, historically built, and kind of beachy.

Our Home Reflects the History of the Community

We live in a little town between Charleston, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia, so I’ve spent decades admiring new and historic neighborhoods like ours along the coast. Our house color is Rocky River, but most of the houses around it are lighter, sun-washed colors with sea stars in the windows. We have a front and back porch, and a yard that is small enough to manicure with a cordless weed eater and blower. That is a welcome change from our old three-quarter acre yard filled with leaves and trees.

The Timing was Terrible

The timing for a move like this couldn’t have been worse. Last winter covid was raging, housing prices were up, and the homes for sale inventory was low. On the bright side, we found a quality builder who specialized in “Charlestonian, cottage-style, homes from 1,768- 2,130 SQ FT. Situated close together with front porches that offer a chance for neighbors to become friends” right in our own neighborhood.

Do We Really Deserve a New Home?

I don’t know if I didn’t think we deserved a new Charleston style home, or if it seemed impractical since we have lived on one income for the past twenty-five years, but I never thought we would be able to move. However, Julia Cameron convinced me that it was okay to dream and act on those dreams. I was surprised that my husband agreed with the idea of buying a new house. We prayed about it, and had several chances to back up and change our minds. But here we are! I hope you enjoy the mini tour.

Like most women, the kitchen is my favorite room in the house. Before we moved in, we brought the kids to the new neighborhood for trick-or-treating, since it is only a few blocks from our old house. I had colors for the cabinets, counter tops, and luxury vinyl picked out, but could not visualize the overall concept from those little sample swatches. When the kids knocked on one of the doors and said, “Trick or Treat!” I would crane my neck to see each hosts’ kitchen colors. Every house I saw had white subway tile for the backsplash and white cabinets.

Did I Make a Mistake?

“Wow,” I said to myself, “Why did you choose latte cabinets, a linen backsplash, and verde peacock (that is builders’ grade granite, you dummy!) counter tops?”

But guess what? I love my kitchen! I love the warm neutral tones with the black granite. Do not be afraid of Verde Peacock granite. The word verde is off-putting because it implies the granite is green. It actually looks black, with flecks of green and gold, and a fabulous sparkle of mica. Also, everyone said to get honed granite, rather than shiny. I definitely prefer shiny.

The Living Room in our Charleston Style Home

The walls throughout the home are Agreeable Gray. I enjoyed pairing the wall color with warm neutrals and pops of blue, vintage/jade green, and persimmon. We added a few midcentury pieces, like the computer desk and coordinating chair. We found the computer desk at our local thrift store. It has a laminate top and a little pull out shelf for a typewriter.

We found a five dollar red leather recliner at my favorite thrift store. It was a very expensive artisan brand from Highpoint, North Carolina. It was nicely weathered and fit well with my other industrial and mid century pieces.

Including a Travel Theme

I liked the idea of highlighting travel in our home decor, especially since we’d like to travel a lot more as our children get older. We ordered a few vintage travel posters on canvas for Chicago and Austin. Our only son lives in Austin, and the trip to Chicago was one of our favorites. I left plenty of room on the walls for future trips as well.

Including My Artwork in Our New Charleston Style Home

Should I include my own artwork in our new home? Is that ostentatious? Julia Cameron would probably say, “Why wouldn’t you include your artwork in your new home?

The Back Porch

Besides the kitchen, the back porch was the other space I was most excited about. I paint watering cans, flower pots, and other outdoor items for the Love My Little Cottage Etsy shop, so this area is the place where I take photographs for my shop and try out new items. Sitting outside when it is warm while I drink coffee and write in my journal is very relaxing to me.

The brown glider was actually white. It was part of the set that goes with the springy white chairs and table on the front porch (see the first picture in this post). The whole set was rusty, and the glider had a broken screw when we first saw it at a second hand store. We were in an apartment at the time, waiting for the new house to be finished. I defended the integrity of the set in spite of my husband’s misgivings. We bought it, then put it in storage. When we moved into the new house, he gave the chairs and table on the front porch a fresh coat of white paint.

The Transformation

However, I showed a friend some pictures of the glider. She didn’t like the look of the white glider with all of the dark brown wicker on the back porch, so my husband painted it brown. I ordered several sets of navy blue buffalo check cushions from Kirklands to unify the glider and the wicker sofa.

We enjoyed spending Christmas in “Mr. Evergreen.”

Since our old house was yellow, we called her Mrs. Butterscotch. When the children were young, I would say, “Goodbye Mrs. Butterscotch,” whenever we left the house. The kids decided to name our new house Mr. Evergreen. What a great name and color for the Christmas season! We were so happy to get in before Christmas.

I hope you enjoyed Our New Charleston Style Home mini tour. During our big move I missed writing and dropping into my friends’ blogs to see what they’ve been up to. It’s great to be settled for 2022.

XOXO,

Kristie

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