“Traditional, but not too stuffy or dull.” Such was the mandate given to architect Stan Dixon by his clients, a young couple who’d purchased a 27-acre parcel of land on John’s Island, 15 minutes south of Charleston, South Carolina. They wanted something with a strong sense of history, yes, but their request related as much to what would happen outside their intended home—in the land, the trees, the waterways—as inside.
“This is a family who really needed to be in nature, who craved a deeper connection to the outdoors,” says Dixon, noting the husband grew up on a farm in Kentucky, she in West Virginia. As newlyweds they’d settled in Charleston’s historic South of Broad neighborhood—dizzyingly charming, but with little room to stretch out. And with twins on the way, they would need it.
Given this, along with the new property’s magnificent view of the Kiawah River and surrounding marshland, “much of what we did here was about connecting to the outside,” says the Atlanta-based Dixon, noting verandas upstairs and down, oversize doors and windows, and gentle, terraced rises extending out from the Greek Revival residence.
“I think the geometry of Greek Revival architecture lends itself to more youth and energy,” he notes. “The style has a classic sensibility but still feels bold and clean as opposed to something more ornamented.” Four imposing chimneys, an arched porte cochere, and graceful columns framing the front portico are quietly powerful, as is the historic narrative Dixon devised to guide the design.
Collaborating with Charleston-based interior designer Tammy Connor, he imagined a centuries-old Lowcountry home that had added and connected buildings like carriage and kitchen houses over time. “Building a compelling story, an imagined origin,” he contends, “helps give a new structure a feeling of age and permanence.”
The materials, then, become his narrators. Lime-washed bricks compose the center, or primary, section of the house, flanked on either side with clapboard wings. Old timber, heart pine flooring in 12-inch-wide planks has a swept finish, which has a look of early America. Plaster walls and painted wood trim appear in the center block of house; elsewhere brick walls are left exposed “to reinforce the idea that some of these buildings were once independent,” notes Dixon.
As for the larger scale windows (in the living room, the breakfast banquette, for instance), these are crafted of bronze as opposed to wood. “An older house would not have had large windows, so the use of a different material like bronze suggests they were added later.”
And the natural light and marsh color that filter through are breathtaking, says Connor. “When you walk in the door, you see straight through to the water,” says the designer, who sought to capture the essence of the surroundings and architecture without overwhelming them. Window treatments are light and elegant, “nothing heavy,” she says, and the ample sunlight allows for a brilliant dance of texture and shape.
“For instance, you notice how the lines of a chair contrast with those of the table next to it, how goatskin and hide play against simple caning,” she says. “Without patterns covering much of the furniture, the profiles and textures can really do their thing.”
Throughout, artwork leads or enriches deeply nuanced palettes, evidence of Connor’s deftness in balancing color and affinity for hues “you can’t quite describe in a single word,” she says. “A bluish green with a little gray in it, a sunlit raspberry.” She looked to artist Tyler Hays’s harborfront painting on puzzle pieces to balance an old-meets-new tension in the library. An English saddle-arm sofa in kindred sapphire silk velvet sits beneath it, opposite an updated wing chair upholstered in an Art Nouveau–patterned Fresie velvet.
In the entry monochrome oil paintings greet visitors with near-translucent color, like a continuation of the landscape. And a dusky, oak-canopied mural by Atlanta artist Raymond Goins, painted on boards of sinker cypress, commands an understated wet bar off the entry hall. An old English serving table is retrofitted for drink service (brass sink fixture included); bar appliances are cleverly hidden behind jib doors on either side.
And there are more smartly designed storage conceits: On either side of the breakfast banquette’s scene-stealing vista, a pair of closets tucks high chairs out of sight. Slideaway gates extend as mini–Dutch doors between the kitchen and the living room, keeping children in view. “Even with a very historical approach, we needed the house to work in a modern, real way,” says Dixon. “It has to fit the family living here.”
There are three children now and, with ground-level porches and a pickleball court and acres to run, plenty of room for the family to stretch out. “Living here is such fun,” says the wife. “We swim; we roast hot dogs; we sit around the fire at night.”
And as the children grow, so too will their paths around the property and through the marshy waterways behind the house. “I didn’t want a home that felt like an old house,” she adds. “I wanted it to represent us.”
Staircase
Greek key detailing traces stair risers, a continuation of the home’s classical influences. Oil paintings, Katharina Chapuis
Living Room
In the living room, towering bronze doors frame marshy views. Portoro marble mantel, Jamb
Dining Room
A bronze oak branch chandelier (Cox London) bends gracefully over an 18th-century English Cuban mahogany table. Painting, William McLure
Bar
Muralist Raymond Goins painted the bar’s Lowcountry scene on cypress boards. Lantern, Rose Uniacke
Library
A river-reclaimed cypress mantel with a honed black granite fireplace surround is the library's centerpiece. The Victoria Hagan wing chair is adorned in a vibrant floral velvet by Luigi Bevilacqua. Chandelier, Cartwright Lighting & Furniture
Kitchen
The kitchen’s etched glass pendants (The Urban Electric Co.) contrast humble surfaces like a wood-topped island, painted brick walls, and swept pine flooring. Stools, McGuire
Kitchen Dining Area
In the kitchen, French midcentury wicker chairs (Xavier Nicod) surround a farm-style table (Mecox) crafted of reclaimed pine. Chair cushion fabric, Perennials
Powder Bath
A leafy yew tree-inspired Cole & Son wallcovering cloaks a powder bath in verdure. The William IV mahogany washstand is topped with polished marble. Sink fixtures, Waterworks
Upper Stair Hall
Ceramic flowers by sculptor Bradley Sabin bloom across a Holland & Sherry grass cloth in the upper stair hall. The shagreen-wrapped coffee table is by Michael Morrow. Globe pendant, Hector Finch
Primary Bedroom
In the primary bedroom, an arrowroot wallcovering (Studio Zen Wallcoverings) and Parsons-style nightstand lacquered in Benjamin Moore’s Durango convey tonal, textural beauty. Headboard fabric, Pollack
Her Bathroom
Mosaic tile flooring (Waterworks) and a grasscloth-covered ceiling (Phillip Jeffries) enliven her bathroom's cream cabinetry (paint color, French Canvas by Benjamin Moore). Tub, BainUltra. Sconces, Suzanne Kasler for Visual Comfort & Co. Alabaster bowl fixture, Hector Finch
Guest Bedroom
Framed pressed botanicals (Botanicals by Sandy) bring the Lowcountry's landscape into the guest bedroom. Bed, Hollywood at Home. Jute lamp shades, Edgar-Reeves Lighting. Indigo throw, Dixon Rye
Daughter's Bedroom
A 19th-century English amethyst glass bell jar lantern crowns the daughter's bedroom. An original painting by Sally King Benedict hangs over the custom daybed. Vintage Moroccan rug, Keivan Woven Arts
Terraced Lawn
Dixon and landscape architect Glen Gardner drew inspiration from Charleston’s Middleton Place for the terraced lawn, creating powerful vistas.
Featured in our May/June 2024 issue. Interior Design by Tammy Connor; Architecture by Stan Dixon; Landscape Design by Glen Gardner; Photography by Eric Piasecki; Styling by Anita Sarsidi; Written by Jane Garmey.
