The Guide: Charleston, S.C
05/01/2006
Since its settlement in 1670, Charleston has benefited from its ongoing reputation as a first-rate architecture and design destination. Homes and public buildings feature distinctive exteriors and impeccable interiors that emphasize one-of-a-kind furnishings, decorative objects and artwork. As the early plantation society thrived with cotton, indigo and rice, fine homes and lavish entertaining became vehicles for the display of prominence. In the 18th century, the city became known as “Little London” because of its local artisans, and at one point it boasted the largest number of cabinetmakers and silversmiths in the Colonies. However, the Civil War, along with natural disasters such as the great fire of 1861, the earthquake of 1886, and the more recent Hurricane Hugo in 1989, took their toll on Charleston landmarks. Proud stewards of history, Charleston’s succeeding generations have rebounded from each setback to restore and rebuild the town to its former glory. A city that appreciates its past but isn’t stuck in it, today’s Charleston continues to honor its history while embracing its newfound cosmopolitan appeal as an arts and second-home destination.; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
A garden within the Medway Plantation; a shingle-style home
designed by John Haley; a residence by Beau Clowney. Photograph by Doug Hickok. (Click image to enlarge)REAL ESTATE
The city’s downtown peninsula (situated between the Ashley and Cooper Rivers) features some of the most desirable neighborhoods and the nation’s largest protected historic district. South of Broad, (especially the waterfront homes along the battery) Ansonborough and Harleston Village are where the city’s most coveted $2 million to $6 million homes lie. Thomas Bennett, with Carriage Properties, has the distinction of fetching the highest selling price for a downtown home (as of December 2005) with the venerable William Gibbes House and gardens for $6.1 million. Daniel Ravenel, a ninth-generation Charlestonian with 29 years of real estate experience, knows the history of every residence south of Broad and holds listings for a home on Murray Boulevard with views of the battery, on the market for $2.25 million, as well as a historic pure Georgian listed at $2.6 million. Other key downtown players include the firm of Disher, Hamrick & Myers, which currently has a listing for a circa 1775 estate near the battery for $2.8 million, and Helen Geer of William Means Real Estate (exclusive affiliate of Christie’s Great Estates), who carries the listing for the $25 million Medway Plantation located just outside the city.
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ARCHITECTS
Only the best architects can cope with the inherent challenges in the city’s residential projects, as historic preservation laws often grant little leeway when it comes to redesigning or updating existing structures. Architectural styles run the gamut—Colonial, Georgian, Federal and Victorian—but do not expect to see many modern glass-and-steel boxes. The most prevalent design in town is that of the “Charleston Single”: typically one room in width and three stories in height with side porches on each floor. The style originated as a result of British laws, which taxed a property’s street frontage. Added benefits are high ceilings for improved light and ventilation, with porches catching breezes from the surrounding waters. Preservation architect Glenn Keyes has worked on landmark projects including the restoration of the Sword Gate House, the William Aiken House and South Mulberry Plantation. Reggie Gibson employs classic lines but injects a subtle contemporary signature into his residential designs as well as projects such as the historic 2 Unity Alley (now home to McCrady’s restaurant). Native Charlestonian Virginia Lane (a great-granddaughter of celebrated Charleston Renaissance artist Elizabeth O’Neill Verner) has a talent for seamless additions to 18th-century structures as well as designing new homes that blend in with the historic. Chief architect for neighboring Kiawah Island, John Haley accepts a select number of projects in the Charleston area, where he is known for hunting down reclaimed architectural elements like iron-framed windows and antique French oak floors that give his new structures a lived-in feel. Beau Clowney and his firm interweave references to Charleston’s Caribbean ties, such as wraparound porches. With offices in both Greenville and Charleston, Mark Maresca’s clients hire him for his ability to create homes that appear as if they have been standing for decades. The 48-year-old architect has completed more than 100 projects located from the Charleston Harbor to the Chesapeake Bay, including the refurbishment of an 18th-century Federal home in Charleston’s Historic District as well as the design of a plantation home just north of the city.
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A home by architect Mark Maresca. Photograph by Jamieson Clair. (Click image to
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INTERIOR DESIGNERS
When it comes to interiors, no one is more recognized in Charleston than Amelia T. Handegan. Her sixth sense of color and texture has gained her a loyal following of clients around the country. Her sophisticated design of the aforementioned William Gibbes House no doubt helped Thomas Bennett hit his $6.1 million record sale. Also highly sought-after is Kathleen Rivers, whose projects range from luxurious townhomes to lived-in country estates. An avid patron of the arts (including Spoleto Festival USA and the Gibbes Museum of Art), Rivers recently completed a renovation of the historic Lace House on the grounds of the South Carolina Governor’s Mansion in Columbia. The preservation-minded consult Carol “Cozy” Pelzer for classic rooms, which she skillfully orchestrates with updated colors, fabrics and furnishings.
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LANDSCAPERS
Charleston gardens, made legendary in the book Mrs. Whaley and Her Charleston Garden by the late Emily Whaley and William Baldwin, are a key element of the area’s charm. Peering from the street through the wrought iron gates, passersby are delighted to see clipped courtyards or deep lots with live oaks, camellia hedges and meandering brick walkways. A number of locals are blessed with a green thumb and take great pride in keeping their grounds pristine for the Historic Charleston Foundation’s springtime house and garden tours. Others simply call on Robert Chestnut or Sheila Wertimer for a landscape plan to complement the house and combat the summer heat. Both Chestnut and Wertimer carry on the high standards set by renowned landscape architect Loutrell Briggs, who designed many of the city’s gardens during the mid-20th century, Mrs. Whaley’s included.
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CRAFTSPEOPLE
Working behind the scenes of Charleston’s elegant facades, skilled tradesmen help save or re-create important architectural details such as woodwork, plaster and wrought iron. Philip Simmons, Charleston’s celebrated blacksmith, is a living legend. At 93, he has been hammering hot iron since the 1930s, and his gates, fences and decorative pieces can be found in neighborhoods throughout town. Justin Walling is an expert in stained and leaded glass, antique mirrors and general restoration know-how. David Heuske is known for his intricate plasterwork in significant properties such as the Pineapple Gate House, and he is currently involved with an extensive restoration of the William Bennett House in Harleston Village. Robert Johnson is versed in the best techniques for laying old Charleston brick. Master muralist Karl Beckwith Smith can re-create Colonial scenes above a dining room or add a touch of trompe l’oeil whimsy to a foyer. For antique furniture showing its age, collectors contact David Beckford, an accomplished restoration specialist who continues a tradition of cabinetmaking that began here prior to the American Revolution. Robert Sarco and Brad Nietert also are good local resources for resurrecting old mahogany to its former glory.
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SHOPPING
King Street has been Charleston’s main shopping artery for over a century. Traditional antique stores at the south end mesh into the more mall-like midsection (peppered with national names such as Williams-Sonoma, Saks and Gucci), ending with Upper King, a hip design district north of Calhoun Street. Walking up from Broad Street, you will see Alexandra AD, a trove of European antiques that find themselves easily at home in Charleston interiors. George C. Williams American Antiques specializes in early American period furnishings and accessories, many of them Charleston-made. Geo. C. Birlant & Co., a Charleston institution of imported 18th- and 19th-century antiques since 1929, is still family owned. Arts maven Ann Long has recently opened a second fine art gallery on King that focuses on classical realism. Her original gallery (on State Street) has been reinvented as Ann Long Modern, with drawings and paintings by the late Otto Neumann. Dailey-Grommé Twentieth Century showcases European design greats including Daum, Lalique and House of Jansen as well as Art Deco and 20th-century modern furnishings. View lighting from an entirely new perspective at Upper King’s Urban Electric Co., a resource for retro lighting and custom fixtures.
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A stingray-embellished lamp designed by Amelia
Handegan for the Urban
Electric Co. Photograph by Matthew Scott. (Click image to enlarge)East of lower King Street, the French Quarter draws the art-minded with its fabulous cluster of galleries. Fraser Fox Fine Art is home to local master West Fraser, known for painterly depictions of modern-day Charleston. Lese Corrigan’s Corrigan Gallery shows the owner’s works along with those of other local talents. Smith Killian Fine Art is a family affair, with the vibrant paintings of sisters Shannon Smith and Jennifer Smith Rogers contrasted with the black-and-white photography of their brother, Tripp Smith. Along picturesque Church Street, dealer Robert Hicklin’s Charleston Renaissance Gallery is a mini-museum of the city’s native and adopted painters, including Elizabeth O’Neill Verner and William Aiken Walker. Down the block, Carolina Maps & Prints is the premier purveyor of antique maps. Finally, a true tour of Charleston’s impressive art and design scene would not be complete without a visit to local painter Douglas Balentine’s studio south of Broad to peruse his work while sipping a glass of iced peach tea.
RESOURCES
REAL ESTATE
Thomas Bennett, Carriage Properties, 843.266.8000, www.carriageprop.com
Daniel Ravenel, Daniel Ravenel Real Estate, 843.723.7150, www.danielravenel.com
Brown Hamrick, Disher, Hamrick & Myers, 843.577.4115, www.charlestonrealestate.net
Helen Geer, William Means Real Estate, 843.577.6651, www.charlestonrealestate.com
ARCHITECTS
Glenn Keyes Architects, 843.722.4100, www.rgkarchitects.com
Reggie Gibson Architect, 843.722.9040
Virginia Dawson Lane, VDL Associates, 843.853.4126
John Haley, 843.817.7530
Beau Clowney Design, 843.722.2040
Mark Maresca, 843.727.2555
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INTERIOR DESIGNERS
Amelia T. Handegan Interior Design, 843.722.9373,
www.athid.com
Kathleen Rivers Interior Design, 843.723.5744
Carol C. Pelzer
Interiors, 843.722.4875
LANDSCAPERS
Robert Chestnut, 843.577.3673
Sheila Wertimer Landscape
Architecture, 843.577.3360
CRAFTSPEOPLE
Philip Simmons, Philip Simmons Foundation, 843.571.6445,
www.philipsimmons.org
Justin Walling, Charleston Architectural Glass
Studio, 843.452.0427, www.charlestonarchitecturalglass.com
David Heuske,
843.693.9405
Robert Johnson, 843.670.0358
Karl Beckwith Smith, 843.860.5157
David Beckford, 843.559.4361
Robert Sarco Restoration, 843.889.1432
Brad
Nietert, Nietert Antique Restoration, 843.746.9799
SHOPPING
Alexandra AD, 156 King St., 843.722.4897
George C. Williams
American Antiques, 155 King St., 843.377.0290, www.georgecwilliams.com
Geo.
C. Birlant & Co., 191 King St., 843.722.3842, www.birlant.com
Ann Long
Fine Art, 177 King St., 843.577.0447, www.annlongfineart.com
Ann Long
Modern, 12 State St., 843.577.0447, www.annlongfineart.com
Dailey-Grommé
Twentieth Century, 208 King St., 843.853.2299, www.dailey-gromme.com
The
Urban Electric Co., 438 King St., 843.723.8140, www.urbanelectricco.com
West Fraser, Fraser Fox Fine Art, 12 Queen St., 843.723.0073,
www.fraserfoxfineart.com
Lese Corrigan, Corrigan Gallery, 62 Queen
St., 843.722.9868, www.corrigangallery.com
Smith Killian Fine Art, 9 Queen
St., 843.853.0708, www.smithkillian.com
Charleston Renaissance Gallery, 103
Church St., 843.723.0025, www.fineartsouth.com
Carolina Maps & Prints,
91 Church St., 843.722.4773, www.carolinaantiquemapsandprints.com
Douglas
Balentine, 6 Atlantic St., 843.722.1797, www.jdouglasbalentine.com