WHEN STEVE GUAGLIANONE OF NOVELLA HOMES, A LUXURY custom homebuilder specializing in building homes on Daniel Island, met Lisa and Steve Peterson, they had been living around the world, moving every few years as his job demanded. When the couple discovered that their next move would be to the barrier island, where three of their four adult sons, grandchildren and other family members live, they chose Guaglianone and the Novella Homes team to build their new dream home.
“We interviewed many builders and chose Novella because they’re honest, easy to communicate with and use high-quality subcontractors,” says Lisa Peterson. The couple started creating a wish list of the features they required in a long-term home. “We had to have a deep-water dock and a home that was inviting, where all of our family members could gather for weekly family dinners and that could handle the parties we like to host.”
Guaglianone’s family has been in the homebuilding industry for three generations; he makes it a point to work with the best architects, designers and tradespeople in the industry. “We live and build in the same communities as our clients, which creates a deeper level of responsibility,” he says. “Our homes are not just projects. They are lasting representations of our work, reputation and high standards. Because we specialize in high-end, architecturally complex homes, our team understands how to translate sophisticated design into real-world construction. We work with a carefully curated group of tradespeople who share our standards and understand that details matter—down to grain direction, alignment, symmetry and finish quality.”
Along with architectural firm Clarke Design Group, the team set about designing and building the home that until now had only lived in the Petersons’ imagination.
The Petersons wanted to push the envelope a little when it came to the architectural design of their home. “We love the Charleston charm and wanted to keep that, but we also wanted to add our own modern flair, such as incorporating details like large windows and closed eaves, to give the home a more modern look,” Lisa Peterson says.
“From the very beginning, the vision for this home was one that felt modern, timeless and highly intentional,” Guaglianone says. “We wanted the architecture to feel strong and clean, but also warm and livable.”
The architect, builder and designer worked closely throughout the entire process. Designer Phil Clarke of Clarke Design Group drew the primary architectural plan for the home to capture the Lowcountry spirit, ushering it through the community’s architectural review process. Designers Jesse Vickers and Annie Purewal of JLV Creative brought in the homeowners’ personalities through interior architectural changes in almost every room, while Novella Homes’ craftsmen implemented the bespoke architectural detailing.
“From the very beginning, this home demanded an extraordinary level of precision and intentionality,” Guaglianone says. “The architectural language is layered, modern and highly detailed. Every transition and material change was thoughtfully executed so the design would read clean and effortless.”
Guaglianone’s team spent a significant amount of time coordinating details during the preconstruction process. “This level of preplanning enabled us to maintain consistency throughout the spaces, so the finished home feels intentional and refined at every point,” he says. “It’s easy for a home with this level of architectural detail to lose clarity during construction if the team is not careful. Our job was to make sure that what was envisioned on paper translated seamlessly into the finished home.”
Details begin at the front door. As visitors step into the foyer through a modern steel-and-glass pivot door inset into a wall of glass, they immediately feel the indoor-outdoor connection through the continuation of flooring and ceiling materials from the front porch into the entryway. Once inside, a stone-wrapped, mitered cased opening into the living room adds to the intricate detailing that unfolds with each step. A 30-foot-wide glass Euro-Wall at the far side of the living room looks out to the marsh, providing a single sight line from the front to the back of the floor plan.
The in-out flow continues in the kitchen, where a pass-through bar with sliding windows connects to the exterior dining and living rooms on a deck overlooking Ralston Creek. “The flow between the living, dining, kitchen and deck can hold a lot of people,” Lisa Peterson says. The arrangement was the solution she needed to accommodate the large number of invitees for parties and family get-togethers she frequently hosts. “When the big sliding doors are open, the space flows so well and people can enjoy the creek and the pool,” she adds.
Architectural detailing and other custom touches in the kitchen and adjacent dining room capture the unique modern-leaning style of the homeowners. “What sets this project apart is that many of the architectural elements are not decorative overlays but custom-built structural designs,” Guaglianone notes. For instance, a striking glass-and-steel partition around the kitchen’s entrance frames the artistically styled space and the marsh views seen from double windows flanking a custom marble range hood.
A white oak-clad ceiling with beams in the kitchen offers a timeless note—and a melody that flows throughout the entire home. Storage is tucked away in base cabinetry and in the attached scullery; the lack of upper cabinets imparts a serene feeling and leaves the emphasis on the outside views. The designer flew in a uniquely styled custom chandelier as a special touch over the nearby dining table.
Not to be outdone, the living room’s eye-catching features contribute to the home’s uniqueness. “The eye is drawn to the wabi-sabi white oak built-in shelving next to the stone fireplace wall,” Guaglianone says. Contemporary low-profile seating allows the landscape and natural light unimpeded entrance into the space.
Special touches are not reserved for the public spaces. The primary suite is a study in how to create a true private retreat. It begins with the walk down the hallway dedicated to the secluded primary wing. A tiled, arched ceiling accented with marble pendants and walls clad in fluted white oak paneling is, in the words of the designer, “a transportive experience as the homeowners go into that more adult space.”
The homeowner concurs. “The hallway is a masterpiece,” she says. “When we walk through this home, we find design touches that we love all the time. There are ingenious ideas throughout the spaces.”
Once inside the suite, the moody wallcovering behind the bed contrasts with lighter furnishings and sunlit water views seen through a wall of windows. The attached bathroom features an iridescent black tile wall behind a freestanding tub. Dual arched doorways within the tile wall lead to a doorless shower; the arch motif is echoed over the double vanities on the other side of the room. The designers created a custom checkered tile floor for the entire space using large-format marble and travertine tiles. “Novella Homes’ installers ensured all of the tile’s grain was in the same direction,” Lisa Peterson notes. “They thought through all of the little touches.”
The detail-driven team considered how the homeowners would use every inch of the home. “The shower has large windows that overlook the creek and sunset views,” says Guaglianone. “The owners can see out, but a window film keeps others from seeing in.”
Useful features, such as a laundry room connected to both the primary closet and the main hallway, work well for the family’s needs. A dog-washing station within the laundry room helps keep cleanup to a centralized location. An infrared sauna in the primary closet ensures luxury is at every turn.
The small-scale feeling does not apply to the media room, which serves not only as a large family gathering space but as an extra-special bunk room set up as a retreat for the grandchildren. Curtains that cover a trio of peekaboo arches can be pulled aside to reveal reading nooks and other fun hideaways for the youngest family members. When family time is over, the grandchildren can climb the ladders and be tucked away into beds over the archways and under the vaulted ceiling timbers.
There is additional room to gather outside on a spacious deck overlooking the creek and marsh, which includes an exterior kitchen, in addition to dining, lounging and play spaces, such as a pool, custom firepit and putting green.
While the team took great care to retain the magnificently large live oak tree in front of the home, the marsh grasses and Ralston Creek views steal the show at the back of the home. “The sunsets here are the best I have seen in Charleston,” Steve Peterson says. “We get color almost every night, and our friends come over just to take photos of the sun setting over the creek.”
The Petersons are happy with their new home imagined by themselves, the architect and the designer, and executed with precise detailing and luxury-level craftsmanship by the builder. Steve Peterson adds: “It was a well-managed project, with no surprises and where challenges were quickly solved. We would recommend Novella Homes to everyone.” *
Dana W. Todd is a professional writer specializing in interior design, real estate, luxury homebuilding, landscape design, architecture and fine art.
The in-out flow continues in the kitchen, where a pass-through bar with sliding windows connects to the exterior dining and living rooms on a deck overlooking Ralston Creek.
