Any clients approach their architect, builder, and interior designer with a long list of what they want in the home they’re building. However, this client had one specific request for the home we’ll see today: She wanted it to be the prettiest on the beach. Though that may seem like a vague request, it isn’t. What our brains perceive as “pretty” is delivered particularly well by classical elements such as precise ratios, symmetry and proportion. From its Queen Anne-inspired shingle-style architecture to its graceful interior treatments and finishes, this home is elegant, intelligent, comfortable and as pretty as it gets.

Designed by Herlong Architecture + Interiors and built by Renaissance South Construction, this 4,600-square-foot, four-bedroom beachfront house on Isle of Palms has everything we love about shingle-style architecture: interesting asymmetry, welcoming wide porches, simple wood columns, rounded turrets, a varied roof line and, of course, shingle siding.

A builder’s job is to execute the architect’s and client’s visions, but there’s a lot of work to be done before a house starts looking like a house. One of the first challenges for the Renaissance team was creating a stable foundation on the beachfront lot. “The pool is outside the footprint of the loggia, and the spa is within it,” says Rob Crawford, owner and president of Renaissance South Construction. “To start, we drove 111 pilings into the ground and cut them off below grade due to the sandy soil conditions. These are essentially what the house rests on; then we had to run deeper foundations than usual at the pool and spa since they traversed the main foundation of the house.”

For project manager Mark Doll, executing the architect’s remarkable vision was the project of a lifetime. “If this is the last house I got to build, I’d be OK with it,” he says. “Herlong’s design was unbelievable. But what’s on paper ultimately has to get reproduced in the field, and this house was a puzzle.”

Just one example of the challenges of bringing Herlong’s principal architect, James Selvitelli’s, plans to life was the roof, which is symmetrical with slight differences in the turrets. “The plan had a section of the rafter that was flat and a section at the bottom that had a little radius,” Doll says. “We wanted it to look seamless from flat to tail after the curve. You can get a board 24 inches wide, which isn’t the best way, or make a straight rafter and a tail. Not only are you making it on a straight run, though, you’ve got three different radiuses on the turrets. At first, it was a head-scratcher; it was almost like framing school in the backyard. But, as a résumé-builder, the guys who built it can take a picture of it and get hired anywhere.” These kinds of details are easy to miss at first glance, but if you take time to look for exceptional details, they’re everywhere.

We enter the home through a beautiful set of sapele mahogany French doors. From the start, the Venetian plaster barrel-vaulted ceiling and walls make it clear this home is unique. The interiors were imagined and coordinated by Cintra Sedalik, part of Herlong’s in-house interior design team, and they are nothing short of magnificent. Not only are the finishes and furnishing style appropriate for the architecture, but also Sedalik dictated other gracious touches, such as plasterwork and decorative painting by fine artist Angela Cabán, which add a layer of elegance to its personality. “There’s at least one thing I love about every part of the house, but this is my favorite moment,” Crawford says of the entry. “You have the interest of the plaster, then you’re looking through the living room out to the ocean. It’s a very dramatic first 10 steps.”

The 11th step and beyond do not disappoint. The entry leads to an expansive living room with three sets of arched Arcadia steel doors on the back wall, which frame the ocean view. To the right, an open dining area separates the living room from the kitchen. In the living room, a cozy fireplace with a marble surround is flanked by two built-in bookcases with lower cabinets.

Contemporary architecture is having a moment, so we’re used to seeing simple, clean lines on stone and millwork. However, this home’s classical architecture requires something more timeless. The marble surround has raised detailing like a picture frame, with a white vertical shiplap wall behind it. The white shiplap also runs behind both built-in frames, painted a muted gray-green with quarter-circle corner details and grasscloth coverings on the cabinet doors.

To the left of the fireplace, a built-in wet bar with a beverage cooler keeps drinks handy in the entertaining space. To the left of the dining area, the stairway leading to the second floor is flanked by a large, built-in lighted china cabinet. Past the cabinet, a doorway leads to the back hall, which provides access to the guest suite at the front of the house.

This space has an office, a powder room, an expansive guest bedroom with an en suite bathroom and access to a large laundry room. To the left of the entry to the back hall, an arched opening ushers us into a generous pantry and back kitchen with an elevator to the garage level and secondary access to the laundry room.

The kitchen, as Doll notes, is a work of art. The island has a thick slabbed white marble top with waterfall sides mitered in two different directions and accent trim that mirrors the detail on the living room fireplace. The island seats four on the dining room side, with a farmhouse prep sink and cabinetry on the chef’s side. The back wall of the kitchen has a row of lower cabinetry and a magnificent black and brass La Cornue range. To the right of the range, a fourth arched door with a wider sapele case opens to the outdoor kitchen and living area.

The rear covered porch is in a radial tower that mirrors the tower on the front of the home. The outdoor grilling area gives way to a massive fireplace with a decorative tile surround and a breezy outdoor living area. Follow the private, curved walkway through the grass to get to the beach. Back in the living room, to the left of the fireplace, is the entry to the homeowner’s bedroom suite. The north to south entry hall intersects with a broader east to west hallway that takes us to the bedroom on the right, double walk-in closets on either side of the hall and the bathroom on the left, situated in the front radial tower.

Here, the home reveals that it isn’t just pretty; it’s grand. The homeowner’s bedroom has a large, cozy fireplace with a marble surround and double doors that open to a screened porch. The plasterwork in this house, including the walls and ceiling in this room, is Marmorino plaster, a type of thick Venetian plaster used as early as the first century B.C. Marmorino brings to mind the old-world charm of noble homes in Italy and the South of France. It’s also eco-friendly and sustainable and absorbs carbon dioxide as it dries.

The bathroom is an incredible feat of craftsmanship. Curved cabinets by Hostetler Custom Cabinetry conform to the radius of the room. A soaking tub sits beneath a bank of bright windows and ever so elegantly beneath a dome, with a delicate chinoiserie painting of birds and botanicals by Cabán in the inset.

Just off the hallway that connects the bedroom and bath is a room much too glorious to be called a closet. In the middle of the room, two back-to-back custom dressers form a packing table and a place for jewelry and accessories to land. Overhead, a delicate pink glass and brass chandelier hovers like a butterfly. Two-thirds of the back wall is taken up by a built-in shelving unit with glass doors, with another open shelving unit to the right. The opposing walls provide varying heights of hanging space and storage.

Upstairs, a wide hallway offers another grand moment in the form of a curved sitting nook that fits the upper radius of the front tower. Cabán’s plasterwork gives the walls and ceiling a mother-of-pearl effect. The hallway leads to a large media room and two guest bedrooms with en suite bathrooms, one for the homeowner’s daughter and one for her son. The media room has a small wet bar and arched doors leading to an open outdoor deck.

“Our client wanted the prettiest house on the beach, and she got it,” Crawford says. “There is an understated elegance here. The finishes are more subtle where the beach is the showplace, but wherever you look, something will make you say, ‘Wow.’ Not one room, not one element, was left unconsidered. Everyone was so willing to jump in and do their best work. We never cut a corner, and we accomplish that by surrounding ourselves with the premier tradespeople. We’ve had long-standing relationships with many because they’re the most skilled and reliable.”

“It took a long time, but it was fun,” Doll says. “James was really approachable and solutions-oriented; it was a great relationship. It was great working with Cintra, too, because she was working with the clients on the other end to share ideas. We pulled rabbits out of hats, but it was very enjoyable. The symmetry is incredible when you look at it from the beach, but as you get closer, you start to see the unique details. From room to room, everyone did such a great job. There were some places you could shortcut it, but we did everything the way it should be done. Every finish is a little bit different, and there aren’t just a few special elements—there are hundreds. You won’t even pick it all up the first time you walk through.”

Crawford says that large projects such as this home can take a long time to complete, sometimes years, so finding the right builder and team is essential. “Make sure you like your builder and trust them, even if they’re not the cheapest,” he says. “It’s a true relationship; find someone who listens and understands not just what you physically want in a house but why you want these things and how they’ll impact your life. Even if you can’t put your finger on what you want, they can make suggestions to get you there. I’m in this field because I love helping people. Our mantra is: ‘Kind, intelligent people helping kind, intelligent people improve their lifestyles.’” *

Robin Howard is a freelance writer in Charleston. See more of her work at robinhowardwrites.com.

Plasterwork in the upstairs landing adds to the home’s old-world charm.

Left top:
A subtle color palette of watery blues and soft yellows runs throughout the home.

Left bottom:
The cheerful guest room features creamy yellow walls and custom upholstered headboards.

From its Queen Anne-inspired shingle-style architecture to its graceful interior treatments and finishes, this home is elegant, intelligent, comfortable and as pretty as it gets.

A bathtub is expertly tucked into the curve of one of the turrets. Overhead, a hand-painted mural graces the domed ceiling.

Right:

Tilework in the shower has contrasting picture frame detailing on the walls with a mosaic checkerboard floor.