They had already started when they found me. They owned a beautiful lot in the Riverstead community in Pickens, SC, had a hand-drawn set of plans from a previous architect, and were eager to build a home for their growing family.  Unfortunately the design they had  didn't yet meet HOA requirements, didn't fit their budget, and didn't fully reflect how they actually intended to live in the house they were planning to call home for decades.

Taking over a project mid-stream is its own kind of challenge. The revisions needed were significant enough that reworking much of the design from the ground up made more sense than patching what existed. We got the plans into a workable digital format, addressed the HOA requirements, and then did a thorough rethink of the floor plan around the way this particular family's daily life actually runs and their budget constraints.

The house needed to accommodate a lot of different activities. The kids are homeschooled, dad works from home, and mom is a serious cook who wanted a kitchen designed to keep up with her. The family loves being outside - it was part of why they chose a lot in Riverstead in the first place- so extensive outdoor living space was a must.   

Every one of those needs shaped a specific decision in the design.  A large “chef’s” kitchen open to the living spaces, with clear sightlines to the yard where the children play. The family room is large enough to hold an oversized sectional sofa with two story windows on each side to maximize daylighting and a connection to the outdoors.   A large laundry and craft room with a direct outdoor entrance gives muddy kids and pets somewhere to land before they come inside.  A guest room on the main floor provides accessible space for aging parents who visit regularly.

Upstairs, three children's bedrooms cluster around a dedicated playroom with a second laundry nearby, because keeping laundry simple is key for a large family. The primary suite sits apart from the children's rooms and offers a walk-in closet, soaking tub, and two-person shower to create a quiet retreat at the end of a full day. A three-car garage and over 1,000 square feet of porches complete a home that was designed, from the beginning, to be lived in hard and loved for a long time.

The rustic farmhouse aesthetic ties it all together, giving the home a feeling of being rooted in its setting among the foothills of South Carolina rather than simply placed there.