When clients decided they weren’t up for the renovation their Sea Island house required after years on the rental market, they enlisted designer Minnette Jackson to mastermind a move to a new location just 200 yards down the beach. Jackson tackled the job of giving them a new and improved getaway, situated between the golf course and the beach, with the same comfort and tradition they had cultivated over decades of vacationing on the island, with a better view.
Nathan and Liane Brock of Wiregrass Studio, Inc. signed on for an architectural refresh of the ’90s-era house with all the columns and small rooms that entails. “The house was chopped up, dark, and strange,” says Nathan Brock. “The wife had great ideas for removing walls and opening it up.” In addition, they enclosed a circular covered terrace overlooking the water, which is now called the Ocean Room.
Because the house was built on 60-foot pilings, the team had to work within the original footprint because the only way to expand was upward. The second story underwent major changes, expanded to accommodate a spacious primary bedroom and a new bathroom. “The couple wanted natural light in the bathroom,” says Brock, “but it looked out on the sea porch, so we put in a porthole window that’s mirrored on the outside, giving them an ocean view from the shower with privacy.” The family’s favorite place to gather is the second-floor sea porch that stretches across the beach side of the house, offering spectacular views and enough seating for multiple generations.
“THE HOUSE WAS CHOPPED UP, DARK, AND STRANGE. THE WIFE HAD GREAT IDEAS FOR REMOVING WALLS AND OPENING IT UP.”
—NATHAN BROCK
In a departure from the usual beach house mandate, Jackson went to work incorporating the couple’s art and antiques. “She had a lot of her mother’s antiques as well as her own,” she says, “and they collect art when they travel. They have a deal that they both have to like it to buy it.” A collection of U.S. founding fathers’ portraits might be unexpected, but the owners love history, and their personalities are on display throughout the house. The wife wove beachy motifs into the architecture, such as fish at the tops of columns and the powder room’s turtle print wallpaper in honor of the protected species that roams the island.
In the living room, Jackson created a dreamy vibe. “We used all sorts of blues, aquas, and seafoam to transition from the interiors to the ocean view,” she says. “It’s lovely in the daytime and elegant for evening, with the mirror and Lucite and glass coffee table adding sparkle.”
With five bedrooms, the teams came up with different configurations for adults and children. Blue, green, coral, and shell pink distinguish each room and offer varying temperatures of color. In the primary bedroom suite, Jackson swathed the room in a lattice print wallpaper and contrasting rug that envelopes its residents in blue. The architects punched through an exterior wall to make space for the bathroom. Pretty corbels disguise a structural beam that remains, creating an intentional-looking niche for the bathroom and entry. When the sea porch is full of grandparents, adult kids, and grandkids, the youngest of whom compose the fifth generation of the family to vacation on Sea Island, it’s clear they are just getting started.
“WE USED ALL SORTS OF BLUES, AQUAS, AND SEAFOAM TO TRANSITION FROM THE INTERIORS TO THE OCEAN VIEW.”
—MINNETTE JACKSON
