Bricks & Stones in Hampton Hall
Natural elements balance warmth, comfort and style.
Story by Dean Rowland + Photos by Clayton Girard & Ryan Greco
A leisurely walk inside this traditional Lowcountry-style home at Hampton Hall shows casual comfort, a touch of formality and a breezy air of sophistication.
The 4,245-square-foot residence is grand in its visual presence, certainly, but it’s not stuffy and unlivable.
There’s a subtle elegance, from the 7-1/2-inch-wide wire brushed and oil rubbed white oak plank flooring to the frosty carrina Caesarstone quartz with its soft ivory white and delicate grey veins. The premier quartz surfaces are used in the master and junior master bathrooms and for the custom-made kitchen glass-tile backsplash in a herringbone pattern.
The uniqueness of the house was a true collaboration between the architect (Court Atkins Group), the owners (Cathy and Al Borm) and the builder (Boshaw Residential).
“This home brings together many pieces and parts, architectural styling and detailing, Lowcountry casual and contemporary, traditional, blending it all in, making it feel comfortable in every room, and the use of many types of materials,” said Ron Boshaw, who founded his custom-home building company in Bluffton in 2012 and serves as president.
It certainly didn’t hurt to have John Antunes Jr., chief operating officer of AGM Imports Granite & Marble in Hardeeville, as the resplendent supplier for the natural stone needs for the interior surfaces. His father, John, founded Distinctive Granite & Marble in 1984 and then formed AGM to import stone in 1996.
Complementary and contrasting colors combine with natural and man-made fixtures throughout the Hampton Hall home, as found here in the kitchen, a sitting alcove in the master suite, the master bedroom suite, the master bathroom, the office/study and the formal dining room.
Boshaw said his Bluffton clients had specific tastes and wanted a formal dining room in the rear of the four-bedroom, four-and-a-half bathroom home. The interior craftsmanship created a distinct Lowcountry feel with contemporary touches here and there.
The home took about a year to build and was completed last spring. It proved challenging to Court Atkins because it sits on a .44-acre, pie-shaped lot with a wide front that narrows to the rear. It occupies a prime location at “The Pointe,” an enclave of highly desirable lots on a peninsula.
A bottle of wine from the downstairs rack might be available for the asking when heading upstairs to a guest bedroom and a private kitchenette.
The clients requested a three-car garage on one side of the home, which proved to be an unworkable design. Instead, the home features a two-car attached garage with a third detached garage that has a covered breezeway to the home and resembles a carriage house.
The inviting front exterior welcomes family and friends, and the enclosed porch patio with fireplace in the rear offers a comfortable lakeside view from all angles.
Boshaw also addressed the office/study, which provides direct access to the breezeway, and allows personal work space for the semi-retired executive.
“In the study, we vaulted the ceiling and put V-Groove wood on it and faux beams to create volume and interest in the space,” said Boshaw, who moved to the Lowcountry in 2005 with his family.
Faux beams also stretch across the 12-foot-high ceilings in the great room, which is anchored by an arresting coffered ceiling whose style appears again in the kitchen.
The kitchen countertops, which paces easily to a walk-in pantry with a prep-station and wine area, showcase durable white Macaubas quartzite.
“My dad has been in the stone business for over 35 years,” said Antunes, who also serves as the purchaser of stone for AGM that sells granite, marble, travertine, limestone, soapstone and onyx. “We directly import from quarries all over the world.”
¶ Boshaw and his clients selected a beautifully textured honed Virginia mist granite for the upstairs kitchenette, laundry and summer kitchen in the enclosed porch. That outdoor living space provides a direct lake view with aesthetic pinpoints of grooved ceiling panels, tiled flooring and a custom-built fireplace.
The front of the home, which might hold the most historically and personally interesting element of all, is the traditional Lowcountry front porch with detailed columns and shutters.
“The herringbone floor pattern has a story,” Boshaw said. “The herringbone brick floor connects from the main porch outside to the inside owner’s space to give you the feel of a traditional plantation home,” Boshaw said.
The brick extends to the mudroom, laundry room and stairwell, where a wine rack, scone lighting and shiplap walls are found in the hideaway “dead space” that’s functional and decorative.
Here’s the kicker to the brick story. The brick is produced by the international company where Borm served as president and chief executive officer and serves today as an advisor: Boral Industries.
The clay Meridian brick is sustainable and comes in a variety of colors and shapes. It is currently making headway in the residential construction industry in this area. The Borms’ home features the Boral brick on the front porch, painted brick on the two-car garage and the exterior siding.
“It’s been very interesting introducing a brand new product to this area,” he said.
THE HOME TEAM.
Builder Boshaw Residential
Architect Court Atkins Group
Stone AGM Imports Granite & Marble
Appliances Play & Gourmet
Cabinetry Advanced Kitchen Designs
Ironworks Salt Marsh Metalworks
Landscape Palmetto Horticulture
Windows Pella
