This Spanish Wells renovation took 30 years to complete. Group 3 Designs unveils the finished result.
Nothing lasts forever, but a home with beautiful bones can always find a new lease on life.
Story by Barry Kaufman
Photography by John McManus
When homeowners Dan and Shannon Stratton first approached the concept of taking over stewardship of this Brams Point home in Spanish Wells 30 years ago, they weren’t necessarily in the market for a renovation, particularly on a home that was already well-seasoned. Built in 1982, it would have been a prime candidate for a teardown. But something about the home called to them.
“We looked at it sitting on three lots, and at first the plan was to pull the house down, divide the lots, build two houses, flip one and build our dream home on the other lot,” said Shannon. “But when we really looked at it, the bones of this house were so special — the intricate moldings, the arches, everything. It’s a special house. We’re really grateful we were able to keep it and just take care of it.”
On Brams Point Road in Spanish Wells, this longtime family home reflects a decades-long partnership between owners Dan and Shannon Stratton and architect Mike Ruegamer, who first renovated it 30 years ago and recently returned to update the interior and exterior while preserving its original character.
They called in Mike Ruegamer of Group 3 Designs to take those lovely bones and build something timeless on them. There was only one problem.
“Clients want timeless, but there’s really no such thing,” he said. “In 30 years, things change, aesthetics change, and how a family uses a house changes. Things always need to be updated.”
Even if timeless is a myth, the team at Group 3 got pretty close on that first renovation 30 years ago. When the time came to address all the things that inevitably changed, Ruegamer was brought back to revisit his old project. What they created this time around challenges his hypothesis. Timeless actually may exist, and they may have created it here.
Sun streams through the new playful patterned windows, turning the brick corridor into a glowing link between the home’s wings. Outside, the expanded glasswork gives the house a lighter profile and a graceful connection to the gardens
A walk in the light
One of the most visible updates came in the glass-enclosed hallways that bridge the home’s heart and its wings. The home’s windows were updated across the board with small squared Federal-style panes replaced by more ornate and playful curves.
In the hallways they created a wonderland of light and scenery.
“It’s a very large, spread-out house, so those spaces are a nice transition to the side wings,” Ruegamer said. “There were bays with narrow transoms, and we designed bold new windows that made for a nice feature while also enhancing the view.”
Those windows, so beautifully displayed in the corridors, were the biggest item on Shannon’s to-do list.
“When we bought the home, we replaced every door and window,” she said. “The windows were very small panes, very traditional Lowcountry style, and changing them out changed the whole look of the house inside and out.”
A new kitchen recipe
As anyone will tell you, the easiest way to give your home an entirely new look, assuming all-new windows aren’t in the plans, is to refresh the kitchen. With this space they not only gave it the kind of aesthetic face lift that now graces the entire home, they also added entirely new ways of living in the kitchen.
“We had redone the kitchen along with everything else 30 years ago. They wanted to expand it and open it to the back, with a larger dining area because their family has grown,” Ruegamer said.
The original, more ornate pine cabinets were augmented with new high-gloss white cabinets that better reflected the limestone tile and overall lighter look of the kitchen. The expansion outward also included the larger windows that now surround the home, creating a light-filled dine-in area with extraordinary views and a few surprises of its own. Concealed within a sidebar, a flat-screen TV pops up to catch the news or game when desired.
But any in-home chef will tell you, the coolest addition to the kitchen came when the Strattons had the inspired idea to share the kitchen fireplace with a working pizza oven.
“We love to cook. Dan’s the pizza chef. It’s something we had talked about for years and years, and we were originally going to do one on the outside,” Shannon said. Fortunately, the fireplace made the ideal spot to create their own pizzeria inside. Well, ideal may be a strong word. “It took a lot of engineering and creative teamwork between architect Mike Ruegamer and the contractor, Rick Harrington.”
From porch to panorama
Perhaps the largest structural change came in the rear of the home, where a large, classically Southern back porch was enlarged and enclosed.
“In the South you really need a screened porch,” Shannon said. “We loved that because it opened everything up and greatly increased the usability.”
Just as their plans once included subdividing their lot, the Strattons subdivided their back porch and used its space to get closer than ever to that timeless feel they’ve been chasing all these years.
“When they enclosed the porch, it let them open all the house doors and added so much livability,” Ruegamer said. “It also let us bump out the kitchen with the new style of windows that enhances the views.”
It’s the same kind of light touch that was used so effectively throughout the home’s latest renovation. By adding and changing deliberately, homeowner and designer were able to bring the home into the 21st century while honoring everything that made it so special in the first place.
“It’s kind of a landmark on the island that we get to be stewards of,” Shannon said. “It’s a great property and a great piece of land.”
