Daniel Island Dream

Susan and Kirk Dunn had a plan—when it came time for their retirement, they were going to build a home in their favorite spot, Daniel Island. “We wanted to move close to family members, and we also fell in love with the area over the years,” says Susan Dunn. “So, I started looking for ideas on Pinterest and Houzz and found myself gravitating to Max Crosby Construction homes. When our architect, Phil Clarke of Clarke Design Group, also recommended that builder, we made sure to include them on our interview list. Once I met Jamison [Howard, owner and president of Max Crosby Construction], I knew he was the one. He was honest, sincere and personable. We found communication with him and his team easy.”

Howard, who initially joined Max Crosby Construction in 1999, became its sole owner in 2009 when his partner, Max Crosby, passed away. Howard is trained in architecture, having attended the Savannah College of Art & Design’s Masters of Architecture program. This architectural background makes the custom homebuilder especially adept at working closely with architects to envision and build their clients’ dream homes. The company, under Howard’s tutelage, also has built idea houses for both Southern Living and Coastal Living—the only builder in the nation to do both.

Dunn requested her new home overlooking the golf course be light and airy while also feeling elegant, yet casual. “I want our company to feel like it’s their home as well,” she explains. To give her the feel she wanted, the builder, including in-house designer and project director Teresa Culclasure, worked with the homeowners to design a Lowcountry transitional home with coastal influences. Its 11-foot ceilings, vaulted in key locations, help bring the sense of spaciousness the homeowners requested. “The owners came with their own style, so it was easy to work together and make the appropriate selections,” says Culclasure. The designer and homeowner went shopping together for tile and countertops, and the designer walked through their existing traditionally styled Charlotte home via Zoom to advise them on what pieces of furniture could be incorporated into their new Daniel Island home. Culclasure coordinated furnishings into a comprehensive room-by-room presentation, which allowed the owners to see the home’s flow and quickly pinpoint where they needed to add furniture.

Bringing the Outdoors In

The design and construction team used Marvin Ultimate windows and doors, many of which are floor-to-ceiling on the back of the home, to capture sweeping landscaped golf course views. One of the highlights of the main level is a glass room that appears to jut out over the golf course. Originally designed to be a dining room, the couple decided it would be used more frequently as a sitting area for casual conversations. With four swivel chairs, its location off the kitchen makes it perfect as a keeping room or as a sunroom. An on-site adjustment by the builder relocated the dining room to a covered porch steps outside of the living room’s wall of glass doors.

Crafting the Details

The adjacent kitchen is a showstopper, including a dolomite-topped island that was hand-chosen by the homeowner. The designer found complementary quartz countertops, known for their durability, for the kitchen’s perimeter cabinetry; she also flowed the same quartz into the scullery and the wet bar. The Max Crosby Construction team worked with Carpenters Woodworks and Restoration to build a wall of cabinetry that provides ample storage and hides appliances. A custom vent hood, trimmed in bronze detailing, in front of a wall of windows is the focal point of the room.

For cohesiveness, the designer continued the gold theme by incorporating brass plumbing fixtures and other detailing throughout the home. Complementary highlights on the main level include brass mesh inserts in the upper cabinetry in the wet bar, gold Visual Comfort sconces and Top Knobs gold cabinet hardware in both the kitchen and scullery. The kitchen island and coffee bar in the scullery received an espresso stain to look like built-in furniture and coordinate with the mahogany sideboards the couple brought from their previous home.

A Welcoming Home

The adjacent foyer, with double modern glass entry doors, and a stair tower continue the transitional style and bring more natural daylight into the home. Standing in the foyer, guests are privy to a sweeping view of the main living spaces and the golf course captured outside a wall of windows. “The way the light flows through the house from all directions is nice,” says Howard.

The foyer introduces visitors to the homeowners’ love of fine art. They already owned many pieces of artwork, most of which were Lowcountry landscapes, which they were able to successfully reuse in the Daniel Island residence. Their collection includes a few pieces from their sister-in-law, Charleston artist Laurie Meyer. Both the art and the landscape inform the earthy color palette of sage green and turquoise, with terracotta accents reminiscent of Lowcountry sunsets. “It’s a peaceful palette,” Dunn says. “Teresa helped us keep the colors coordinated and under control.”

The builder’s architectural background allowed his team of craftsmen to innovate details during construction, giving the homeowners increased functionality and an improved design. For instance, the team designed and built window seats in some of the upstairs bedrooms to help smooth the rooms’ angles. The built-ins hide mechanical systems while providing cozy spots for guests to read and relax. “It was nice having two professionals knowledgeable about architecture work together on our home,” Dunn says. “This home is a dream come true for us.”

Howard adds, “We loved working with the Dunns and serving as a guiding hand to build what they envisioned. Our team’s goal is to be a servant to our clients; it’s a differentiator for Max Crosby Construction. This philosophy enables us to be amenable to modifying our processes to meet each client’s needs. It is, after all, their dream home that we’re bringing to life.”

For more information, visit maxcrosbyconstruction.com.