Home and Garden

Welcome, 2018 and the interior design trends that the new year brings. Modern interior colors and design ideas this year reflect the universal impulses of people to have fun, nest at home and protect the Earth. 

NATURAL ELEMENTS BRING A LOCAL TOUCH TO HOLIDAY DECORATING

The porcelain insides of oyster shells have always looked like angels’ robes to Stacey Collins, a local attorney who makes holiday ornaments from the shellfish. After gluing the shells together with hot glue, Collins adds Spanish moss for hair and wings made out of burlap. The rough-hewn fabric is used at outdoor roasts to cover oysters steaming over a fire.

“I started making them for myself, and then all my friends wanted one,” said Collins, who lives in Bluffton and works at a law firm on Hilton Head Island.

Watching a bald eagle take flight, soar and dive in the hunt for lunch is exhilarating. The scene connects us to our environment and brings us close to the wild.

RON BURHANS AND ASSOCIATES ADDS AGENT

Tyler Day has joined Ron Burhans and Associates as a real estate agent. A native North Carolinian, Day launched his real estate career at the age of 19, becoming one of the youngest Realtors to ever sell a home in the Charlotte, North Carolina, area. Day has a bachelor’s degree in management and entrepreneurship from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and recently moved to Hilton Head Island to pursue a real estate career.

STAGING EXPERTS CAN MAKE YOUR HOUSE LOOK LIKE A HOME TO BUYERS

Preparing your house for sale can be an intimidating task, especially if you have spent years filling your space with personal decorations, memorabilia and furniture. If the thought of sorting through it all is overwhelming, area professionals offer home staging services that create fresh and inviting spaces and ensure your home is ready for the market.

Hot weather and high humidity are as much a part of coastal South Carolina as wraparound porches and sloping metal roofs. Traditional architectural styles frequently found in old-time Savannah and Charleston eventually took root in Beaufort and Bluffton and on Hilton Head Island, shaping the style of the Lowcountry.

WHAT’S YOURS IS MINE: HOME EXCHANGE PROGRAM LETS OWNERS VACATION WORLDWIDE

Over the past three years, Rex and Susan Gale have gone on 12 vacations to four different countries without paying a dime for lodging. 

The Hilton Head Island couple does pay $150 a year to be part of an online home exchange program, but that’s considerably less than they would spend on hotel rooms and rental properties. 

Whether you are building your dream house from scratch or remodeling, deciding which builder to work with is the most important decision you will have to make. This is the company that will be working with you to choose your floor plan, to make customizations, to choose the materials you want to work with, and much more. It is incredibly important to ensure that you choose a company that you feel confident can help you turn your dreams into a reality. You’ll be working with your builder for quite a while, and you’ll be living in your home even longer, so you want to be sure that you’re comfortable in your professional relationship.

VILLAGE PARK HOMES TO BUILD 2018 ST JUDE DREAM HOME

Village Park Homes of Bluffton based homebuilder has been chosen to build the 2018 St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway in Richmond Hill, Ga. The St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway is a fundraiser for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. To date, more than 450 homes have been given away and the program has raised more than $378 million. The two-story, 3,800-square foot home will be built in The Commons neighborhood in Richmond Hill.  Tickets for the home giveaway cost $100 and will be available starting in April. Only 6,500 tickets will be sold. The winning ticket will be drawn on live television on July 27, 2018 on WSAV.