Home and Garden

HURRICANE MATTHEW DAMAGE CREATED OPPORTUNITY FOR A FABULOUS REBUILD

Ted Buchanan and Patra Evans couldn’t believe it when they saw the text while home in Atlanta: Hurricane Irma had blown through the South Beach area in Sea Pines with nary a scratch to their getaway villa.

“We were kind of biting our fingernails looking at Irma,” Evans said. “We didn’t want to go through it again.”

DIAMOND REALTY JOINS CENTURY 21, ADDS JOHNSON

Diamond Realty is now affiliated with Century 21 and will now be known as Century 21 Diamond Realty. The affiliation will offer the sales organization training, technology and an integrated national and international marketing platform. Bob Diamond continues to serve as the broker-in-charge.

Also, Diamond Realty has added Marlee Johnson as a real estate agent. She is a native of Illinois, a graduate of Western Illinois University, and also a certified nutrition counselor.

Let property management companies handle the details of rental properties

Whether you love the beach, golf or other amenities of the Lowcountry, owning rental property here can be a way to enjoy your investment while its value grows. A shortage of available rental properties means the rental market is hot right now, and prices for homes and villas in many communities are on the rise. Even if you don’t live here full time, as a Lowcountry property owner you can take advantage of beach parks built just for you and enjoy discounts on golf, retail and restaurants. Your property can be a place to create long-lasting memories for years to come, and it could become your future retirement home.

Whether you are downsizing into retirement or decorating a vacation condo, these moves tend to mean more excitement and definitely less square footage. In order to maximize your available space, so that every area looks spacious and comfortable, there are certain design and decorating rules that you should follow:

Architect William Court knows a thing or two about transforming the ordinary and everyday into the extraordinary. To him, it’s all in the details.

The ordinary — an open floorplan for a home’s lower level — has been a Lowcountry staple for decades. To elevate that floorplan to extraordinary, Court brought striking architectural elements from the outside in, creating design individual living space niches.

To increase the comfort, beauty and enjoyment of a home, many owners turn to renovations. Sprucing up also adds value to a home by keeping it up to date. In this special section, we have before and after photos of real projects handled by businesses found right here in the Lowcountry. 

Coastal Signature Homes aids local family

The Coastal Signature Homes team recently organized a fundraiser in support of a local family welcoming their child born with Spina Bifida. With the help of the Bluffton community, the event raised over $11,000 for Luis and Mercedes Calderon and their new baby, Ellis, to help with ongoing expenses.

Employees of the local custom homebuilder wanted to lend a helping hand when they learned that Luis Calderon, an employee of Stromer Plumbing - one of the builder’s most trusted and valued trade partners - was facing a challenging personal difficulty.

When a Pennsylvania couple wanted to build a second home in Port Royal Plantation, the realtor who found a perfect half-acre-plus lot for them suggested they meet a certain architect—who in turn suggested they meet a certain interior designer.

Enter Kelly Caron, owner of Kelly Caron Designs and the 2016 LightHouse-award winner for “Best Interior Design,” bestowed by the Hilton Head Area Home Builders Association.

Whether you live in a one-bedroom apartment or a sprawling island estate, we all share a common concern in this paradise known as the Lowcountry. From acrobat ants to wolf spiders, the seemingly never-ending variety of insects and critters you can expect to encounter run the gamut.

While natives might try to pass that hard-shelled creepy crawler off as just an innocent Palmetto bug, it’s a cockroach, folks. And it’s just one of the many pests that are looking to infiltrate your fortress.