7 minute read
Painterly Punch
An artist-turned-designer creates a happy home on Whitemarsh Island
Written by MARGARET DANIEL Photography by BRENT INGERSOLL
IT SEEMS THE BEST THINGS in life come when you aren’t looking for them. In one such stroke of serendipity, while munching on burgers at the Savannah Yacht Club, a Whitemarsh Island couple heard a neighbor mention an available lot on Commodore Drive. Eager to learn more, they hopped on their bikes, inspected the site by moonlight and, instantly enchanted by the view, pedaled furiously back, offering to take the property on the spot.
Once the lot was theirs, the family of four enlisted the experts at Alair Homes Savannah to build their four-bedroom, five-bathroom waterfront house with the help of Catherine Lovett:
professional painter, photographer and, for this home, interior designer. The child of serial movers — her parents ambitiously renovated houses all over the East Coast and even one in far-flung New Zealand — Lovett comes by her knack for design honestly.
For the Commodore Drive property, so seamless was Lovett’s process and so successful the result, Alair Homes asked her to come on staff. No wonder: the completed design exudes a captivating joie de vivre from the moment guests enter the front door. “When you walk in, there has to be a pop,” she says. “Something that makes you go ‘wow.’”
That very first “wow” — panels of Schumacher’s Brighton Pavilion wallpaper adorning the walls of a study just off the foyer — inspired the home’s larger design. The chinoiserie paper, paired with turquoise trim, draws guests in while directing their eyes
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Gucci wallpaper, below, adds pizzazz to the powder room, but the kitchen and outdoor living spaces are more subdued.
toward the dry bar, lacquered in an acidic chartreuse. A mirror tile backsplash (Lovett hand-antiqued the tiles herself) and a boar’s head laden with string lights above a sleek, stainless-steel counter ensure the small room packs a resonant punch.
Such saturated hues make perfect sense to the painter-turneddesigner, who sees them in the island marshes she puts on canvas. “I love the color that nature provides,” Lovett says of her beloved blues and greens, “and [those rooms] were a fun way to play the two colors off of each other.”
Across from the study in the powder room, Lovett’s signature whimsy shines through again. Designed to shine like “a little jewel box,” a gang of Gucci tigers silently growl at guests as they gaze into the antique, gilt mirror. These of-the-moment colors and patterns are grounded by the off -white foyer and central living area. But not everything is bright and busy: the back room, with its many uses and expansive wall of windows, allows the “eyes to rest,” as Lovett says. Here, instead of punchy papers or glossy paints, she lets the seasonal hues of the marsh do the talking. “I wanted the interior elements here to be more organic.”
Stained wooden cabinets and high-end appliances mingle under exposed wooden beams to create a luxurious chef’s kitchen open to the dining and living areas. Tufted dining chairs from Restoration Hardware, a selection of antiques from Scott Antique Market, and a pair of Kelly Wearstler Linden lamps from Circa Lighting mingle to create an inviting, unfussy living space with uninterrupted views of the marsh.
Accenting the walls are antique mirrors — a nod to the adjacent dry bar — and even a few paintings by Lovett herself. Her landscapes, notable for their brilliant colors and bold strokes, refl ect her interior design philosophy: clean, modern lines paired with fresh pieces that will stand the test of time. “Everything has to have relation and balance,” she notes.
Just beyond this hardworking space is a massive screened porch that has quickly become the owners’ favorite spot to relax (the master suite even has its own private porch connected to the central, outdoor living space). Back inside, the home’s various bedrooms feature quiet palettes that emphasize the views beyond. Fun details, like fi sh scale tiles in the master shower, are some of Lovett’s cheeky nods to the Lowcountry setting.
Every room carefully sized and considered, the homeowners report that they are contented on the waterfront. Lovett, whose bold designs made it all possible, sums it up succinctly: “It’s a happy home.”
Details
Year built: 2019
Year purchased: 2017 (lot) Square footage: 4,000 Number of bedrooms and bathrooms: 4 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms
Time to complete: 3 months planning, 11 months construction
Architects/planners: Alair Homes Savannah Interior designer: Catherine Lovett Contractor/builder: Alair Homes Savannah
Tile/flooring: Floor & Decor, Stone Center Online, Garden State Tile
Windows/doors: Coastal Sash & Door, Guerry Lumber, Coastal Millworks
Kitchen design: Wilmington Woodworking, Walsh Custom Surfaces
Bath design: Counterparts, Sandpiper Supply Lighting design: Circa Lighting, Scott Antique Markets
Floors: Cowart Floor Surfacing, Culver Rug Co. Landscape design: Catherine Lovett Hardscape design: Shane Elmore, SME Enterprises Electrician: RSW Electrical Contracting Audio/visual: TV Guys Home Theatre Design Carpenter: JD Painting Plumber: Construction Pros
Landscaper: Hester & Zipperer HVAC: Burrough’s Heat and Air Furniture/lighting: Lee Industries, Fibreworks, Gabby, Restoration Hardware, Georgia Furniture, Scott Antique Markets Appliances: Billy Wood Appliances Art: Catherine Lovett, Betsy Cain, William Weyman Metal dry bar tops: Forsyth Metal Works Tabby and stucco: C&C Enterprises
