Gold standard

A MYERS PARK FAMILY BREAKS WITH TRADITION IN A BRIGHT AND WELCOMING RENOVATION.

by Cathy Martin | photographs by Laura Sumrak

Above and previous page: Three sitting areas create a cohesive design in the family room. Lee sofas anchor the space; the Lucite table is vintage. The draperies feature a Thibaut leafprint fabric, and accents from B.D. Jeffries and Cotswold Marketplace complete the design.

The couple’s previous home was beautiful but staunchly traditional, awash in dark red and blue tones with Persian rugs underfoot. When they purchased their current house in 2016 — a classic Myers Park two-story built in 1938 — they decided it was time to lighten things up a bit.

Like many home renovations, the work started with the kitchen. Before moving in, the homeowners enlisted Gerrard Builders and architect Grey Perry Design to overhaul the space. Once the kitchen was complete, it was time to tackle the rest of the home, starting with the bathrooms. Having previously worked with Swell Décor, the homeowner knew she could trust interior designer Angie Persson’s expertise with the interiors, rounding out the design team for the continuation of the project.

Old and new: Century dining chairs surround an antique table in the dining room. The tiered chandelier is from Arteriors.

“They wanted us to come in and just refresh everything,” says Persson, who started Swell Décor with Merrin Lowe in 2010. (Lowe was also involved in the project until her retirement in 2021.) “[The homeowners] really wanted to brighten it up,” Persson says. Specifically, the clients requested the color yellow be incorporated to create a warm, welcoming vibe.

In the entry hall, Persson replaced dark tones with white walls and trim, swapped a heavy rug for a lighter one, and added a new light fixture and pedestal table. “It opened it up,” the homeowner says, while setting the tone for the rest of the house.

When the pandemic struck mid-renovation, the homeowners began to rethink the way they were utilizing their spaces.

“While working from home in 2020, the homeowners felt the need for an at-home office that was to be placed over the garage when they ran out of space in the main levels,” Persson adds.

The dining room opens to the breakfast nook, above, which was added in the initial phase of the renovation by Gerrard Builders and Greg Perry Design. The pedestal dining table is from Highland House. Chairs are covered in a Lee Jofa fabric; the pillows are Cowtan & Tout.

Left, a space for entertaining: Four matching chairs are accented with custom Kelly Wearstler pillows, creating a cozy gathering spot. The Highland House sideboard is accented with Benson knobs from Modern Matter Hardware. The statement chandelier is from Made Goods.

The office and sitting room over the garage was a new addition to the home and incorporates many of the couple’s existing furnishings. Designer Angie Persson had the ottoman recovered in a neutral shade, added the antelope-print rug from Hall’s Flooring, and reupholstered the accent chair in a black-and-white Lee Jofa fabric.

The original home office was converted to a lounge area for the couple’s teen daughter — Laura Park wallpaper and artwork by Charlotte painter Melissa Herriott give the space a youthful vibe.

Off the foyer, Persson was intentional in creating an entertaining space in a seldom-used sitting room, replacing a sofa with four matching chairs centered around a cocktail table to invite conversation.

But perhaps the biggest metamorphosis was the large family room across the back of the house.

“The transformation of the family room was the most striking,” the homeowner says.

Creative space planning was key. “It’s one long rectangular space, and those are hard to pull together sometimes,” Persson says. Previously, the room was divided into two seating areas separated by a walkway to the French doors. Instead, the designer created three distinct seating areas: a middle sofa with two chairs, a second sofa on one side of the room, and two chairs by the fireplace.

“Now it’s much more cohesive,” the homeowner says.

While most of the furniture is new, the homeowners didn’t have to part with all their existing pieces in the new design. “Angie was happy to help us incorporate things we had and loved and still wanted to use,” says the homeowner, who has zero regrets about ditching the dated traditional aesthetic for a lighter, brighter new home. SP photographs by Richard Israel | written by Whitley Adkins

A PHOTOGRAPHIC JOURNEY ABOUT CONNECTING WITH THE PAST, RETURNING TO THE FAMILIAR, AND SEEKING GREATER MEANING IN THE PLACES ALONG THE WAY.

For my whole life, I’ve been making that South Carolina back-roads trek to the beach. Depending on the destination — Pawleys Island, Myrtle Beach or Charleston — the exact route varies. But one thing has always stayed the same: avoiding interstates and busy highways as much as possible, choosing instead the magical mystery and scenery of those quiet, country roads.

From my youngest years, I vividly remember riding in the back seat of my dad’s 1979 silver Volkswagen Bug convertible, my baby-fine hair blowing uncontrollably every which way. As I got older, I’d ride next to him in the passenger seat, my hair wrapped in a navy or red bandana (which my father, always so gentlemanlike, kept tucked inside the door flap for any female passengers). Working in real estate at Debordieu Colony, a family-friendly coastal community popular with many Charlotteans, he lived in downtown Georgetown during the years leading up to Hurricane Hugo. Dad would go to work, and I would wander the live-oak-lined sidewalks, studying the rich historical homes, both stately and modest, up and down Front Street, wondering what stories those rocking-chair- and joggling-board-lined front porches could tell.

When I was in high school, we took regular trips together to the coast for many a shag-dance competition, often staying at our favorite place, the Sea View Inn. In college, Dad would place a map in the glove box of my car, with highlighter marks tracing the back roads that would take me to my coastal destinations. He also gave me a list of names and telephone numbers of folks he asked me to stop and “call upon” at pay phones along the way. You see, he advised, you never know when you’ll be in need. And one time, as a young adult driving my brand-new, complicated European car in the early evening through tiny Dalzell, S.C., I learned that Dad was right. Thanks to him, on that quiet back road to the beach, I had someone to look out for me.

Today, those roads seem more magical than ever. With two sons of my own, I still make regular trips to the beach with my mom and stepfather. As I encourage my two young boys to take it all in, the farms and fields, stately oaks, old churches, broken-down trucks, and front-porch rockers are even more vivid. And those winding roads and their destinations wrap me in safety and comfort.

Over the last few years, every time I pointed to a tree, house, church or animal, I would say to myself, “I wish Richard were here with me to capture this on camera!” Whenever I’d mention it, his response — in his thick British accent — was always the same. “Oh yeah! Let’s do it. We have to do that!” Photographer Richard Israel and I see things through the same lens. Living in a thriving city with a tear-it-down, make-it-shinier mentality, it’s that messy-but-meaningful, story-filled stuff you can only find on the back roads that we crave.

Finally, on an unrelenting day of rain, we set out to capture all the beautiful things that have caught my eye for the last 45 years from inside the car — to get out and see them more closely, touch them and breathe them in. It was like finally meeting a close family friend or distant relative for the first time.

An old friend at Pawleys Island introduced us to our new friend, artist Zenobia Harper, who would in turn introduce us to a number of fine folks in the Gullah communities surrounding Georgetown, Brown’s Ferry and Pawleys Island. Each of our conversations had a consistent theme:

While each had been encouraged to leave their small communities in pursuit of something bigger and better, they all chose to return home. In seeking something shinier, something more, they realized in doing so, they had everything they needed and wanted all along.

This photographic essay is a journey about connecting with the past — imagining towns, buildings and the people that once inhabited them when they were vibrant communities. This story is about seeking greater meaning in familiar places. This story is about coming home.

Rembert

The tiny crossroads of Rembert consists of a gas station, car wash, an empty cinderblock building and Lilfred’s. I always wanted to know more about Lilfred’s — I assumed it was a restaurant but never saw any cars outside. On a rainy Wednesday morning, just two vehicles sit on the side of the building. We knock on the door and are greeted by chef-owner Trent Langston. He and his wife Wendy are prepping for tomorrow night’s dinner. Originally a gas station that opened in 1951, the couple now owns the long-standing establishment. The white-tablecloth restaurant serves a $45 four-course meal Thursday-Saturday and caters weddings and other events.

Sumter

At the Sumter Cut Rate Soda Fountain, I meet Don, a Sumter resident of 30 years, and Todd Touchberry, the restaurant’s general manager. From its opening in 1935 until the mid-1960s there was a grill and counter with 20-something stools, Todd explains. Today, photos and paintings of regulars and accomplished Sumter natives line the walls of the restaurant, including that of The Drifters’ Bill Pinkney. The original wood floor remains.

Greeleyville

Entering Greeleyville, a small, white abandoned cinderblock church is emblazoned with the words “True Believers” above a cross. I have always wanted to enter the doors as I pass through, and I always wondered what Sundays looked like in that place. As we got out of our car to approach the buildings, it was as if we could almost hear the preacher and a small choir singing.

Salters

Beyond Greeleyville, an overpass in Salters looks down on an old train depot built in the 1850s. Of all the landmarks on this journey, this one most vividly stands out. We peer into the station and abandoned buildings nearby, envisioning people long ago waiting for their train.

Cooper’s Country Store is our last stop before dinner. The store was built in 1937 by former cotton farmer Theron Burrows. Burrows’ son-in-law George Cooper purchased the store in 1974, and today it is run by his nephew, Russell Cooper. As we take a look around, Cooper points to the roof and beadboard, showing us the footprint for the original store and upstairs apartment where Burrows lived with his wife and three daughters from 1937 to 1952. In a screened safe in the kitchen, hams are cured for 90 days. Out back, pigs and chickens are cooked to sell. I sit in the rockers and strike up a conversation with a man named James, who tells me he was a gospel singer in New York City.

Brown’s Ferry

After making our way through downtown Andrews and over to Georgetown, we meet Zenobia for dinner at the River Room restaurant. Zenobia’s mother is Gullah, with family ties to Midway, just outside of Georgetown, and the Plantersville community. After college in Atlanta, followed by a two-year stint of wonderfully scandalous things in Harlem and a few other moves, Zenobia knew it was time to return to her roots. Twenty-seven years later, Zenobia celebrates her Gullah roots through a number of avenues. She develops programming for the Rice Museum and serves as community outreach coordinator with the Charles Joyner Institute for Gullah and African Diaspora Studies at Coastal Carolina University. After sharing a meal of oysters, fish, salad and fries, we drive to the Gullah community of Dunbar, where we meet our host for the night, Janette Kennerly, who runs an Airbnb at her property on the Black River. Her grandfather and six other men bought the land before the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863.

After a breakfast of homemade grits, salmon patties, spicy rice with sausage and peppers, and coffee, we stop at Brown’s Ferry Water Company, which I am told is the first Black-owned business in Georgetown. Local businessman and community organizer Jerome Holmes started the water company to address concerns about the health of his community.

Georgetown

The Gullah Museum in Georgetown offers presentations on Gullah Geechee history, crop cultivation, animal husbandry, arts, crafts, foodways, music and more. Museum co-founder and retired attorney Andrew Rodrigues shares the story of a quilt depicting Michelle Obama made by his late wife, Vermelle “Bunny” Rodrigues. The quilt, which hangs proudly at the Gullah Museum, is part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American

History and Culture and was featured in the 2013 Presidential Inauguration Parade in Washington, D.C. Andrew, a historian, activist and researcher, carries on the couple’s work, using the story quilts as a teaching tool in lectures at the Gullah Museum.

Zenobia greets us at the Rice Museum on Front Street, where Gullah High Tea is served by Jacqueline Williams and Rice Museum Director, Jim Fitch. Jacqueline shares how she was taught to make tea by midwife and herbalist Elizabeth Sumter, and shares her practice for “listening to her ancestors speak” while creating her concoctions. As we depart, Zenobia gives me a bracelet she acquired from a local antique shop.

For as long as I can remember, returning from Pawleys and Debordieu with a styrofoam cooler in tow, my family stopped at Independent Seafood Market to purchase shrimp by the pound. Since 1939, the market has been a Georgetown staple, offering fresh shrimp and seafood to locals and travelers alike. Sadly, the market has been sold to developers and will be closing for good. The longtime resident bird, Wilbur, looks into the glass door as if he knows change is coming soon — many Charlotteans will be equally devastated to learn of the market’s closing.

Later that afternoon at Kidogo Farms, amid six roosters crowing in the background Alissia Matthews explains how, after growing up in rural South Carolina, she moved to Texas to seek a better opportunity. Once tragedy struck her family — her brother lost his daughter to asthma — Matthews and her husband, Monte, decided they needed to make a change in their own environment.

About the same time, Alissia and Monte’s children proclaimed they wanted to live on a farm. “We kept dreaming it and writing it down.” In January 2020, they returned to visit family. The pandemic hit, and they decided to purchase 26 acres of pine forest from a timber company, and the children got their wish. “Being Black, Geechee and from the South, I swagger different, because I’ve always been a landowner, or I knew it was coming,” Alissia says. As she shows us around Kidogo Farms, which provides fresh produce for the surrounding community, she shares their master plan for the farm: By returning home, the couple hopes to “show their children what legacy-building looks like, and to let the land tell them what to do.”

Plantersville, Carver’s Bay and Indiantown

The ruins of Old Gunn Church, officially known as Prince Frederick’s Chapel, and a few miles down the road, the current chapel in Plantersville. A little red house catches our attention in Carver’s Bay, followed by a close look at Black Mingo Plantation in Georgetown County and a makeshift drive-in movie theater. The Indiantown Presbyterian Church, organized in 1757, is the oldest historical marker we see along our journey. The current structure was built in 1830. Richard uses it as an opportunity to remind me how young our country is compared to his home country of England.

Lake City

Our final stop is downtown Lake City in Florence County. The small town has been revitalized, in large part thanks to the vision of local philanthropist and businesswoman Darla Moore. For 11 days in April, the city becomes a gallery during the annual ArtFields event showcasing Southeastern artists. SP

WHETHER VISITING A CABIN IN THE WOODS OR A FAR-FLUNG DESTINATION HALFWAY AROUND THE WORLD, TRAVEL CAN IMPROVE OUR MENTAL HEALTH AND QUALITY OF LIFE.

by Krisha Chachra

According to the U.S. Travel Association, each year more than half of Americans leave vacation time on the table — hundreds of millions of unused days. Another study published in Nature found that people who change their scenery regularly tend to be happier. Despite the emotional benefits, we seem to ignore that using our extra time to travel is an important ingredient to improving ourselves and our mental health. Time is a gift, and how we use it reveals what we care about. Yet so many of us don’t prioritize using our time to travel.

Why does the thought of putting effort into travel stress us out? The key to eliminating this feeling is to be intentional about traveling the same way we are about the food we eat, our workout routines or the clothes we wear. Think about it — have you booked a “dream” vacation only to navigate large crowds and wait in long lines? Maybe you hoped to relax on a picturesque beach but returned feeling more anxious than before you left? If this is familiar, you are probably not being intentional about travel.

As a travel writer and consultant for more than 20 years, I have noticed that several people, especially moms, dread planning travel for their families. They don’t want to bother with hauling their kids anywhere or deal with bad attitudes or a spouse’s complaints. I get that. I am a mom. There is nothing more deflating than spending your precious time planning something just to have your family whine about it. But there is a formula for planning a successful travel experience, which in the end can create stronger bonds with family and result in more productivity, creativity and mental positivity at home and work. It’s about reframing how we think about travel.

1. Don’t view travel as a luxury. View it as a part of your mental well-being — as a growth opportunity. Travel can be luxurious, but don’t make the mistake of thinking that if you can’t afford luxury, you can’t afford to travel. Your body does not know the difference between an overwater bungalow in Bora Bora and a cabin in the North Carolina mountains. Your mind might know — but your body doesn’t care. What your body craves is the visceral experience that happens when your scenery changes. According to the extensive research conducted by Michael Merzenich, the author of Soft-Wired: How the New Science of Brain Plasticity Can Change Your Life, travel is linked to brain health. When you step outside your comfort zone, your senses awaken — an involuntary defense mechanism when you’re in new surroundings — and you’ll notice the cognitive benefits in observing something, tasting new foods or walking new paths. You don’t need to spend a lot of money going overseas or staying in a high-end resort to get a break. You don’t even need to take an entire week off work. Instead, take a day or two and try that one thing that you always wanted to do. A vacation doesn’t need to be a place, it can be an event. Get your body there and your mind will follow.

2. Think of a place you want to go, not necessarily a place where everyone else is going. Travel is not a destination bucket list that you need to check off. Ask yourself why you are putting so much pressure on yourself to book a week at Kiawah Island, a trip to Europe or the perfect Disney vacation. Is that really where your family will thrive right now? If your kids are into rock formations, go to the Grand Canyon or a cool quarry. If you need inspiration, maybe choose an artist town like Santa Fe, N.M., St. Petersburg, Fla., or Asheville. Listen to yourself and select the place that best fits your needs at the moment. Destinations offer wonderful opportunities to learn about other ways of living. Pick one where you might harness new life lessons to bring home.

3. Timing is everything. Recently I read a social-media post where a mom was beating herself up about dropping the ball on spring break. She called herself a “bad mom” and felt immense guilt for not providing a vacation experience for her family. Here’s the thing: Spring break is an artificial time to “need” to travel, and the industry capitalizes on the pressure you’re feeling to go somewhere. If it doesn’t work for your schedule, then don’t travel that week! Your kids will be fine. Instead, make plans for a week and location where the whole family can accomplish your vacation goals.

4. Have vacation goals! Really think about this one. Write them down. It is okay to be spontaneous on a trip, but direction is important. Don’t get lost satisfying everyone’s demands. If your goal is to bond with your spouse, then pick a place that affords opportunities to connect. Plan something that you both like doing (like hiking, exploring or wine tasting) and something that you’ve never tried together (like canoeing, rafting or sailing). Carve out time for your own goals — but follow through with your plan.

5. Discover something about yourself that you didn’t know. We all have an unknown window — information we don’t know about ourselves that is only unmasked in new situations. Travel makes us more of ourselves; it coaxes out our capabilities, likes and dislikes and uncovers our unknown areas.

Wherever you go this year, remember to be intentional — travel can be a vehicle to enhance your quality of life. It doesn’t need to be stressful, a bucket-list competition, or an out-of-reach luxury. Instead, view travel as a mental-health necessity — an opportunity to bond with others, connect with something new and learn more about yourself. SP

Krisha Chachra is a Charlotte-based travel writer. She has visited more than 50 countries in six continents and loves exploring new destinations with her husband and daughter. Contact her at krishachachra.com or on Instagram @destinationsanddelish and @krishachachra.

Turks And Caicos History

The 40 islands comprising Turks and Caicos were sparsely populated until the 1990s, when Providenciales emerged as a low-key vacation spot for the well-heeled. While the original Lucayan Taino inhabitants farmed, fished and gardened, later, salt became an important industry. After the Revolutionary War, displaced British Loyalists — along with enslaved people from the Gullah region of the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida — moved to the islands and attempted to grow cotton, but the limestone base wasn’t conducive for the crop. Over the years, the British Overseas Territory has been considered part of Bermuda, Bahamas and Jamaica. When Jamaica became independent in 1962, Turks and Caicos finally became a British Crown colony on its own.

LEAVE STRESS BEHIND AND ESCAPE TO THE TROPICS: TURKS AND CAICOS IS A 3-HOUR NONSTOP FLIGHT FROM CHARLOTTE — AND A LOW-KEY ALTERNATIVE TO CROWDED CARIBBEAN HOT SPOTS

by Cathy Martin

Confirming what many of us have long suspected, research published last year suggests being near water can improve mental health, building on previous studies touting nature’s calming effects.

Providenciales native Beverly Howell can attest to that. Though she’s an avid traveler who keeps her passport at the ready, the softspoken general manager at Point Grace, a 28-key luxury resort on the island’s iconic 12-mile Grace Bay Beach, admits to feeling a little anxious when she goes more than a few days without seeing the ocean.

After a recent visit to Provo, as locals call the third-largest of Turks and Caicos’ eight inhabited islands, it’s suddenly clear. From the moment the plane approaches the impossibly blue waters surrounding the 38-square-mile island, it’s easy to understand why Howell says she can’t imagine living anywhere else.

Point Grace is a tranquil oceanfront resort that’s been recently revitalized with an interiors refresh by New York-based AD100 designer Young Huh. Post-renovation, the ’90s-era property maintains a British West Indies aesthetic, but heavy, dark wood furnishings have given way to lighter finishes, soft pink and aqua tones, bold palm prints, and a brighter, airier vibe.