When Debra and Charlie Rountree moved to Charleston in May 2011, it didn’t take long for them to realize how much they missed Columbia — six months later they knew they were coming home. Fortunately, it also didn’t take long to find the house they wanted. The only problem was, it would take some extensive renovations, especially to the exterior.
“We weren’t looking for a fixer upper,” says Debra. “My requirements were location, and the ability to downsize yet still have some spaciousness and charm. But when I saw this house, I knew I wanted it, even though it needed work. It was a great opportunity for me to create something, to start from a blank slate. I had no preconceived ideas about what I had to do. I could go with any kind of colors.”
That’s when she called on Linda Burnside, her good friend and owner of LGB Interiors. “My first reaction was, ‘Linda, help!’” Debra says. So the two sat down together and sketched the initial design on a napkin, and it turned out to be exact plan for the Rountree’s new house.
The Heathwood neighborhood home was pretty typical for most of the houses in the area. The prior owners had done some interior remodeling in the kitchen and with the addition of an upstairs master suite. The Rountrees weren’t trying to create a show piece, but a house they could enjoy. “We have young grandchildren, so we wanted a house that was fun,” Debra says.
“I spend time listening to what the client wants,” Linda adds. “It’s like being a set designer for a movie. The clients show me their things, what they like, then we look at the architecture of the house and what we have to work around.”
To help her better understand clients’ likes and dislikes, Linda prefers taking them to the furniture market in High Point, N.C. “We take the floor plans with us. It gives them a chance to see the fabrics and try out the furniture. If a client continues to gravitate toward something over and over again, then I know what they like. I’d rather everyone see all the options and know they’re making an educated decision,” Linda adds. “They see all the price points —high, medium and low — so there’s no buyers remorse.”
To help determine the color palette for a house, Linda believes art is the best place to start. “Start with the things you love,” she says, “whether it a painting, a rug, even a vase.”
And it was color that drove the major changes with the interior — teals and aqua blues, colors present in one of the large paintings, complement the neutral colors of the living and dining room walls, but it was a different story for the kitchen. Because it had been recently renovated and updated with modern appliances, Linda focused on the black subway tile that covered one wall — it was torn out and replaced with a more neutral colored tile.
“Blues and greens are my colors,” says Debra, “so I was a bit hesitant when Linda recommended ‘Jalapeno Pepper,’ a burnt orange color for an accent color in the kitchen. Sometimes I just had to say ‘I trust you.’” New light fixtures, selected at High Point, new bar stools and a new entryway onto the deck helped complete the look for the kitchen. “It was really hard to say ‘I can’t do anymore,’” Debra says with a smile.
One of the interior architectural changes recommended by Linda was to widen the entrance between the dining room and kitchen. “We wanted to open up the space so that you could see through the house from the living room to the kitchen,” says Linda.
To help add flow from room to room, Linda suggested shifting the dining room table to the side rather than keeping it in the traditional center location. She also had a bench seat added that includes storage bins underneath. With built-ins on either side of the bench, Debra now has plenty of room for storage and seating.
“We found the perfect size oval table for the room,” says Linda, and it blended beautifully with the sideboard that Charlie had given Debra many years ago.
In the living room, the Rountrees decided to rebuild the mantle and the hearth and add a built-in cabinet tucked behind the front door to allow for a display of books, art and photos. It sits next to the original fireplace.
Because the Rountrees do a great deal of entertaining, they needed plenty of seating space in the living room. “We spent a great deal of time in determining how to best make this room work from the standpoint of where to place the furniture,” says Linda. The result — with a sofa, recliner, three armchairs and large ottoman — is a room that is surprisingly comfortable yet not overcrowded.
Linda’s biggest challenge for the interior was working with the Rountree’s existing pieces, while blending them with new, more contemporary furnishings. “I knew that Charlie has more traditional taste, and Debra’s goal was to create an atmosphere of comfortable elegance.”
Linda transformed the traditional wood stain banister of the staircase by painting it with contrasting colors — white for the balusters and “warm stone” for the railing cap. She also added a patterned sisal runner to the stairs. The nook under the stairway serves as a “stable” for Debra’s grandson’s rocking horse.
Because the prior owners had young girls, their bedrooms were pink which were repainted, and the room now features an accent wall in navy, drawing attention to the small pops of the same color in the patterned pillows and window treatments. “I think that one of Linda’s greatest talents,” remarks Debra, “is bringing patterns together. I would have never thought of these combinations.”
The upstairs master suite features the famed “Railroad Baron” bed, designed by the late Michael Craig. Shades of gold and gray in the window treatments and bed coverings offer a warm retreat from busy days. The Rountrees renovated the master bath, adding a larger tub and glass walk-in shower. The granite counter of the double vanity and the bath wall add a nice contrast to the neutral tones of the cabinetry.
While most of the interior was completed prior to moving in, the exterior took a bit longer. “It was at least another two months before we finished the exterior of the house,” says Debra, “and we’re still working on completing some of the landscaping.”
They started by painting the existing brick and replacing the gray concrete steps with flagstone. The columns on the front of the house now feature a stone wrap. They also widened the front steps leading up to the main entrance and added a paver walkway. Large saucer planters flank each side of the steps along with wrought iron stair rails.
When the prior owners added the master suite, they used vinyl siding on the exterior walls. “We pulled all that off and created something more in keeping with the style of the house,” says Linda. “Getting the flagstone, the paver stone and the roof to work together takes effort.”
While the entire front yard was landscaped, the Rountrees chose to use pavers for the side and back yards. With a pool added in the back, Charlie also wanted a pool house that could provide plenty of space for entertaining as well. Martini glasses incorporated into the stained glass windows lend a touch of fun to the atmosphere.
The Rountrees also decided to replace the traditional wooden deck on the side of the house. Gray stain on the steps and stone columns on either side of the steps help it blend into the new look for the house.
Debra also converted an outside sitting area into a screened porch, adding even more livable space to the house. Landscape lighting and a new wrought iron fence complete the finishing touches.
While they are always tweaking; a few things here and there, Debra is grateful that most of the work was done before they moved in. “It’s so much better to have the time to make decisions,” she says. “We were fortunate that we could take our time and have the interior renovations done before we moved in.”
Additionally, she was helping plan her daughter’s wedding while the renovations were ongoing. “Our daughter was married on a Saturday in March 2012, and we moved in the following Monday!” Debra says with a smile. “What I really love is that I use every room in the house everyday. It’s a very functional house. I can get my arms around it. This is where I want to live for the rest of my life.”
