Herlong Architects

When it comes to using wood as a decorative finish, the most common question has been “wainscoting or not?” But wood trim can add real character to a house.

Layne Fitts Nelson, our firm’s design director, is doing more custom millwork for clients who want an extra design element in their house beyond standard baseboards and chair rails. She often works closely with Southern Lumber & Millwork, a Charleston lumberyard and millwork shop interested in providing more custom designs and trim pieces. 

It’s a partnership built on good design and efficiency. Our firm works with Southern Lumber & Millwork – as well as other businesses – to achieve the best design for the best price.

“We try to find the most efficient and economical way to achieve the desired look,” Nelson says.

Every house and every client is different, which is part of the charm of creating millwork – it’s unique to the house and can reflect the overall home design as well as the personal tastes and styles of the homeowner.

One client had a photo of a fireplace and mantel they liked. So Nelson was able to take the curve in the mantel and incorporate it into the trim and the ceiling beams in the room. It may seem like a small touch, but it’s a dynamic way to pull a room together.

Also, more clients are interested in using wood in nontraditional ways, making it a material that works for more than flooring or a simple beadboard or paneling. Ceilings, in general, are getting more attention whether they are painted or accented with wooden beams and trim, Nelson says.

“Now, the ceiling is almost as important as the walls and floor,” she says.

Families are unique, changing creatures with distinct needs – particularly when it comes to their living space. One of the ways an architectural firm can meet those needs is by designing the house to accommodate the way people actually live.

If you pull a house plan off the shelf, it may be close to what you need, but chances are good you’ll be wishing for more closets, a larger porch or more space in the living room. An architect can tweak a plan or create a custom design to add the features that make life easier for families, whether that’s more storage space or a bigger kitchen.

Sabrina Cochran, a project manager here at Herlong & Associates, says she has encountered families who needed a convenient space to store the extra dining room table leaves, for example. Another family needed lots of space for their two Christmas trees and lights – plus, an extra breaker box and outdoor outlets to meet the needs of their holiday décor.

Designing homes on the coast, means creating suitable space for golf clubs, golf carts, kayaks, boats and bicycles. Or a couple who loves to cook may want a large kitchen, while young married professionals might prefer more space for entertaining.

Cochran also helps families think about long-term needs, such as designing a playroom that can be easily converted to a den as the children age or having dual master suites – one upstairs and one downstairs. The downstairs suite can serve as a guestroom and then the homeowners can use it as they age and don’t want to climb the stairs.

“We have worked with so many clients that have all different needs, so we can suggest things to homeowners they might not have even thought about,” Cochran says.

Thanks to the attached garage, many of us enter our homes through a side door, heading straight from the garage to the kitchen, laundry room or back hallway. The front door and entryway are reserved for guests and maybe some special decorations during the holiday season.

Even though you might not use it on a daily basis, your front door is important. It’s the first chance for your house to make a first impression. Think about when you pull up to a house you’ve never been to before, you don’t check out the garage and the side entrance first. You look at the front door, the windows, the porch and the overall curb appeal. That means when it comes to designing the front of your house, you need to give it plenty of attention and thought.

·         Decide if you prefer a large porch, a small overhang, columns or simply a few steps leading to the front door.

·         Match the style of the door itself to the rest of the house. If your house says comfy and country, don’t go all out on a front door with stained glass windows.

·         Make the front of your home welcoming, which means placing a focus on how the home “feels” when someone arrives, rather than overwhelming visitors – and yourself – with massive columns and grand arches.

·         Blend the public entryway – your porch or stoop – to the private entryway or foyer into your home. If the public sees a grand front porch from the street, carry that theme into the foyer.

·         Look at the surrounding landscape or your landscaping plans and how they will fit together. Are there large existing trees that may cover some of the front entrance, for example?

When helping our clients with the architectural design of their home, we want to make the front entrance eye-catching and appealing while keeping with the design and look of the rest of the house. It’s one way a design professional can be a great asset. We’re able craft an overall design for the house that carries from the front porch, through the front door and into the living space in a way that is beautiful, functional and seamless.

We realize the house is an extension of the homeowner, so we’re working to create that great first impression for both of them. 

House on Sullivan's Island

People take a great deal of pride in their homes. Even in a housing development with just three or four variations of house designs, the residents like to set their homes apart. They carefully select the color of the exterior, the trim or the front door. They add landscaping features, plants, water fountains, flags from their alma mater – all items that make their homes as unique as possible.

But by having a home that is custom designed, you can go beyond the extra garden gnomes and have a house that really is one of a kind. Aside from the zoning or building code restrictions, working with an architect allows you to create a home that is truly yours. If you want a lot of windows, you can have a lot of windows. If you want to add some personal touches, a window seat or a corner home office, those are possible when your home is designed from the ground up.

As firm owner Steve Herlong points out, “The benefit of custom design is your house really is your house. It embodies your personality, interests and day-to-day living needs.” 

Our firm enjoys working with clients from the ground up. We start from scratch and make the home fit the client, instead of trying to fit the homeowner into a standard design that may or may not mesh with their personal tastes and space needs.

Aside from having a floor plan and design that really fits your life, other benefits to working with a professional architect include:

• Architects understand the restrictions and special needs of your area. In Charleston, we have to understand how to build along the water or how to build or renovate in historic areas. A professional can walk you through that process.
• Making your house fit the size of your lot. If your property is an odd shape, such as wide and shallow or long and narrow, you can benefit from having a custom house plan that works within those constraints.
• Having a custom home design also benefits your landscaping. Your property may have several existing trees you’d like to save. Architects can help figure out the best way to keep those trees and use them to enhance the aesthetics of your home.