When the Kearns family decided to renovate their newly purchased beach house, they quickly learned that it would require more than a dream and a dime. Located on Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina, a 3.3-square-mile (8.55-square-kilometer) barrier island on the Atlantic Ocean, any renovations on this 80-year-old cottage needed to adhere to the town’s strict building rules as well as the architect’s and builder’s construction concerns with blending two sections of the home.

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When you’re designing your dream home, it can be tough to let go. But trusting the architectural firm and a team of qualified designers can help you achieve exactly what you want while eliminating some of the headaches – a real bonus for out-of-town clients.

One of the greatest benefits of hiring an architectural firm like Herlong & Associates is being able to take advantage of the expertise and experience of the staff. Herlong is a full-service firm, so it can handle everything from the design of the physical home to the decorating details. This means you can really trust the designers to figure out your style and offer up appropriate options.

That’s what one of the firm’s project managers, Sabrina Cochran, has found in working with out-of-town clients building a vacation home on the Isle of Palms. The homeowners are both doctors with four young children, so they don’t have a lot of time to mull over each decision.

So, the team puts together three or four selections or color palettes and the clients can more easily pick one. Plus, with the vast number of choices available when it comes to designing and decorating a home, it can be easier to pick from four choices instead of 400.

These particular clients played a key role in selecting items like the tile and the lighting, but left many choices up to the architects and designers at Herlong – including the exterior color of the house, as long as it wasn’t orange, pink or yellow, Cochran says.

The clients were eager to have the home finished quickly and didn’t want their busy schedules to slow down construction of their home, she adds.

In many cases, it’s about trusting the designers and handing over the reins – even if it’s just long enough for the designers to narrow down the choices and offer some guidance. After all, that’s what architectural firms are for.

One of the best ways a business can improve is to take a step back and look at how it’s grown over the years – look at what’s worked, what hasn’t worked and what’s on the horizon.

Herlong & Associates Project Manager Rodd Heinlen says while the firm doesn’t always have all the answers, it is willing to learn and improve.

One of the ways Herlong is changing is by making homes more energy-efficient, a practice that wasn’t done a few years back, Heinlen says. Now, more thought and planning go into sealing the entire envelope of the house, including using spray foam insulation and better planning for the duct work.

“We’re thinking more upfront about the home and the many systems that go into it,” he says.

The firm also works to understand which trends make sense – or don’t make sense – for a client. For example, four to five years ago, homes were outfitted with all sorts of bells and whistles for home theater systems, surround sound speakers, music, lighting and Internet access. People could “turn their homes on” from a distant location or control the music in the living room from a switch in the kitchen.

But most people have found those gadgets and gizmos too complicated, particularly for those of a certain retirement age who aren’t used to a lot of technology and just want a simple lifestyle and home to go with it, Heinlen says.

This is where Herlong can step in and recognize what makes the most sense for the client, based on feedback from other clients or changes in the marketplace.

“We’re talking some clients out of doing some of the high-tech,” Heinlen says. “The people who have had it know exactly what they want. And if they haven’t had it, they probably don’t need it.”

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.

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.

The kitchen before the Herlong team started its work.

The company’s interior designers, including Theresa Bishopp, Sarah Melançon and Elizabeth Horn, are always up for a challenge. So when the firm was selected to participate in the 2009 Symphony Designer Showhouse, they, along with marketing director, Laura Anne Moore, were hoping they would get to design one of the smallest spaces in the five-building complex.

Formerly the Maison du Pré Inn, the showhouse is at the corner of East Bay and George streets. Having been used as a bed and breakfast for the last 20 years, it is up for sale at $4.89 million. The late 19th-century property has three houses and two carriage houses, totaling almost 10,000 square feet.

The annual Symphony Designer Showhouse is a fundraiser for the Charleston Symphony Orchestra League Inc., made up of a group of volunteers that support the local symphony orchestra.

This was the first year Herlong was selected to design a space in the showhouse, and Bishopp was excited when the team was awarded the space they’d been eyeing – a tiny area with a bedroom and kitchenette. The space is on the second floor of the old carriage house and is accessible via a small stairway.

Herlong’s initial design inspiration came from a piece of orange and gold drapery fabric that Bishopp had turned into a dress. That fabric was the beginning of a vibrant color palette for the home. It reminded her of her daily commute across the Ben Sawyer causeway to the firm’s office on the Isle of Palms – orange, gold and purple sunsets, the green of the marsh and the blue of the sky. “So we took that palette and ran with it,” she says.

The Herlong team collaborated closely with the designers who were working on other rooms in the house. While each room is distinct, it was important they all flow and complement each other.

The kitchen after the Herlong team finished its design.

The result is orange walls in the bathroom, purple window treatments in the bedroom along with a duvet cover made of the initial inspiring fabric. The kitchenette is finished with a green marsh color of American clay by Artisan Clay. “It’s very organic, a very green product. You just want to go up and touch it,” Bishopp says. A number of local companies, including King Street Kitchen Co. and Ferguson Enterprises, donated cabinetry, appliances and lighting fixtures to help complete the space.

While most people think rooms should be painted a light color to appear larger, the Herlong team took the complete opposite approach. They painted the walls and the ceiling the same color, which allows the wall to flow into the ceiling and actually make the room appear larger, even if it’s painted a darker color.

Bishopp said she saw designing this room as a huge challenge. “We knew it could be cozy. It wasn’t cozy when we went into it. But I could see the potential for it to be a room you wanted to spend time in. It hugs you when you walk in and makes you feel really warm and good.”

The Symphony Designer Showhouse is open daily through April 19. Visit the Charleston Symphony Orchestra League Web site for more information. Additional photos of many designer spaces are available online.

In recent weeks we’ve been hearing from clients who want to make the move to a better property and build, but are hesitant to take the next step. Because our company does mostly high-end, custom projects, our clients can afford to build, but they feel guilty about spending any money when so many people are struggling.

But now is the best time to build. Lot values have hit levels we haven’t seen since 2003. Building costs – both labor and materials – are the lowest they’ve been in a decade. Costs are down about 30 percent, letting you take advantage of significant savings.

With less work on the horizon, materials and subcontractor labor costs are dropping as they compete for what work is out there. In fact, prices are becoming as competitive as they should have been in recent years.

Homeowners are at a distinct advantage. You can build the home you’ve always wanted for less money, which means you can add that swimming pool, sunroom or spa-like bathroom because you’re spending less money on the entire project.

We also stress to clients who can afford to build that they are in fact stimulating the economy. Don’t feel guilty about building a new house; instead, see it as an opportunity to employ your neighbors. Hire an architect, a contractor, painters, interior designers and cabinet makers. They’ll be grateful and happy to have the business.

People may be tempted to put their lives on hold because of an uncertain economy, but there’s never been a better time to build. And, predictions are the economy will improve next year, so if you don’t start the design and building process now, you’ll miss out on the lower costs.

Consider building your new home today – there’s no time like the present.