The Little Lodge

It was intended to be a simple guesthouse: a small, compact 1,400-square-foot cottage on a sweeping pasture across from the Inn at Brays Island in South Carolina. My client, Jim Meathe, a homebuilder by profession, envisioned it as a temporary residence. He built the English-style cottage, which he and his wife, Mary, have named Little Lodge, with the expectation that future buyers would construct a larger house on the one-acre property, relegating the cottage to its original role. However, things haven’t unfolded as planned. Brays Island, I’ve discovered, has a way of surprising you.

I quickly fell in love with this mercurial sea island, enchanted by its magnificent cypress and live oaks, serene waterways, and the lush expanse of this former 8,000-acre rice farm turned sportsman’s paradise. As fate would have it, I also fell in love with my husband, who had a home on Brays (now our home), while working on Jim and Mary’s project. That’s a story for another day, but suffice it to say that the Meathes didn’t have to twist my arm to make site visits. I’m pretty sure I conducted more construction walk-throughs on this house than any other.

 

I wanted the window to be a showstopper—reaching up and over the ceilings on the first floor and hugging the attic floor just right. — A vision realized through excellent collaboration with the engineers.

 

The stages of construction involved numerous design changes, each contributing to the project's richness and unique character.

Affectionately known as the Reading Room, the full impact of the windows unfolds behind the sofa, perfectly framing the view of the paddock.

The elevations might have concealed the complexity of the space, but the details revealed the full story.

A wall of windows bathes the galley kitchen in natural light.

Drawings for the sweeping staircase in the entry hall went through many versions and tests. Ultimately, we were inspired by the architectural styles of C.A. Voysey and Lutyens.

But the best part of the story is that Jim and Mary have also fallen in love with the house. So much for the idea that it might one day become a guesthouse; it turns out they are the happy guests, finding it to be the perfect size. Now, more than ever, we’re all realizing how little we really need, especially when nature itself is the true sanctuary.

Featured in Veranda Here ↗

Architecture and Interior Architecture in conjunction with Peter Block Architects

Interiors by Beth Webb