121 Inverness: a whole home, lightened, brightened, and opened up.
What began as a kitchen, pantry, and master bath refresh grew into a full whole-home transformation in Colleton River, and earned a Lighthouse Award for Best Bath along the way. Here’s the story of how it came together.
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It started with three rooms, and grew into a home
When Terri and Mike Phalen brought us into their Colleton River home, the plan was focused: the kitchen, the pantry, the master bath, and fresh paint. But as we worked together, one idea guided every decision that followed: lighten it up, brighten it up, and open it up. Room by room, that vision carried through the entire house.
Perched right on the Chechessee, where it meets the Colleton and the Broad, the home had beautiful bones and gorgeous water views, but heavy trim, textured walls, and closed-off spaces were holding it back. So we got to work opening it up.
The result earned a Lighthouse Award for Best Bath from the Hilton Head Area Home Builders Association, and became one of the most rewarding projects we’ve had the privilege to build. Take the full walkthrough with Ryan and Terri below.
Tour the home with Ryan & Terri
The award-winning primary bath
Where a closed-in closet once stood, we opened the space into a light-filled primary bath, the room the judges recognized, and the heart of the whole “open it up” idea.
We took down a full closed-in closet and replaced it with a knee wall and a beautiful glass shower enclosure, complete with a window that pulls natural light straight in. Nickel-gap bead board, grasscloth wallpaper for texture, Distinctive countertops, and Plato cabinetry finished the space, right down to the outdoor shower off the primary suite.
Light, bright, and reworked for how they live
The kitchen was the anchor of the original scope, and it turned out beautifully. Plato cabinetry designed with the homeowners’ interior designer, a custom hood built by a craftsman in Dallas, and Distinctive countertops set the tone.
We relocated the refrigerator and added a pocket door to create a walk-in pantry and breakfast center, then discovered untapped space under the stairs and opened it up for even more storage. Angled cabinet runs bought back walkthrough room, the little details that make a tight space live large.
A screened porch, now usable all year
Terri’s favorite room. We turned a beautiful-but-seasonal screened porch into a space they use all year, with Screen Mobile vinyl drop-downs, a converted gas-log fireplace, and lighter cream tones in place of the old browns.
The outdoor kitchen is built for Lowcountry living, a full grill and a big burner ready for many a low-country boil, all tied into a Lutron lighting system that makes the whole space fade up and down with the touch of a button.
The “lighthouse” and beyond
A natural-wood turret ceiling, painted light and bright to become a true focal point, part of the airy, elevated feeling that runs through the whole home.
Details throughout the home
We ended up remodeling the whole house, and every space got the same care: smoothed walls that keep the eye on the water views, trim cut back to soften the lines, and custom touches in every room.
Among the favorites: a hand-built slat wall in the home gym, custom cut and smoothed piece by piece by our in-house carpenter Pierre and fitted precisely for the homeowners’ Tonal. A former AV closet reworked into a full room of storage once we relocated a cold-air return into the ceiling. A converted closet turned into an adorable “grandkids room.” And a formal dining room fitted with new cabinetry and metal-insert glass fronts. Every room different, and somehow it all ties together.
Hear from Terri & Mike
The best part of any project is a homeowner who’d do it all again. Here’s what the Phalens had to say.
Related work
Colleton River Remodeling
See how we work in Colleton River, from single rooms to whole-home transformations.
Colleton River projects →Bathroom Remodeling
Award-winning, spa-caliber primary baths built for how you live.
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Down-to-the-studs transformations under one contract and one standard.
Explore whole home →Ready to lighten, brighten, and open up your home?
Whether it’s one room or the whole house, we’ll bring the same craftsmanship and care that earned this one a Lighthouse Award. Let’s talk.
Call 843.707.7777