“Sometimes we walk in and just stand there and go, ‘Do we really live here?’”
If the property, architecture, furnishings and gentle southern vibe of Gerry and Nancy Grossman’s residence could be concocted into a magic potion and squeezed into a bottle, “Lowcountry Comfort” might—and should — be on the label.
It would be a soothing lifestyle elixir day in and day out.
“When my wife and I are here walking around the outside, walking around the inside, we smile a lot,” said Gerry, a native New Yorker and a retired chemical industry executive and entrepreneur. “It makes us feel good. That’s special. This one just suits us, inside and out, and we just love it.”
“It does make us smile,” said his wife Nancy, a practicing attorney. “We wanted something bright with the light coming in…it’s bright and open.
“Every time we walk in to the home, we both go, ‘wow!’” said Nancy, a Long Island, N.Y. native. “This is just what we wanted…for us, it’s just the right size.”
The right size for the Grossmans is a 3,800-square-foot home in Colleton River Plantation with a traditional Lowcountry architectural style — and coastal casual furnishings to match.
“I wanted a beachy, but comfortable, sophisticated feel, and I think that’s what we got,” Nancy said.
Jurors for the 2015 LightHouse awards, sponsored by the Hilton Head Area Home Builders Association, agreed. The four-bedroom, three-and-a-half bathroom showcase received peer recognition by being named Best Overall, and receiving Best Kitchen and Best Bathroom, in its category.
The home, which sits on a lushly landscaped ½-acre lot with majestic live oaks and towering pine trees, was built by H2 Builders in Bluffton.
“What makes this house special to me is that the clients enjoyed the process and love their new home,” said H2’s Gus Hetzel, executive vice president of sales and client relations.
The Grossmans teamed with H2 in 2013 through its Design/Build Program, collaborating with Hetzel and owner Todd Hawk, architect Kenneth L. Gort and interior designer Hannah Fulton of the J Banks Design Group during the process. Hetzel also walked the couple through site evaluations, review board approvals, engineering plans, development schedules and cost appraisals.
“I took the ball and ran with it with them,” Hetzel said. “My role is facilitating through the design/build process.
“He’s a very detailed, organized guy,” Hetzel added. “He and I clicked really well in that regard so whenever anything looked imperfect in his world, I got it, I understood it and could make it perfect.”
One notable characteristic of the downstairs living area is the bank of oversized windows facing west toward the patio, the 45-foot-long heated swimming pool, inviting lagoon and the second hole of the Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course.
The spectacular view is accented by a constant daylong stream of sunlight into the kitchen, informal dining room, great room and master bedroom suite.
“We wanted something bright with the light coming in… it’s bright and open,” she said.
Not surprisingly, the Grossman’s favorite sitting area is outside in the comfortable screened porch with the sweeping vista, which opens up to the dining room featuring a handmade stained maple wood farm table as the centerpiece. (Truth be told, a close runner-up for Nancy is the build-out sitting area in the master suite.)
“We love the porch,” Nancy said. “We live on the porch most of the year.”
The entire home is custom designed and constructed by H2 Builders, and most of the furnishings, furniture, accessories and lighting fixtures were special ordered by J Banks. KPM Flooring in Hilton Head provided the custom-designed area rugs downstairs, the upstairs carpeting and hand-scraped wide-plank hickory flooring on the first level.
H2 and its skilled team of craftsmen designed and installed high-end millwork, custom cabinetry in the kitchen, and custom built-ins like the bookshelves in the great room and in the flex-room upstairs.
“We pay very close attention to detail and trim,” Hetzel said. “We do all of the trim ourselves.”
Soft neutral colors of the off-white and chinchilla gray variety bathe the walls, cabinetry and trim, and provide a dramatic contrast to the elegant solid and checked blues abundant in the area rug patterns, upholstery, throw pillows and other accessories. Original and commissioned artwork commands visual attention throughout.
The open floor plan downstairs with 12-foot-high ceilings culminate in the coffered ceiling design, transoms and a gas fireplace in the great room. The spacious kitchen with “beautiful custom cabinetry and lots of storage” dazzles the eyes with a quartzite topped island, honed granite counters, a dual-fuel Wolf range and hidden wine cooler, Hetzel said.
Elsewhere, the main bedroom’s sitting room alcove abounds with luxurious comfort: a 60-inch built-in television, rain shower head in the master bath with granite countertops and a door leading outside to the patio and pool where Nancy swims her laps. She’s also an accomplished tennis player, and they both enjoy golf.
A three-panel mahogany front door, two attics on both sides of the home for separate HV systems, a Control4 remote system for audio/visual inside and out beside the pool and other smart functions, plus other upgrades provide a leisurely Lowcountry lifestyle.
The Grossmans know it and appreciate it.
“Sometimes we walk in and just stand there and go, ‘Do we really live here?’” Nancy said.
VENDOR LIST
H2 Builders: builder
Kenneth L. Gort: architect
JBanks: interior design
KPM Flooring: carpeting, hardwood floors, ceramic tile
Distinctive Granite & Marble: granite
Palmetto Coastal Landscaping: landscaping
Year Round Pool: swimming pool
Grayco Building Center: hardware, lumber, windows
Billy Wood Appliances: appliances
EAC: HVAC rough
