The owner of this Kiawah Island house designed it to have a European feel — Emily Nonko
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- Renie Harwood and her late husband had ‘deep roots’ in Kiawah Island, S.C. having had vacation homes there for 40 years. For this property, they paid $500,000 in 1995 for a parcel of land where they could build a future retirement retreat. ‘I didn’t want the predictable beach house,’ Ms. Harwood says.
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- Ms. Harwood, 70, is a retired interior designer. She spent a year planning the design–for a family-friendly house with a European feel and water views–with architect Zach Carney. The house took 2½ years to build, she says.
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- The main level is high enough to see the ocean. Ms. Harwood filled the Jiving room with antiques from her travels to New York and London. The couple hosted up to 100 guests in the living room for events like cocktail parties and holidays.
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- Ms. Harwood hired a wood craftsman to customize the wood details in the home, including the carved mantel. She collects portraits, one of which hangs above the gas fireplace.
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- A banquette in the kitchen serves as a gathering place for Ms. Harwood’s two daughters and four grandchildren. In keeping with the formal European style, there is a separate dining room.
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- Ms. Harwood allotted less space to the bedrooms to accommodate more spacious living areas. The 5,715-square-foot home has four bedrooms and 5½ bathrooms.
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- ‘We went for something dramatic,’ Ms. Harwood says of the library. The black finish of the wood was inspired by a home she saw in England.
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- The master suite includes a sitting room, two bathrooms, a dressing room and a cedar-lined closet. After listing the home for $5.9 million, Ms. Harwood decided to auction it through Platinum Luxury Auctions. The auction will take place Feb. 17 with a $1.75 million reserve.
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- The pool house has an open living area with a Murphy bed, kitchen and bathroom. ‘The idea was for my children to have an independent home without having to open the big house; Ms. Harwood says.
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- Ms. Harwood decided to sell after her husband’s death in 2015. ‘This is my dream house: she says, ‘but now I want the freedom to rent and walk away.’
For the Full Wall Street Journal “House of the Day” Article by Emily Nonko, click here.
