Georgia Coast Design & Construction - Southern Living Custom Builder Showcase Home at St. Simons Island, GA Built on a one-acre, lakefront lot on the north end of St. Simons Island, the Southern Living Custom Builder Showcase Home is characterized as Old World European featuring exterior finishes of Mosstown brick and Old World stucco, Weathered Wood colored designer shingles, cypress beam accents and a handcrafted Mahogany door. Inside the three-bedroom, 2,400-square-foot showcase home, Old World rustic and modern European style blend with high craftsmanship to create a sense of timeless quality, stability, and tranquility. Behind the scenes, energy efficient technologies combine with low maintenance materials to create a home that is economical to maintain for years to come. The home's open floor plan offers a dining room/kitchen/great room combination with an easy flow for entertaining or family interaction. The interior features arched doorways, textured walls and distressed hickory floors.

Joseph Schell
Inspiration for a mid-sized timeless medium tone wood floor and gray floor great room remodel in San Francisco with brown walls

Transitional St. Louis, MO kitchen remodel with shaker cabinetry, granite countertops, modern range hood and porcelain diamond pattern backsplash.
Example of a classic l-shaped medium tone wood floor eat-in kitchen design in St Louis with shaker cabinets, medium tone wood cabinets, granite countertops, beige backsplash, porcelain backsplash, stainless steel appliances and an island

This project presented unique opportunities that are not often found in residential landscaping. The homeowners were not only restoring their 1840's era farmhouse, a piece of their family’s history, but also enlarging and updating the home for modern living. The landscape designers continued this idea by creating a space that is a modern day interpretation of an 1840s era farm rather then a strict recreation. The resulting design combines elements of farm living from that time, as well as acknowledging the property’s history as a horse farm, with staples of 21st century landscapes such as space for outdoor living, lighting, and newer plant varieties. Guests approach from the main driveway which winds through the property and ends at the main barn. There is secondary gated driveway just for the homeowners. Connected to this main driveway is a narrower gravel lane which leads directly to the residence. The lane passes near fruit trees planted in broken rows to give the illusion that they are the remains of an orchard that once existed on the site. The lane widens at the entrance to the gardens where there is a hitching post built into the fence that surrounds the gardens and a watering trough. The widened section is intended as a place to park a golf cart or, in a nod to the home’s past, tie up horses before entering. The gravel lane passes between two stone pillars and then ends at a square gravel court edged in cobblestones. The gravel court transitions into a wide flagstone walk bordered with yew hedges and lavender leading to the front door. Directly to the right, upon entering the gravel court, is located a gravel and cobblestone edged walk leading to a secondary entrance into the residence. The walk is gated where it connects with the gravel court to close it off so as not to confuse visitors and guests to the main residence and to emphasize the primary entrance. An area for a bench is provided along this walk to encourage stopping to view and enjoy the gardens. On either side of the front door, gravel and cobblestone walks branch off into the garden spaces. The one on the right leads to a flagstone with cobblestone border patio space. Since the home has no designated backyard like most modern suburban homes the outdoor living space had to be placed in what would traditionally be thought of as the front of the house. The patio is separated from the entrance walk by the yew hedge and further enclosed by three Amelanchiers and a variety of plantings including modern cultivars of old fashioned plants such as Itea and Hydrangea. A third entrance, the original front door to the 1840’s era section, connects to the patio from the home’s kitchen, making the space ideal for outdoor dining. The gravel and cobblestone walk branching off to the left of the front door leads to the vegetable and perennial gardens. The idea for the vegetable garden was to recreate the tradition of a kitchen garden which would have been planted close to the residence for easy access. The vegetable garden is surrounded by mixed perennial beds along the inside of the wood picket fence which surrounds the entire garden space. Another area designated for a bench is provided here to encourage stopping and viewing. The home’s original smokehouse, completely restored and used as a garden shed, provides a strong architectural focal point to the vegetable garden. Behind the smokehouse is planted lilacs and other plants to give mass and balance to the corner and help screen the garden from the neighboring subdivision. At the rear corner of the garden a wood arbor was constructed to provide a structure on which to grow grapes or other vines should the homeowners choose to. The landscape and gardens for this restored farmhouse and property are a thoughtfully designed and planned recreation of a historic landscape reinterpreted for modern living. The idea was to give a sense of timelessness when walking through the gardens as if they had been there for years but had possibly been updated and rejuvenated as lifestyles changed. The attention to materials and craftsmanship blend seamlessly with the residence and insure the gardens and landscape remain an integral part of the property. The farm has been in the homeowner’s family for many years and they are thrilled at the results and happy to see respect given to the home’s history and to its meticulous restoration.

Unique design details found throughout this kitchen bridge the gaps between classic, modern, industrial, and eclectic. Rare and intricate combinations of tile, wood, steel, aluminum, and Dekton create a comfortable large kitchen with harmonious balance. Classic white cabinets with stainless steel toe kick are contrasted by the large walnut island with a taller coordinating toe. Floating in complete disguise is the 1.2 cm ultra thin countertop by Dekton rarely seen in a classic kitchen application. Walnut shelves float on the white stamped tin patterned tile and are grounded with the industrial stainless tambour appliance garage. The 3" thick floating bistro bar top by Dekton cantelivers nearly three feet with minimal visual support giving ample knee space to those who lounge at the table. The two island kitchen with an eating bar and breakfast table solved every design dilemma a large long kitchen space can have. Functional spatial design combined with unique material selections and applications makes this kitchen truly the heART of the home! Photo Credit: Fred Donham-Photographerlink

Georgia Coast Design & Construction - Southern Living Custom Builder Showcase Home at St. Simons Island, GA Built on a one-acre, lakefront lot on the north end of St. Simons Island, the Southern Living Custom Builder Showcase Home is characterized as Old World European featuring exterior finishes of Mosstown brick and Old World stucco, Weathered Wood colored designer shingles, cypress beam accents and a handcrafted Mahogany door. Inside the three-bedroom, 2,400-square-foot showcase home, Old World rustic and modern European style blend with high craftsmanship to create a sense of timeless quality, stability, and tranquility. Behind the scenes, energy efficient technologies combine with low maintenance materials to create a home that is economical to maintain for years to come. The home's open floor plan offers a dining room/kitchen/great room combination with an easy flow for entertaining or family interaction. The interior features arched doorways, textured walls and distressed hickory floors.

St. Charles Sport Model - Tradition Collection Pricing, floorplans, virtual tours, community information & more at https://www.robertthomashomes.com/

For this stunning home, our St. Pete studio created a bold, bright, balanced design plan to invoke a sophisticated vibe. Our love for the color blue was included in the carefully planned color scheme of the home. We added a gorgeous blue and white rug in the entryway to create a fabulous first impression. The adjacent living room got soft blue accents creating a cozy ambience. In the formal dining area, we added a beautiful wallpaper with fun prints to complement the stylish furniture. Another lovely wallpaper with fun blue and yellow details creates a cheerful ambience in the breakfast corner near the beautiful kitchen. The bedrooms have a neutral palette creating an elegant and relaxing vibe. A stunning home bar with black and white accents and stylish wooden furniture adds an elegant flourish.

Ann Kenkel Interiors Russell Hirshon PhotographyCoastal Estate in St. Michael's Maryland on the Chesapeake Bay. House was designed after the original 1770's house on the property. Home was designed to be a formal house but was now being used as a weekend retreat. Ann Kenkel had to decorate the house in a manner which was coastal enough so owner's felt like they were on vacation yet formal enough for the style of the house. AK found the house filled with wallpaper from the 1980's. Wallpaper from every room was removed and all trim had to be painted a neutral color. The formal dining room only had one entry. AK opened up a second entry into the dining room which provided a view of the Chesapeake Bay. Keywords: coastal estate, bay estate, luxury estate on Chesapeake Bay, St. Michael's home, best designer in St. Michael's, best coastal designer, best Chesapeake bay designer, window treatments, window treatments for over transom windows, chenille sofas, silk pillows, TV over fireplace, blue and yellow bedroom, coral and beige bedroom, british plantation style, blue toile bedroom, blue and green bedroom, coral dining room, red dining room, hand planed table, neutral living room, neutral sunroom, blue and green kitchen, blue family room, cherry paneled library, Ralph Lauren leather chairs, yellow chinoiserie wallpaper, shell mirror, tole lamps, gated drive, pea gravel drive, circular drive, piano, zebra fabric, trim on pillows, trim on draperies, panels and valances, georgian house, sunburst mirror, glass coffee table, star lamps, red and yellow toile draperies, ivory painted chairs, white painted chairs, nautical accessories, coastal coral bedroom, coastal blue bedroom, coastal yellow bedroom, blue and green toile bedroom, stables, paddock, outdoor stainless kitchen, dock, tan draperies, neutral chenille sofas, blue sofas, blue chairs with white frame, needlepoint rug, shell plates, bamboo silverware, white bedroom furniture, dark wood bedroom furniture, plaid chairs, wilton carpet, bright sunroom, chairs and ottomans, regency valance, scarf swags, swags, red leopard pillows, toile bedding, game table, game table chairs on coaster, shells, hydrangeas, shell lamp, sailboat art, sailboat paintings, cane headboard, 4 poster bed.

Example of a beach style kitchen design in Jacksonville

Stuart Wade, Envision Virtual Tours The second-largest and most developed of Georgia's barrier islands, St. Simons is approximately twelve miles long and nearly three miles wide at its widest stretch (roughly the size of Manhattan Island in New York). The island is located in Glynn County on Georgia's coast and lies east of Brunswick (the seat of Glynn County), south of Little St. Simons Island and the Hampton River, and north of Jekyll Island. The resort community of Sea Island is separated from St. Simons on the east by the Black Banks River. Known for its oak tree canopies and historic landmarks, St. Simons is both a tourist destination and, according to the 2010 U.S. census, home to 12,743 residents. Early History The earliest St. Simons Island Village record of human habitation on the island dates to the Late Archaic Period, about 5,000 to 3,000 years ago. Remnants of shell rings left behind by Native Americans from this era survive on many of the barrier islands, including St. Simons. Centuries later, during the period known by historians as the chiefdom era, the Guale Indians established a chiefdom centered on St. Catherines Island and used St. Simons as their hunting and fishing grounds. By 1500 the Guale had established a permanent village of about 200 people on St. Simons, which they called Guadalquini. Beginning in 1568, the Spanish attempted to create missions along the Georgia coast. Catholic missions were the primary means by which Georgia's indigenous Native American chiefdoms were assimilated into the Spanish colonial system along the northern frontier of greater Spanish Florida. In the 1600s St. Simons became home to two Spanish missions: San Buenaventura de Guadalquini, on the southern tip of the island, and Santo Domingo de Asao (or Asajo), on the northern tip. Located on the inland side of the island were the pagan refugee villages of San Simón, the island's namesake, and Ocotonico. In 1684 pirate raids left the missions and villages largely abandoned. Colonial History As Fort Frederica early as 1670, with Great Britain's establishment of the colony of Carolina and its expansion into Georgia territory, Spanish rule was threatened by the English. The Georgia coast was considered "debatable land" by England and Spain, even though Spain had fully retreated from St. Simons by 1702. Thirty-one years later General James Edward Oglethorpe founded the English settlement of Savannah. In 1736 he established Fort Frederica, named after the heir to the British throne, Frederick Louis, prince of Wales, on the west side of St. Simons Island to protect Savannah and the Carolinas from the Spanish threat. Between 1736 and 1749 Fort Frederica was the hub of British military operations along the Georgia frontier. A town of the same name grew up around the fort and was of great importance to the new colony. By 1740 Frederica's population was 1,000. In 1736 the congregation of what would become Christ Church was organized within Fort Frederica as a mission of the Church of England. Charles Wesley led the first services. In 1742 Britain's decisive victory over Spain in the Battle of Bloody Marsh, during the War of Jenkins' Ear, ended the Spanish threat to the Georgia coast. When the British regimen disbanded in 1749, most of the townspeople relocated to the mainland. Fort Frederica went into decline and, except for a short time of prosperity during the 1760s and 1770s under the leadership of merchant James Spalding, never fully recovered. Today the historic citadel's tabby ruins are maintained by the National Park Service. Plantation Era By the start of the American Revolution (1775-83), Fort Frederica was obsolete, and St. Simons was left largely uninhabited as most of its residents joined the patriot army. Besides hosting a small Georgia naval victory on the Fort Frederica River, providing guns from its famous fort for use at Fort Morris in Sunbury, and serving as an arena for pillaging by privateers and British soldiers, the island played almost no role in the war. Following the war, many of the townspeople, their businesses destroyed, turned to agriculture. The island was transformed into fourteen cotton plantations after acres of live oak trees were cleared for farm land and used for building American warships, including the famous USS Constitution, or "Old Ironsides." Although rice was the predominant crop along the neighboring Altamaha River, St. Simons was known for its production of long-staple cotton, which soon came to be known as Sea Island cotton. Between Ebos Landing the 1780s and the outbreak of the Civil War (1861-65), St. Simons's plantation culture flourished. The saline atmosphere and the availability of cheap slave labor proved an ideal combination for the cultivation of Sea Island cotton. In 1803 a group of Ebo slaves who survived the Middle Passage and arrived on the west side of St. Simons staged a rebellion and drowned themselves. The sacred site is known today as Ebos Landing. One of the largest owners of land and slaves on St. Simons was Pierce Butler, master of Hampton Point Plantation, located on the northern end of the island. By 1793 Butler owned more than 500 slaves, who cultivated 800 acres of cotton on St. Simons and 300 acres of rice on Butler's Island in the Altamaha River delta. Butler's grandson, Pierce Mease Butler, who at the age of sixteen inherited a share of his grandfather's estate in 1826, was responsible for the largest sale of human beings in the history of the United States: in 1859, to restore his squandered fortune, he sold 429 slaves in Savannah for more than $300,000. The British actress and writer Fanny Kemble, whose tumultuous marriage to Pierce ended in divorce in 1849, published an eyewitness account of the evils of slavery on St. Simons in her book Journal of a Residence on a Georgian Plantation in 1838-1839 (1863). Another Retreat Plantation large owner of land and slaves on St. Simons was Major William Page, a friend and employee of Pierce Butler Sr. Before purchasing Retreat Plantation on the southwestern tip of the island in 1804, Page managed the Hampton plantation and Butler's Island. Upon Page's death in 1827, Thomas Butler King inherited the land together with his wife, Page's daughter, Anna Matilda Page King. King expanded his father-in-law's planting empire on St. Simons as well as on the mainland, and by 1835 Retreat Plantation alone was home to as many as 355 slaves. The center of life during the island's plantation era was Christ Church, Frederica. Organized in 1807 by a group of island planters, the Episcopal church is the second oldest in the Diocese of Georgia. Embargoes imposed by the War of 1812 (1812-15) prevented the parishioners from building a church structure, so they worshiped in the home of John Beck, which stood on the site of Oglethorpe's only St. Simons residence, Orange Hall. The first Christ Church building, finished on the present site in 1820, was ruined by occupying Union troops during the Civil War. In 1884 the Reverend Anson Dodge Jr. rebuilt the church as a memorial to his first wife, Ellen. The cruciform building with a trussed gothic roof and stained-glass windows remains active today as Christ Church. Civil War and Beyond The St. Simons Island Lighthouse outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 put a sudden end to St. Simons's lucrative plantation era. In January of that year, Confederate troops were stationed at the south end of the island to guard the entrance to Brunswick Harbor. Slaves from Retreat Plantation, owned by Thomas Butler King, built earthworks and batteries. Plantation residents were scattered—the men joined the Confederate army and their families moved to the mainland. Cannon fire was heard on the island in December 1861, and Confederate troops retreated in February 1862, after dynamiting the lighthouse to keep its beacon from aiding Union troops. Soon thereafter, Union troops occupied the island, which was used as a camp for freed slaves. By August 1862 more than 500 former slaves lived on St. Simons, including Susie King Taylor, who organized a school for freed slave children. But in November the ex-slaves were taken to Hilton Head, South Carolina, and Fernandina, Florida, leaving the island abandoned. After the Civil War the island never returned to its status as an agricultural community. The plantations lay dormant because there were no slaves to work the fields. After Union general William T. Sherman's January 1865 Special Field Order No. 15 —a demand that former plantations be divided and distributed to former slaves—was overturned by U.S. president Andrew Johnson less than a year later, freedmen and women were forced to work as sharecroppers on the small farms that dotted the land previously occupied by the sprawling plantations. By St. Simons Lumber Mills 1870 real economic recovery began with the reestablishment of the timber industry. Norman Dodge and Titus G. Meigs of New York set up lumber mill operations at Gascoigne Bluff, formerly Hamilton Plantation. The lumber mills provided welcome employment for both blacks and whites and also provided mail and passenger boats to the mainland. Such water traffic, together with the construction of a new lighthouse in 1872, designed by architect Charles B. Cluskey, marked the beginning of St. Simons's tourism industry. The keeper of the lighthouse created a small amusement park, which drew many visitors, as did the seemingly miraculous light that traveled from the top of the lighthouse tower to the bottom. The island became a summer retreat for families from the mainland, particularly from Baxley, Brunswick, and Waycross. The island's resort industry was thriving by the 1880s. Beachfront structures, such as a new pier and grand hotel, were built on the southeastern end of the island and could be accessed by ferry. Around this time wealthy northerners began vacationing on the island. Twentieth Century The St. Simons Island Pier and Village opening in 1924 of the Brunswick–St. Simons Highway, today known as the Torras Causeway, was a milestone in the development of resorts in the area. St. Simons's beaches were now easily accessible to locals and tourists alike. More than 5,000 automobiles took the short drive from Brunswick to St. Simons via the causeway on its opening day, paving the way for convenient residential and resort development. In 1926 automotive pioneer Howard Coffin of Detroit, Michigan, bought large tracts of land on St. Simons, including the former Retreat Plantation, and constructed a golf course, yacht club, paved roads, and a residential subdivision. Although the causeway had brought large numbers of summer people to the island, St. Simons remained a small community with only a few hundred permanent residents until the 1940s. The St. Simons Island outbreak of World War II (1941-45) brought more visitors and residents to St. Simons. Troops stationed at Jacksonville, Florida; Savannah; and nearby Camp Stewart took weekend vacations on the island, and a new naval air base and radar school became home to even more officers and soldiers. The increased wartime population brought the island its first public school. With a major shipyard for the production of Liberty ships in nearby Brunswick, the waters of St. Simons became active with German U-boats. In April 1942, just off the coast, the Texas Company oil tanker S. S. Oklahoma and the S. S. Esso Baton Rouge were torpedoed by the Germans, bringing the war very close to home for island residents. Due in large part to the military's improvement of the island's infrastructure during the war, development on the island boomed in the 1950s and 1960s. More permanent homes and subdivisions were built, and the island was no longer just a summer resort but also a thriving community. In 1950 the Methodist conference and retreat center Epworth by the Sea opened on Gascoigne Bluff. In 1961 novelist Eugenia Price visited St. Simons and began work on her first works of fiction, known as the St. Simons Trilogy. Inspired by real events on the island, Price's trilogy renewed interest in the history of Georgia's coast, and the novelist herself relocated to the island in 1965 and lived there for thirty-one years. St. Simons is also home to contemporary Georgia writer Tina McElroy Ansa. Since Epworth by the Sea 1980 St. Simons's population has doubled. The island's continued status as a vacation destination and its ongoing development boom have put historic landmarks and natural areas at risk. While such landmarks as the Fort Frederica ruins and the Battle of Bloody Marsh site are preserved and maintained by the National Park Service, and while the historic lighthouse is maintained by the Coastal Georgia Historical Society, historic Ebos Landing has been taken over by a sewage treatment plant. Several coastal organizations have formed in recent years to save natural areas on the island. The St. Simons Land Trust, for example, has received donations of large tracts of land and plans to protect property in the island's three traditional African American neighborhoods. Despite its rapid growth and development, St. Simons remains one of the most beautiful and important islands on the Georgia coast.

Stuart Wade, Envision Virtual Tours The second-largest and most developed of Georgia's barrier islands, St. Simons is approximately twelve miles long and nearly three miles wide at its widest stretch (roughly the size of Manhattan Island in New York). The island is located in Glynn County on Georgia's coast and lies east of Brunswick (the seat of Glynn County), south of Little St. Simons Island and the Hampton River, and north of Jekyll Island. The resort community of Sea Island is separated from St. Simons on the east by the Black Banks River. Known for its oak tree canopies and historic landmarks, St. Simons is both a tourist destination and, according to the 2010 U.S. census, home to 12,743 residents. Early History The earliest St. Simons Island Village record of human habitation on the island dates to the Late Archaic Period, about 5,000 to 3,000 years ago. Remnants of shell rings left behind by Native Americans from this era survive on many of the barrier islands, including St. Simons. Centuries later, during the period known by historians as the chiefdom era, the Guale Indians established a chiefdom centered on St. Catherines Island and used St. Simons as their hunting and fishing grounds. By 1500 the Guale had established a permanent village of about 200 people on St. Simons, which they called Guadalquini. Beginning in 1568, the Spanish attempted to create missions along the Georgia coast. Catholic missions were the primary means by which Georgia's indigenous Native American chiefdoms were assimilated into the Spanish colonial system along the northern frontier of greater Spanish Florida. In the 1600s St. Simons became home to two Spanish missions: San Buenaventura de Guadalquini, on the southern tip of the island, and Santo Domingo de Asao (or Asajo), on the northern tip. Located on the inland side of the island were the pagan refugee villages of San Simón, the island's namesake, and Ocotonico. In 1684 pirate raids left the missions and villages largely abandoned. Colonial History As Fort Frederica early as 1670, with Great Britain's establishment of the colony of Carolina and its expansion into Georgia territory, Spanish rule was threatened by the English. The Georgia coast was considered "debatable land" by England and Spain, even though Spain had fully retreated from St. Simons by 1702. Thirty-one years later General James Edward Oglethorpe founded the English settlement of Savannah. In 1736 he established Fort Frederica, named after the heir to the British throne, Frederick Louis, prince of Wales, on the west side of St. Simons Island to protect Savannah and the Carolinas from the Spanish threat. Between 1736 and 1749 Fort Frederica was the hub of British military operations along the Georgia frontier. A town of the same name grew up around the fort and was of great importance to the new colony. By 1740 Frederica's population was 1,000. In 1736 the congregation of what would become Christ Church was organized within Fort Frederica as a mission of the Church of England. Charles Wesley led the first services. In 1742 Britain's decisive victory over Spain in the Battle of Bloody Marsh, during the War of Jenkins' Ear, ended the Spanish threat to the Georgia coast. When the British regimen disbanded in 1749, most of the townspeople relocated to the mainland. Fort Frederica went into decline and, except for a short time of prosperity during the 1760s and 1770s under the leadership of merchant James Spalding, never fully recovered. Today the historic citadel's tabby ruins are maintained by the National Park Service. Plantation Era By the start of the American Revolution (1775-83), Fort Frederica was obsolete, and St. Simons was left largely uninhabited as most of its residents joined the patriot army. Besides hosting a small Georgia naval victory on the Fort Frederica River, providing guns from its famous fort for use at Fort Morris in Sunbury, and serving as an arena for pillaging by privateers and British soldiers, the island played almost no role in the war. Following the war, many of the townspeople, their businesses destroyed, turned to agriculture. The island was transformed into fourteen cotton plantations after acres of live oak trees were cleared for farm land and used for building American warships, including the famous USS Constitution, or "Old Ironsides." Although rice was the predominant crop along the neighboring Altamaha River, St. Simons was known for its production of long-staple cotton, which soon came to be known as Sea Island cotton. Between Ebos Landing the 1780s and the outbreak of the Civil War (1861-65), St. Simons's plantation culture flourished. The saline atmosphere and the availability of cheap slave labor proved an ideal combination for the cultivation of Sea Island cotton. In 1803 a group of Ebo slaves who survived the Middle Passage and arrived on the west side of St. Simons staged a rebellion and drowned themselves. The sacred site is known today as Ebos Landing. One of the largest owners of land and slaves on St. Simons was Pierce Butler, master of Hampton Point Plantation, located on the northern end of the island. By 1793 Butler owned more than 500 slaves, who cultivated 800 acres of cotton on St. Simons and 300 acres of rice on Butler's Island in the Altamaha River delta. Butler's grandson, Pierce Mease Butler, who at the age of sixteen inherited a share of his grandfather's estate in 1826, was responsible for the largest sale of human beings in the history of the United States: in 1859, to restore his squandered fortune, he sold 429 slaves in Savannah for more than $300,000. The British actress and writer Fanny Kemble, whose tumultuous marriage to Pierce ended in divorce in 1849, published an eyewitness account of the evils of slavery on St. Simons in her book Journal of a Residence on a Georgian Plantation in 1838-1839 (1863). Another Retreat Plantation large owner of land and slaves on St. Simons was Major William Page, a friend and employee of Pierce Butler Sr. Before purchasing Retreat Plantation on the southwestern tip of the island in 1804, Page managed the Hampton plantation and Butler's Island. Upon Page's death in 1827, Thomas Butler King inherited the land together with his wife, Page's daughter, Anna Matilda Page King. King expanded his father-in-law's planting empire on St. Simons as well as on the mainland, and by 1835 Retreat Plantation alone was home to as many as 355 slaves. The center of life during the island's plantation era was Christ Church, Frederica. Organized in 1807 by a group of island planters, the Episcopal church is the second oldest in the Diocese of Georgia. Embargoes imposed by the War of 1812 (1812-15) prevented the parishioners from building a church structure, so they worshiped in the home of John Beck, which stood on the site of Oglethorpe's only St. Simons residence, Orange Hall. The first Christ Church building, finished on the present site in 1820, was ruined by occupying Union troops during the Civil War. In 1884 the Reverend Anson Dodge Jr. rebuilt the church as a memorial to his first wife, Ellen. The cruciform building with a trussed gothic roof and stained-glass windows remains active today as Christ Church. Civil War and Beyond The St. Simons Island Lighthouse outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 put a sudden end to St. Simons's lucrative plantation era. In January of that year, Confederate troops were stationed at the south end of the island to guard the entrance to Brunswick Harbor. Slaves from Retreat Plantation, owned by Thomas Butler King, built earthworks and batteries. Plantation residents were scattered—the men joined the Confederate army and their families moved to the mainland. Cannon fire was heard on the island in December 1861, and Confederate troops retreated in February 1862, after dynamiting the lighthouse to keep its beacon from aiding Union troops. Soon thereafter, Union troops occupied the island, which was used as a camp for freed slaves. By August 1862 more than 500 former slaves lived on St. Simons, including Susie King Taylor, who organized a school for freed slave children. But in November the ex-slaves were taken to Hilton Head, South Carolina, and Fernandina, Florida, leaving the island abandoned. After the Civil War the island never returned to its status as an agricultural community. The plantations lay dormant because there were no slaves to work the fields. After Union general William T. Sherman's January 1865 Special Field Order No. 15 —a demand that former plantations be divided and distributed to former slaves—was overturned by U.S. president Andrew Johnson less than a year later, freedmen and women were forced to work as sharecroppers on the small farms that dotted the land previously occupied by the sprawling plantations. By St. Simons Lumber Mills 1870 real economic recovery began with the reestablishment of the timber industry. Norman Dodge and Titus G. Meigs of New York set up lumber mill operations at Gascoigne Bluff, formerly Hamilton Plantation. The lumber mills provided welcome employment for both blacks and whites and also provided mail and passenger boats to the mainland. Such water traffic, together with the construction of a new lighthouse in 1872, designed by architect Charles B. Cluskey, marked the beginning of St. Simons's tourism industry. The keeper of the lighthouse created a small amusement park, which drew many visitors, as did the seemingly miraculous light that traveled from the top of the lighthouse tower to the bottom. The island became a summer retreat for families from the mainland, particularly from Baxley, Brunswick, and Waycross. The island's resort industry was thriving by the 1880s. Beachfront structures, such as a new pier and grand hotel, were built on the southeastern end of the island and could be accessed by ferry. Around this time wealthy northerners began vacationing on the island. Twentieth Century The St. Simons Island Pier and Village opening in 1924 of the Brunswick–St. Simons Highway, today known as the Torras Causeway, was a milestone in the development of resorts in the area. St. Simons's beaches were now easily accessible to locals and tourists alike. More than 5,000 automobiles took the short drive from Brunswick to St. Simons via the causeway on its opening day, paving the way for convenient residential and resort development. In 1926 automotive pioneer Howard Coffin of Detroit, Michigan, bought large tracts of land on St. Simons, including the former Retreat Plantation, and constructed a golf course, yacht club, paved roads, and a residential subdivision. Although the causeway had brought large numbers of summer people to the island, St. Simons remained a small community with only a few hundred permanent residents until the 1940s. The St. Simons Island outbreak of World War II (1941-45) brought more visitors and residents to St. Simons. Troops stationed at Jacksonville, Florida; Savannah; and nearby Camp Stewart took weekend vacations on the island, and a new naval air base and radar school became home to even more officers and soldiers. The increased wartime population brought the island its first public school. With a major shipyard for the production of Liberty ships in nearby Brunswick, the waters of St. Simons became active with German U-boats. In April 1942, just off the coast, the Texas Company oil tanker S. S. Oklahoma and the S. S. Esso Baton Rouge were torpedoed by the Germans, bringing the war very close to home for island residents. Due in large part to the military's improvement of the island's infrastructure during the war, development on the island boomed in the 1950s and 1960s. More permanent homes and subdivisions were built, and the island was no longer just a summer resort but also a thriving community. In 1950 the Methodist conference and retreat center Epworth by the Sea opened on Gascoigne Bluff. In 1961 novelist Eugenia Price visited St. Simons and began work on her first works of fiction, known as the St. Simons Trilogy. Inspired by real events on the island, Price's trilogy renewed interest in the history of Georgia's coast, and the novelist herself relocated to the island in 1965 and lived there for thirty-one years. St. Simons is also home to contemporary Georgia writer Tina McElroy Ansa. Since Epworth by the Sea 1980 St. Simons's population has doubled. The island's continued status as a vacation destination and its ongoing development boom have put historic landmarks and natural areas at risk. While such landmarks as the Fort Frederica ruins and the Battle of Bloody Marsh site are preserved and maintained by the National Park Service, and while the historic lighthouse is maintained by the Coastal Georgia Historical Society, historic Ebos Landing has been taken over by a sewage treatment plant. Several coastal organizations have formed in recent years to save natural areas on the island. The St. Simons Land Trust, for example, has received donations of large tracts of land and plans to protect property in the island's three traditional African American neighborhoods. Despite its rapid growth and development, St. Simons remains one of the most beautiful and important islands on the Georgia coast.

The Home The St. Julien features a flex space that is designed as a sitting area for gathering the family. As you walk upstairs, the kitchen features a large eat-in island that looks into the great room. Off the kitchen is a space that functions as an office or homework area. Moving through the great room, the sliding glass door opens to a spacious deck. Upstairs features two secondary bedrooms and a primary suite. The master suite bathroom includes a walk-in shower, walk-in closet and separate water closet. The Builder As a local, privately held homebuilder and community developer, Oakwood Homes pioneers new standards for livable luxury. We innovate through purposeful and efficient design, always using local materials, manufacturers and resources. We also provide an engaging yet straightforward homebuying experience that’s unmatched in the industry. Our mission is simple: to create luxury homes that are accessible and personable at every budget – for homebuyers in every stage of life. The Interior Design The interior design of this home has a natural feeling to it with earth tones and light woods that brings the outdoors in. To achieve this, a soft, sage green and denim blue were used with a wheat tone to pull in the wood and create a balanced palette. Unique patterns in the rugs and art add points of interest, and natural textures in the linens and softgoods provide contrast. A hint of craftsman design rounds out the space and provides a comforting home in which to gather.

For this stunning home, our St. Pete studio created a bold, bright, balanced design plan to invoke a sophisticated vibe. Our love for the color blue was included in the carefully planned color scheme of the home. We added a gorgeous blue and white rug in the entryway to create a fabulous first impression. The adjacent living room got soft blue accents creating a cozy ambience. In the formal dining area, we added a beautiful wallpaper with fun prints to complement the stylish furniture. Another lovely wallpaper with fun blue and yellow details creates a cheerful ambience in the breakfast corner near the beautiful kitchen. The bedrooms have a neutral palette creating an elegant and relaxing vibe. A stunning home bar with black and white accents and stylish wooden furniture adds an elegant flourish.

Set in Hancock Park, a historic residential enclave in central Los Angeles, the St. Andrews Accessory Dwelling Unit is designed in concert with an addition to the main house. Richly colored, V-groove fiber cement panels provide a visual connection between the new two-story ADU and the existing 1916 craftsman bungalow. Yet, the ADU also expresses contemporary features through its distilled sculptural form. Clean lines and simple geometry emphasize the modern gestures while large windows and pocketing glass doors allow for plenty of natural light and connectivity to the exterior, producing a kind of courtyard in relation to the main home. The compact size required an efficient approach. Downstairs, a kitchenette and living space give definition to an open floor plan. The upper level is reserved for a full bathroom and bedroom with vaulted ceilings. Polished concrete, white oak, and black granite enrich the interiors. A primary suite addition to the main house blends seamlessly with the original. Hallway arches echo the original craftsman interior, connecting the existing living spaces to the lower addition which opens at ground level to the rear yard. Together, the ADU, main house, and a newly constructed patio with a steel trellis create an indoor/outdoor ensemble. Warm and inviting project results from the careful balance of historical and contemporary, minimalist and eclectic.

The Home The St. Julien features a flex space that is designed as a sitting area for gathering the family. As you walk upstairs, the kitchen features a large eat-in island that looks into the great room. Off the kitchen is a space that functions as an office or homework area. Moving through the great room, the sliding glass door opens to a spacious deck. Upstairs features two secondary bedrooms and a primary suite. The master suite bathroom includes a walk-in shower, walk-in closet and separate water closet. The Builder As a local, privately held homebuilder and community developer, Oakwood Homes pioneers new standards for livable luxury. We innovate through purposeful and efficient design, always using local materials, manufacturers and resources. We also provide an engaging yet straightforward homebuying experience that’s unmatched in the industry. Our mission is simple: to create luxury homes that are accessible and personable at every budget – for homebuyers in every stage of life. The Interior Design The interior design of this home has a natural feeling to it with earth tones and light woods that brings the outdoors in. To achieve this, a soft, sage green and denim blue were used with a wheat tone to pull in the wood and create a balanced palette. Unique patterns in the rugs and art add points of interest, and natural textures in the linens and softgoods provide contrast. A hint of craftsman design rounds out the space and provides a comforting home in which to gather.

The Home The St. Julien features a flex space that is designed as a sitting area for gathering the family. As you walk upstairs, the kitchen features a large eat-in island that looks into the great room. Off the kitchen is a space that functions as an office or homework area. Moving through the great room, the sliding glass door opens to a spacious deck. Upstairs features two secondary bedrooms and a primary suite. The master suite bathroom includes a walk-in shower, walk-in closet and separate water closet. The Builder As a local, privately held homebuilder and community developer, Oakwood Homes pioneers new standards for livable luxury. We innovate through purposeful and efficient design, always using local materials, manufacturers and resources. We also provide an engaging yet straightforward homebuying experience that’s unmatched in the industry. Our mission is simple: to create luxury homes that are accessible and personable at every budget – for homebuyers in every stage of life. The Interior Design The interior design of this home has a natural feeling to it with earth tones and light woods that brings the outdoors in. To achieve this, a soft, sage green and denim blue were used with a wheat tone to pull in the wood and create a balanced palette. Unique patterns in the rugs and art add points of interest, and natural textures in the linens and softgoods provide contrast. A hint of craftsman design rounds out the space and provides a comforting home in which to gather.

For this stunning home, our St. Pete studio created a bold, bright, balanced design plan to invoke a sophisticated vibe. Our love for the color blue was included in the carefully planned color scheme of the home. We added a gorgeous blue and white rug in the entryway to create a fabulous first impression. The adjacent living room got soft blue accents creating a cozy ambience. In the formal dining area, we added a beautiful wallpaper with fun prints to complement the stylish furniture. Another lovely wallpaper with fun blue and yellow details creates a cheerful ambience in the breakfast corner near the beautiful kitchen. The bedrooms have a neutral palette creating an elegant and relaxing vibe. A stunning home bar with black and white accents and stylish wooden furniture adds an elegant flourish.

Set in Hancock Park, a historic residential enclave in central Los Angeles, the St. Andrews Accessory Dwelling Unit is designed in concert with an addition to the main house. Richly colored, V-groove fiber cement panels provide a visual connection between the new two-story ADU and the existing 1916 craftsman bungalow. Yet, the ADU also expresses contemporary features through its distilled sculptural form. Clean lines and simple geometry emphasize the modern gestures while large windows and pocketing glass doors allow for plenty of natural light and connectivity to the exterior, producing a kind of courtyard in relation to the main home. The compact size required an efficient approach. Downstairs, a kitchenette and living space give definition to an open floor plan. The upper level is reserved for a full bathroom and bedroom with vaulted ceilings. Polished concrete, white oak, and black granite enrich the interiors. A primary suite addition to the main house blends seamlessly with the original. Hallway arches echo the original craftsman interior, connecting the existing living spaces to the lower addition which opens at ground level to the rear yard. Together, the ADU, main house, and a newly constructed patio with a steel trellis create an indoor/outdoor ensemble. Warm and inviting project results from the careful balance of historical and contemporary, minimalist and eclectic.