14 Ways to Make YOUR Home Look Like a CHARLESTON , SC Home

I am a Charleston, South Carolina lover. I live close to Charleston, so have been able to visit quite often and take lots of photos of yards, gardens and outside of private homes there. In this short guide I will show you what I have deduced that will be fourteen SUREFIRE ways to make your home more like an authentic historic Charleston style home for the New Year.

All of these elements can be reproduced in your own yard and on the outside of your own home.

Let's start:

No. 1: Wrought iron fencing surrounding home and garden.

One of the biggest defining characteristics of Charleston is their wrought iron fencing and gates. Most are painted black. 

 No. 2: Cement fountains or cast iron fountains in the FRONT yards.

Most of these are inside round cement basins like this one. 

Backyard , grand fountain, painted black

No. 3:

Large cement planters all almost all painted black, if not black then left natural and aged by the elements.  But predominately black.

Just like the door.

 

No. 4:

Clipped boxwoods and small hedges with meandering paths.

 

Geometric designs with many knot gardens.

No. 5:

Black WOOD ( not wood composite ) shutters. Some of these are painted dark green ( Charleston green ), which is almost black it is so dark.

No.6:

Brass doorknocker for your door. Most doorknockers here are lions, they are usually not polished, leaving the old , natural patina is best here.

No. 7: 

Brick pathways all around the homes, to me the biggest indicator of a Charleston style home. Try to get old brick if you can, or brick that looks beat up a little, new brick does not look as authentic. Also try NOT to make your paths perfectly straight and perfect ( I have no problem with this ), as most of the paths are a little ' off' , which makes them more charming.

No. 8:

Thick, heavy wrought iron gates, even if you have wood fencing around your home, if you can put a wrought iron gate at the entrance of your garden or yard, it gives it an authentic Charleston look.

 

No. 9:

Large wood ( not composite fiberglass wood ), doors painted black.

Also a natural wood stained door was popular, but not as much as the black doors. 

 

No. 10:

Climbing ivy and topiary , ivy was rambling up many steps, brick walls , doorways.

Up the steps, very common here.

No 11:

I love these authentic Charleston benches. Wood and wrought iron, no aluminum here. These are a must !

No. 12:

Window boxes with overflowing flowers. Most are wood, painted black, some are wrought iron. Anything will help your home look like a Charleston home, wood is just the original ones here.

 

No. 13:

Original , old cement statuary, beat up  looking is the best way to go here. Not too many in your garden, just sprinkled about and usually you want them to be in the same theme ( Victorian, angels, cherubs, animals, women, etc. ).

No. 14:

You'll need a dog , of any breed, lounging either on your front porch or through your wrought iron fencing. I swear most residents in Charleston have dogs !

My youngest daughter petting a spoiled one here.

See, told you.

Please check my archives in September and October especially where I have many more photos of homes and gardens in downtown historic Charleston, SC.

Blessings to you,

Gina

" ...And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. " 1 Corinthians 13:13

 

ANTIQUE Windows & DOORWAYS of CHARLESTON, South Carolina

I decided to drive down to Charleston, South Carolina for the day and see what I could find to post online about my favorite city. I got lucky and my youngest daughter went with me and we got to walk all over the neighborhoods to try to discover more architectural elements that make Charleston special. Here I am above at St. Philip's Church on Church St. , where I start all my treks. I am wearing shorts in late October as it was 75 degrees and that is the lucky part of living in the Deep South ! Let's go..

Here was a typical example of the large windows with some brick cornices above. I have said in  my other guides ( from Sept. ), that no storm windows are allowed over any windows here because of historical renovation restrictions. See the leaded glass windows, they are wavy, distorted and thick-looking..cool.

This is the most common windows here with the quintessential Charleston shutters with some original old hardware tiebacks. These are almost always open, rare to see someone close these on any home . 

 Beautiful unusual larger triple window with original old glass.

I really liked this old wood gate , painted brick red , that I found down a small side street.

The entire view of the red gate with old original brick surround wall with climbing ivy.

Here was a very grand doorway surround across the street from St. John's church downtown.

Close-up of the doorway, I remember taking this shot as my daughter was fussing at me to get out of the street so I wouldn't get run over . She gets that from me . 

More paneled old shutters, I would say 85 % are painted black here. Maybe 90 %.  There are a few renegade shutter-painters that drift to some other colors of the rainbow..but they are few and far between.

Black wood gate with metal insert .Wood gates are much rarer here than wrought iron gates which are more common.

Here was a long row of plantation shutters on a 1700's brick home.

As usual, charm galore with window boxes overflowing with flowers. Since it was late October, there was less flowers in the window boxes in most homes.

Black shutters, black door, with the salmon surround and elaborate molding and sidelights. Great ' Charleston ' look to mimic where you live.

Occasionally you run across doors that are stained, this was a large double-door with a historic marker to the left ,( which of course I did not read as I had so much territory to cover ! ).

These were great windows , can you see the old glass shine ?  New glass windows don't do that.

Close-up of the windows.

These were high up with their over-flowing planter boxes beneath.

I hope you can see these are NOT the ' faux' shutter made of vinyl or fake wood that we all buy at Lowes or Home Depot.  They have to be wood here, and yes the maintenance is more , but the look is so much more authentic and charming than vinyl ones. Almost all have the hardware tie-backs you see here.

Last one, this one is located right across from St. Philip's church . I like the anchor in the wall , nice touch . 

I will be doing a few more of these ' sights ' of Charleston . I have many more that I posted in September, check them out if you have time.

I hope you have many blessings today...especially the small ones,

Gina

 " Bring all the tithes into the storehouse , That there may be food in My house. And try Me now in this. " says the LORD of hosts, " If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. " Malachi 3:10