Home of Peaches Blank

How do you expertly update a 1940s beach house? If you’re Peaches Blank, you put together an energetic local team, take each room down to the studs and put it back together with style and finesse.

The former Deputy Governor of Tennessee who now sits on the board of governors of the University of North Carolina, Blank has taproot-deep ties to the Grand Strand and loves gathering her whole family at the beach house for vacations and holidays.

Blank bought the Ocean Forest track home in 1990—which includes a coveted oceanfront cabana right across the boulevard—and since August 2011, J.D. Abernathy of Dynamic Construction and Marcie Smith from Rose Arbor Fabrics have been straightening supports, reconfiguring rooms and restoring pine floors and walls back to their original glory. Keeping the historic integrity of the beach house intact, the original pine panels the team removed from the walls were repurposed to line the stairway, which was in need of a complete makeover.

To accommodate the tall Blank clan, counters and vanities throughout the home have been raised. The fireplace in the ocean-view living room is now two-sided, so it also peeks into the former sunroom, which was converted into a bright and cheery nursery. And with six bedrooms, there’s plenty of room for a gang of visitors.

Although a big fan of neutrals, Blank wanted her beach house to be more colorful. Marcie lent her artistic hand to vibrant fabrics and an out-of-the-ordinary paint palette that plays well with animal prints, mosaics, memorabilia and a Judith Jackson pottery collection. This is the address to take notes on if you’re looking for unique renovation ideas.  

Home of Dr. Robert & Teresa Farrar

For the Farrar family, a nine-year hunt for the “everything home” came to an ecstatic end two years ago when they discovered this 9,000-square-foot newly built abode on rich, wooded acreage in Black Creek Plantation.

The only thing missing for Dr. Robert Farrar was a certain view. “I just love waking up in the morning and seeing a rolling golf course.”

No problem. He simply outfitted his backyard with a replica of Augusta National Golf Club’s 13th hole, the “Azalea,” complete with an encircling water feature that emulates Rae’s Creek, a feature of the famous hole.

The five Farrars call the home “a perfect fit for our family.” It features five bedrooms, each with its own ensuite bathroom and walk-in closets, a full laundry room on each floor and a gourmet kitchen featuring eye-candy granite and a hammered copper sink.

But the hub of family time is the top floor, with must-see media and game rooms. Working with interior designer Sally Stowe, the Farrars turned the media room into an “old fashioned theater,” which is canopied by a midnight blue ceiling and sports an 80-inch flat screen television flanked by playhouse drapery. Tiered recliner seating, sconce lighting and a popcorn machine on the ready make movie-watching an event in this home.

The adjoining game room screams “fun,” with a billiard table, foosball, ping-pong and a pinball machine. And you have to check out the enormous custom sofa crafted from worn leather, velvet and fringe, the perfect spot for resting in between matches.

While Robert prefers to practice his putting with the children in the backyard, Teresa treasures moments with her brood in the game rooms. “We play a lot of ‘one point ping-pong’ and watch movies…it’s our special family time, all together.”

Home of Dr. Brian & Glinda McIntyre

On this stop of the tour, you’ll discover an idyllic neighborhood, tucked away just north of the Grande Dunes bridge.

The McIntyre’s 6,600-square-foot home rose from the razed structure originally built on the property. “It was a nice home,” says Glinda, “but it was very boxy and contemporary. That’s not my style at all and I couldn’t get comfortable in it. So we tore it down and built this traditional- style house.”

The home’s design was pieced together as the couple checked off their wish list. Here you’ll find a wealth of luxe details like barreled archways, coffered ceilings and an open second-story hallway that offers airy views of the pool and terrace area and the Intracoastal Waterway.

Our tour of the McIntyre home was assisted by a calico, Kitty, and an Australian herder, Jackie. But these two are the only domesticated animals that grace the house—the others lined walls, acted as carpets or were draped across furnishings.

Needless to say, Brian is an avid hunter, and his trophies are proudly and artfully displayed throughout the home. Here you’ll meet the glassy stare of impalas, warthogs, a bobcat, eland, water buffalo, wildebeest, a British Columbia moose, elk, zebra, ducks and snow geese.

And Glinda certainly has a knack for using them in home décor. Instead of a pair of sconces on either side of an entranceway, Glinda mounted a duo of impalas. Geese float on either side of a console, animal skins spread out across floors and the hide of an African antelope makes a fetching bench cover.

Be sure to get a bird’s-eye view of the hunting trophies from the second-floor loft of the home’s library, adorned in gleaming woodwork and offering a stunning, sweeping vista of the double-door entry.

TOUR INFORMATION:

The Art Museum’s 12th Annual Tour of Homes to benefit the Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum of Myrtle Beach.

Saturday, March 3
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

In addition to the tour, the opportunity to enjoy a buffet luncheon at the Dunes Golf and Beach Club is offered. Tour tickets are $40 ($45 on tour day). Luncheon tickets are $17.  Reservations are suggested. For additional information, email the art museum at artmuseum@sc.rr.com or call (843) 238-2510.

FEATURED HOMES:

The Bary Home

Travis and Shannon Bary

1561 Brookgreen Drive

Plantation Point

The Blank Home

Peaches Blank

5715 N. Ocean Blvd.

The Farrar Home

Teresa and Robert Farrar

95 Red Wolf Trail

Black Creek Plantation

The Godwin Home

Shawn and Nikki Godwin

9047 Marina Parkway

Grande Dunes

The Lackey Home

Scott and Elizabeth Lackey

3031 Holly Berry Court

Black Creek Plantation

The McIntyre Home

Glinda and Brian McIntyre

1750 Cliffwood Drive

The Queener Home

Lori and Brad Queener

115 Redwolf Trail

Black Creek Plantation