Sanctuary Homes

February 2018
Written By: 
Denise Mullen
Photographs by: 
Scott Smallin

The stops on this year’s Tour Of Homes will show you how dreams can become realities and intentions from the heart really can come true!

Home of Nancy & Rick Thompson
9294 Bellasera Circle Grand Dunes

There is a soul to this home that speaks to peace, tranquility and well-being.

The interior’s height and neutral palette breathes a sense of airiness into the collective spaces. But as you go with the flow, a design element will pop up, and there you are, in the middle of an “aha moment.”

“Running our trucking company is busy, stressful and always on a deadline,” says Nancy. “I needed a peaceful, healing place here where you could replenish and get back in touch with inner peace.”

Impressed with its workmanship and attention to detail, the Thompsons bought the home from its builders and owners, Bruce and Sonja Carrell.

Nancy also liked that it was “just the right size,” not small by any conventional means, but a step back from their Virginia manor house set on more than 200 acres and a sprawling 10th-floor Vista Del Mar condo.

Rich and dreamy, the chocolate and gold master suite incorporates a cozy chamber room that looks out to the screened pool and begs you to sit on the chaise to read a good book or simply gather your thoughts. Did I mention the built-in coffee bar strategically housed between the master bedroom and bath?

“The Club Room” will be another aha experience, reminiscent of a bygone gentlemen’s club with billiard table, bar and game table. Velvet draperies with gold fringe dust the scraped wood floors and the “reptilian” textured wallpaper is one-of-a-kind.

Take time on this stop of the tour to bask in the vibe and key in on some design candy.

Home of Jerry Pettus
5102 N. Ocean Blvd. Myrtle Beach

When your heart’s desire is to turn a 1940s cottage into an oceanfront family retreat that will stand the test of time and span generations to come, this home delivers the dream.

With five bedrooms, five baths and a great room, plus loft and recreation areas, the Pettus beach home is designed to get the whole family together. Even the oceanside covered porch (which happens to boast one of the most spectacular views on the Golden Mile) was configured with an impressive depth to hold large gatherings in a comfortable cover of shade.

Architect Derrick Mozingo was charged with the task of drafting a spacious 5,000-plus-square-foot structure that could steel itself through any hurricane but would also feel like a “classic, relaxed beach cottage.”

Board and batten wraps the outside of the house and is a pleasant surprise as a wall treatment inside the main floor. Exposed rafter framing and pickled wood floors keep the interior laid back and allows the ocean view to take precedence.

At this tour stop, you’ll soon discover that no comfort-wielding detail was missed, including showers and change rooms hidden beneath the home, an elevator, and louvered panels on windows to allow for fresh air circulation.

It’s the ultimate oceanfront getaway to host a formidable gang of friends and family.

Home of Linda & Kevin Warren
5103 N. Ocean Blvd. Myrtle Beach

When “Dr. Durant’s house” came onto the market, the Warrens had already “looked at and thought about the property for a long time.”

In fact, Kevin can remember family drives along Ocean Boulevard from the time he was five years of age. “I always thought the houses here were the most luxurious on the boulevard ... but I never thought I would ever be able to live in one.”

“This was not going to be like any other house. ... It was a heartfelt tug from deep inside. ... I decided early on to preserve as many of the original details as possible.”

And it helped that Linda came across the 1950 specifications for Dr. C. T. Durant’s home, citing must-haves of the era like white Ponderosa pine cabinets, a hallway telephone niche, “straight and true framing” and cinder block in walls.

The Warrens are known for their modern design style, but this home will show you just how well “old and new elements can complement one another.”

They added 770 square feet to the front entryway and living room of the 1,600-square-foot home and opened up the galley kitchen, all design moves to make the most of the boulevard view.

Here, you’ll see 1950s paned doors and fireplace mixing it up with river rock wall treatments and grooved, pecky cypress kitchen cabinets given a contemporary look with a coat of white paint.

And if you were ever a patient of Dr. Durant’s, you can still visit what was the good doctor’s medical office in the basement that now has the “luxury” of heating and air conditioning.

Tour Information

The 18th Annual Spring Tour of Homes to Benefit the Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum

Ssturday, March 10, 2018

10 A.M. TO 4 P.M.

Tickets $45 ($50 day of tour). A luncheon buffet will be offered for tour ticket holders only at The Dunes Golf and Beach Club, 9000 N. Ocean Blvd., from 11:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. $22 per person. Reservations are required through the Art Museum at (843) 238-2510.

Featured Homes

The Pepe Home
5048 Big Bear Court
Black Creek Plantation
Myrtle Beach

The Pettus Home
5102 N. Ocean Blvd.
Myrtle Beach

The Riley Home
4093 Coyledom Court
Plantation Point
Myrtle Beach

The Skelley Home
6500 N. Ocean Blvd.
Myrtle Beach

The Thompson Home
9294 Bellasera Circle
Grande Dunes
Myrtle Beach

The Warren Home
5103 N. Ocean Blvd.
Myrtle Beach