Sensory Sensations

February 2017
Written By: 
Denise Mullen
Photographs by: 
Scott Smallin

These homes on the annual Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Home Tour will tickle your senses and spark your imagination

Home of Crystal & Gary Langston

{3800 Waterford Drive, Plantation Point}

Spoiler Alert: You may want to bring along a chin strap to keep your jaw from hitting the floor!

This total gut, four-years-in-the-making renovation has let loose 8,200 square feet of utter opulence with a “big bling theory.”

All that glitters can be found in almost every corner of this home, from a massive Italian smoked crystal chandelier in the kitchen to shimmering marble floors, Mother-of-Pearl risers on the double wrought-iron staircase and even Swarovski-encrusted refrigerator door handles.

Art pieces show up around almost every corner in the form of sculptured lamps, creative sconces, tree trunk tables and natural objects dipped in gold.

Every aspect of this home has been given a special touch. Keep your eye out for unique ceiling treatments that go beyond “coffered,” beveled mirror insets around the bar and a bedroom suite that features a round white leather bed.

But the Langstons come by this naturally, as owners of The Granite Store in Florence, purveyors of fine stone, furnishings and home accents. Their Intracoastal Waterway home is nothing short of a showcase for their wares and design sense, inside and out.

Speaking of “out,” terraces and open-air lounges are dramatically incorporated into the home design and from the waterway, you get a birds-eye view of the infinity pool.

With seven bedrooms, six baths and seemingly miles of breathtaking details and twinkling appointments, you may want to treat the Langston home, time-wise, as two tour stops.

Come to think of it, you may need your sunglasses too!

View more photos from the Langston home here.


Home of Shelley and Tim Conner

{3304 N. Ocean Blvd., Myrtle Beach}

Undoubtedly one of the jewels on Myrtle Beach’s “Golden Mile,” it has taken about 15 years for this Shaker beauty to circle back onto this tour.

The original 1939 beach house (think The Ghost and Mrs. Muir) on this lot got a major makeover in 1999 when a North Carolina native turned it into his one-of-a-kind vacation home.

As the story goes, his girlfriend had a passion for decorating. She is said to be the one responsible for bringing in the ornate woodwork (even on the ceilings), Old World fireplace mantels, columns and Arte de Mexico doors and light fixtures.

Don’t look for the expected easy, breezy coastal design here. This home has almost a baroque-ish touch to it and could just as easily fit in on the slopes of an Alpine forest.

A central courtyard with pool acts as a bridge between the oceanfront two-story home and the decked out guesthouse toward Ocean Boulevard.

For unknown reasons, this once fawned-over home was sold to a Charleston gentleman and to add to the cryptic factor, it was abandoned for more than two years.

Enter the Conners (also of North Carolina), who could well see its potential, bought it in 2015 and have spent a lot of time and money bringing it back.

“The weeds had overtaken the courtyard and the pool was full of mud,” says Shelley. “There was garbage everywhere and evidence that people had been living in the back. ... We’re hands-on types so we started digging it out.”

Peeling back time to expose this home’s incredible charm, Shelley has stripped away the heavy window treatments to let the ocean vista shine and pared down an extensive art collection that was, strangely, left behind.

Wear your detective hat to this stop on the tour.

Like a hauntingly beautiful and mysterious woman, this home is rich in eye-candy, unanswered questions and untold stories. Shhhhhhh…..

View more photos from the Conner home here.


Home of Terry & Al Nardslico

{7806 Beach Drive, Myrtle Beach}

There’s an energy about this house that lifts your spirits and makes you feel as if you’ve walked into a prayer.

Maybe it’s the koi ponds that flank the entrance or witnessing ocean waves coming to shore right from the front door. Perhaps it’s the indoor gardens. Could it be the walking-on-a-cloud white interior lit by windows to the sky? Not to mention the solid walnut staircase that curves upward just inside the entryway, wrapped around a live tree.

I can only humbly describe it as Feng Shui meets mid-century modern with cathedral twists.

Ethereal as it is, this home is also tricked out with the newest and brightest technology known to the “smart home” movement and constructed of materials that are nearly impervious to the unpredictable elements. Even the indoor plants have their own self-watering misting system.

Inching up on 6,000 square feet, this house incorporates his and hers dressing suites, a media room with tiered seating, a dedicated home gym and a dog grooming station.

Full panoramic views of the ocean is the core design element, with a second-floor observation deck outside and a cupola that allows you to see the beach from the inside bridge upstairs.

If you joined the 2015 home tour, the Nardslicos’ first oceanfront home was a stop the next door down. Built through CRG Companies, the couple was so impressed with CRG’s business brand, Terry became a partner in the company.

For the full effect, try to hit this stop on the tour at high tide!

View more photos from the Nardslico home here.


Tour Information:

The Art Museum’s 17th Annual Spring Tour of Homes to Benefit the Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum

SATURDAY, MARCH 11, 2017

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 Conner Home
3304 N. Ocean Blvd., Myrtle Beach

The Gore Home
209 82nd Ave. N., Myrtle Beach

The Langston Home
3800 Waterford Drive
Plantation Point, Myrtle Beach

The Leask Home
5208 Nightingale Drive
Plantation Point, Myrtle Beach

The Nardslico Home
7806 Beach Drive, Myrtle Beach

The Vanderford Home
964 Corrado Street
Cipriana Park, Myrtle Beach