Homes from the 1920s present a mix of charming details and unique challenges. While this 1923 charmer in Lyman, South Carolina, came with elegant transom windows and a butler’s pantry, it also had uneven floors and electrical issues.
Kyle and Lauren Neely, the design-build husband-and-wife team behind Neely Builder Group, enjoy taking on this type of historic restoration project for their clients. “I’m a five-time Ironman triathlete, so I like a challenge,” says Kyle, Neely Group’s president and owner. Lead designer Lauren loves walking into an old home for the first time. “You see so much potential in what someone initially created it to be.”
The goal was to maintain the home’s integrity while modernizing it enough to serve the comfort of the family moving here. During demolition, Neely Builder Group uncovered window weights, wire lath behind the plaster, and other period features not encountered in new construction. “When you’re doing renovation to that old of a house, it’s almost like artwork,” Kyle says.
“On this particular job, the homeowner was really involved, but out of town, so [they] put a lot of trust in us to make decisions on the fly,” Lauren adds. “I knew their vision, and with vendor relations and material selections, we made sure that we made that happen.”
The vision included expanding and relocating the kitchen and converting a formal living room into a playroom, laundry, and powder room. Many interior walls were removed or reworked to bring in more natural light.
In addition to major plumbing and electrical work, new windows were back-ordered eight months due to lingering supply chain issues. “We were changing a lot of windows in the kitchen and redoing a sunroom,” Kyle says, “so we used zip siding, which would be waterproof, to take the inside of the house to completion until we got the windows.”
Despite many seen and unforeseen challenges during renovation and construction, the result is a home that preserves its mill-estate legacy while being well-equipped for modern times. Lauren says, “It’s a super-rewarding experience to see the family loving the home and the little kids running through it, knowing that there are so many more memories they can make in the house.”
Lyman Home Tour
The original kitchen was expanded to include what used to be an old bathroom and dining room. In addition to major plumbing and electrical work, the ceiling was two different heights, so a wooden beam was added to seamlessly tie everything together. New windows were backordered for months due to supply chain issues. “We were changing a lot of windows in the kitchen and redoing a sunroom,” Kyle adds, “we used zip siding, which would be waterproof, to take the inside of the house to completion until we got the windows.” The kitchen table was new, but matched a photo of an antique wooden table the owner had referenced. Clayton Tile did the checkered floors.
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“The character of the brick fireplace and original maple hardwood floors was preserved,” Kyle notes. “One of our goals was to make things updated and safe, but also to look like we’ve never been here.”
The owners found a stained-glass window in a salvage yard, and the transom over the doorway was built in to fit it. Painted with Benjamin Moore Cinnamon Slate, the tall molding was another feature that wasn’t original, but added to the home’s period character.
Original 1920s-era cabinetry with a metal countertop was professionally restored and refinished in the butler’s pantry off the kitchen. After many fresh coats of its verdant color were applied, it was once again ready to serve an assortment of kitchen storage needs.
