Deer tracks dimple a little beach at the edge of Lake Keowee. A fox returned last night, drawn from its den by a pesky muskrat that has been gnawing the lines tied to a 23-foot Tritoon boat. A meandering blue heron and circling hawk are nearby residents.
This is Keowee Key, where Dave and Bev Douglas moved from Arizona a few years ago to site their permanent home. “We wanted to relocate and just fell in love with the area,” Bev says. “We put the house as close to the lake as we could get it.”
Building on such a steep site presented several challenges. It also resulted in a style of home the Douglases didn’t anticipate. “Bev and I are very conservative,” says Dave, “and going with this style of home was outside of our comfort level.”
Kevin Collins, CEO of Collins Development Group, first met the Douglases at the lot to discuss possibilities. “Kevin explained to us what his vision was for this lot and for this house and we just took the plunge,” Bev says.
Vision for Challenging Lot
The vision: “a modern home that blended into the hillside, with a seamless transition outside to the lake,” explains Miranda Smith, project manager from Collins Development Group. It was the right approach for the lay of the land, but gaining access was not easy.
“This lot was not buildable,” says Katherine Hazlewood, the company’s operations manager. “But anything’s possible, just trust the process.” An easement from the neighbors was obtained to have a shared drive down to the house. “During construction, we had to stage many materials in the cul-de-sac and walk them down the hill.”
Despite the project’s complexity, everyone enjoyed the collaboration. “We were able to meet all of the subcontractors and people doing the work; some of them we still go out to dinner with,” says Dave. “We had constant contact with Miranda,” Bev adds, “she was always there for us, day or night.”
The exterior was designed and built to be as maintenance-free as possible with fiber cement siding and a metal roof.
The main level has an open living area and kitchen, a primary bedroom with ensuite bath, a laundry, office, and powder bath. The lower level includes three more bedrooms, two baths, and a den. Owing to the home’s clean lines, abundance of windows, and muted interior colors, the lake becomes the focal point of every room.
Bev’s favorite is the “three season’s room” featuring an Eze-Breeze porch enclosure and a linear stacked-flagstone fireplace. “I love to be so close to the water and feel like you’re in the trees,” she says.
In summer, when the water warms, the Douglases’ grandkids will come for a two-week stay. In between jet skiing and wake boarding, there will be cooking and coloring at the waterfall kitchen island.
“The peace and the joy that we have here . . . We live down so far, you can’t see our house from any of the main roads.” says Dave. When the Douglases go to bed at night, they leave the shades open to see light shimmering off the water. “It’s a unique experience,” he says.
Lake Keowee Home Photo Tour
An open kitchen was designed around a waterfall island large enough for the homeowners and their guests to sit around. To keep the lines of the house clean, there are no visible outlets in the kitchen and all obtrusive appliances are stored in cabinets underneath the counters. Light fixtures, like the pendants over the island, came from Classic Lighting & Design (Seneca, SC). The homeowners call them “kiss” lights for their resemblance to iconic Hershey’s Kisses candy.
There are large windows in every room. Even the laundry room off the hall on the main level gets daylighting and views of the mature trees that frame the property. Utility and efficiency were prioritized, evidenced by the ample countertops, cabinetry, and walk-in closets throughout the living area.
For the interior walls, the design team used an original Sherwin Williams paint color with more white mixed in to lighten the hue even more. This neutral palate, and lack of art on the walls, lets the natural colors of the surrounding lake and woods provide the accent colors. A darker tile on the large linear fireplace in the living room provides a contrasting centerpiece that brings welcome warmth and ambience in cooler weather.
This “three seasons room” with its stacked, flagstone fireplace, tile floors and Eze-Breeze porch enclosure quickly became the favorite room of the nature-loving couple who live here year-round.
The primary bedroom was placed as close to the lake as possible. It looks out over the water and nature preserve on the other side–no need for privacy curtains–day or night. There are, however, automatic shades to lower when the moonlight, shining in through the multiple windows, is too bright. High-quality LVP flooring in high-traffic interiors looks like wood, but provides more durability in this environment. The walk-in shower in the ensuite bath off the primary bedroom was intentionally designed to not need doors.
With the homeowners spending as much time on the lake as possible, the contemporary minimalism of the furniture, fixtures, and equipment makes everything easy to clean and maintain.
“When you approach the house, it looks fairly small from the front,” says Hazlewood, “then, it really opens up and there’s this huge expanse along the back.” The glass overlooking the lake puts the eyeline at mid-tree level when standing on the main floor. Proper grading was integral to the whole project. The grader, Jeff Smith, “was there probably 70% of the project just working on getting the grade right.”
