Over a century of charm is the canvas for new personality in the Lancaster-Woods home
The Lancaster-Woods home in the Alta Vista area of Greenville is a masterclass in intentional, unconventional design. Brimming with color and character, somehow boldly expressive yet impossibly understated, the space today is the final result of years of hard work and fruitful partnership.
Originally built in the 1920s, Stephen Woods and Kevin Lancaster were drawn to the classic style, high ceilings, and sprawling entryway of the house, and knew it could be the foundation upon which to build their family home. In 2021, the family moved in and spent a year getting to know the layout of the space, how the light changed, how life flowed in it. In 2022, they found a rental and began a 16-month renovation process with a great team: contractor Peery Homes and designer Fowler Interiors.
“Our inspiration varied depending on the room,” says Lancaster, “but we started with the study in dark blue, and then built the rest out from there.” While they kept much of the layout and its iconic features, the renovation required a near-complete overhaul of the inside. “When you end up doing a whole house, you have to pick everything. Baseboard, crown molding, trim, hardwood floors, paint color, trim color, cabinets, knobs and pulls, you name it. As clients, we were very active and involved, and Dustin Fowler and Jess Ramsey were invaluable in navigating us through the selection process.”
As you’d imagine, a century-old home changes personalities over the years—and this one had kept many of the quirks. “There were eight fireplaces in the house, which we took down to two. Unfortunately, the floors had been sanded so many times over the years that we had to put all new floors in. The back part of the house [had] three steps down into the kitchen from the entry hall and dining room; several people had almost fallen trying to go down . . . so we knew we needed to [address that]. Now, the back of the house is about two feet taller, and level with the front [original] part of the house,” reveals Woods.
Historic yet modern, the home may look different inside, but one thing hasn’t changed—as you’ll see on a stroll nearby. “We like to say we have one of the best front porches in Greenville,” Woods says. “You can’t go out there without someone stopping for a quick conversation. It’s one of our favorite parts of the house.”
Lancaster-Woods Digital Tour
As you walk through the Lancaster-Woods home, a few standout features emerge: The family’s love of strong, extensive molding, deep colors, refined yet masculine design features and furniture, and a passion for collecting original artwork.
Glowing from within like the Emerald City of Oz, the kitchen countertops are carved from avocatus quartzite, a stone of rich green hues with rivers of black and white. Luminous windows soften the darker, handsome colors chosen for the cabinets and range hood. Take a closer look, and you’ll see that the hand-laid tiles even extend the window frames to reflect the home’s deeply layered molding.
The cozy, intimate keeping room balances lush, rustic textures and deeper colors with pops of sky blue—all of which look up toward a large-scale print by local artists Signe and Genna Grushovenko. Preston, the family’s youngest member, is a big fan of aerospace, and the scene depicted in the painting is the crowd watching Apollo 11 launch in 1969.
Easily emerging as the signature space of the Woods-Lancaster home, the study exudes sophisticated and artful curation at every turn, nook, and angle. Filled with individual vignettes—from sculpture to armchair, light fixture to colorful abstract—one must step back from the beautiful details to enjoy being fully immersed in a big-picture personality.
Bright and inviting, the living room gives structure to serious comfort, and timeless neutral tones allow the eye to be drawn toward a vibrant oil painting by Eric Benjamin, whose work the family has collected for years. The painting floats on textured grasscloth above ivory keys in the aptly named “piano room,” an extension of the home that had lower ceilings than the rest of the space—a unique feature that the couple opted to embrace and celebrate in the moldings.
The vivid wallpaper is the star in the powder room. A collaboration between Schumacher and Boråstapeter, the Flyttfrö pattern depicts rivers, birds, and exotic botanicals. A poplar James Martin vanity and avocatus quartzite counter complement the color scheme without competing.
