MARSH REVERIE
By Blake Miller; Photography by Brie Williams
This article appeared in the March/April 2026 issue of Home Design & Decor’s Charlotte edition.
A thoughtfully designed low-country retreat offers a serene, deeply livable escape shaped by light, texture, and place.
As the sun slips toward the marsh horizon, the sky blooms in blush pinks, soft corals, and pale yellows. Water glints, branches glow, and the hush is broken only by a chorus of birdsong. It’s this fleeting, in-between moment—just before dusk settles—that residents of DeBordieu Colony reverently describe as nothing short of magical.
It’s what drew the homeowners to the peaceful, private island community in the first place. The seclusion, the unhurried pace, and the calming embrace of land protected by a nature preserve made DeBordieu feel like a true escape from the everyday. So when the opportunity to purchase a marsh-front property emerged, the couple didn’t hesitate—opting to start fresh by razing the existing structure and building anew.
Having previously co-owned a home on the island, the couple arrived with a deep familiarity about the area’s prevailing architectural language. “Our goal was to create something that felt distinct, but still in conversation with the neighborhood,” says the homeowner. Their search led them to Charleston-based architecture firm Beau Clowney Architects, whose work strikes a poised balance between crisp modernism and a deeply rooted Southern sensibility. “I call Beau the site whisperer,” the homeowner laughs. “He’d walk the property, quietly taking it all in, and somehow just knew what the house wanted to be.”
With sweeping, uninterrupted views of the marsh, the site all but demanded a visual connection to the water from every room. Adding to its allure was an unexpected gift: an existing dune that gently traversed the property, creating a natural rise and fall rarely found in the low country. Architects Beau Clowney and Kate Campbell embraced the topography as a design cue. “Most sites here are completely flat,” they note. “This subtle change in elevation allowed the house to feel intimate and grounded from the street, then gradually open up at the back to reveal the drama of the marsh beyond.”
To complement Clowney’s architecture, the homeowners turned to a close friend, designer Kelley Vieregg, who had also designed their primary home in Charlotte. “I had always said to Kelley, ‘The view is really what matters. That’s what draws you in. That’s the experience,’ ” says the homeowner. “So I wanted a home with interiors that didn’t compete or detract from that. I wanted to walk into the home and just exhale and be at peace the moment I walked in.”
For Vieregg, the directive translated into a restrained, largely neutral palette—one enriched with nuanced texture and subtle pattern—so the marsh views could remain firmly center stage. “My primary goal was to honor the architecture Kate and Beau designed so beautifully,” the designer explains. “Interiors shouldn’t compete with the architecture; they should quietly support it. Everything needs to flow seamlessly.” Material choices did much of the heavy lifting: terrazzo flooring, patinaed wood floors, and custom steel-framed doors and windows that echo the home’s architectural rigor while adding warmth and depth.
Just off the kitchen, a sunroom has become one of the homeowners’ most cherished retreats. Wrapped in oversized windows, the sitting area captures panoramic views of the marsh, where mornings unfold over shared coffee and evenings are marked by sunsets spilling across the creek and seagrasses. “There’s something magical about watching the light change out there,” the homeowner says. Creating these moments of intimacy was a priority for the couple, and Clowney and Campbell thoughtfully shaped the plan to include spaces that invite pause, reflection, and quiet connection to the landscape.
Vieregg’s thoughtful layering transformed the home into a gentle backdrop for connection—equally suited to quiet moments for two or lively gatherings with their extended family—creating spaces that feel inviting, adaptable, and effortlessly welcoming. “My design philosophy has always been that good design isn’t just about how a space looks—it’s about how it makes you feel,” Vieregg explains. “You should walk in and immediately exhale. It shouldn’t be so visually busy that your eye doesn’t know where to rest.”
After two years of construction, the low-country marsh cottage was complete. Since then, the house has played host to holidays, beach weekends, and multigenerational gatherings—moments the homeowners had envisioned long before the first shovel hit the ground. “The house just flows,” the homeowner says. “It’s incredibly calming. There are so many little nooks where you can curl up with a book, take a nap, or simply unwind. That was one of the happiest surprises of all.”
On the back porch, a sweeping, unobstructed view of the marsh reads as both artwork and meditation. The ever-changing landscape becomes the room’s defining feature—a quiet moment of pause. It’s one of many intimate pockets throughout the home, thoughtfully designed to encourage stillness, reflection, and a deep connection to the natural surroundings. Together, the architecture, interiors, and landscape unfold as a quiet conversation—one that honors place, prioritizes feeling, and ultimately creates a home meant not just to be admired, but deeply lived in.