the U.S. Marine Corps in Afghanistan. Herb and Sheran, whose main resi- dence is in Ellicott City, Md., near Bal- timore, also have a condominium in Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., and a home in Bethany Beach, a small seaside town in southeastern Delaware. But when the whole family takes vacation time, more often than not, the destination is Kiawah Island, S.C. Herb Wilkins was a major player
in the venture capital business and was the co-founder and first president and chief executive officer of SCI Ventures. He also founded the SYNCOM Funds group and later helped rescue the satel- lite communications giant Iridium from bankruptcy. A few years ago, however, he suffered a stroke, and his nurse now travels with the family, as does Sheran’s mother, which explains why nine is an appropriate number of bedrooms when the entire family gets together. Herb and Sheran got their first taste of Kiawah Island more than a quarter of a century ago, when they visited to attend a business conference. They stayed an extra day, found a vacation home they liked on Inlet Cove, pur- chased it and started a family tradition of vacationing on Kiawah. “Inlet Cove was a good community for kids,” Sheran commented. “We used to come here during the summer until our youngest daughter reached middle school age.” As the family grew, the Wilkins’
moved into larger and larger vacation homes. Buffington Homes, which has been building high-end homes in Kiawah and Charleston for 14 years and has earned a wide range of regional and national awards, built their fourth and current 6,000-square-foot, seven- bedroom home on Bufflehead Drive. “A lot of people came to Kiawah
30 years ago, and they still live in the same house,” Vice President of Sales and Marketing Cathy Buffington com- mented. “This will be their fifth house on Kiawah. That might be some kind
of a record.” The Wilkins’ new home is located
on Salthouse Lane, a cul-de-sac, in the area of Kiawah known as The Settlement. To reach the neighbor- hood, homeowners and visitors must pass through three gates. The home will offer its occupants views of the Kiawah River that change with the tides. Though the lot has its own dock, the house is far enough from the river to be a safe haven for seven spirited grandchildren. “We looked at other lots, but this one seemed to be the best for us,” Sheran said. “We had to take the grandkids into consideration. We didn’t want them to escape before we could get to them.” Herb added that he also appreciates the peaceful river views and the privacy the lot offers.
The idea of making the home four separate structures instead of one huge house was the brainchild of architect Zach Carney. “This is a fun house to build,” Carney commented. “The clients have been great, and they’ve been open to different ideas.” The nine-bedroom, nine-bathroom home includes two elevators, one of them accessible from the garage, which is one of the four separate buildings. The master and two other bedrooms are located on the first floor of the main house, while four other bed- rooms, an office and a media room that can double as a bunk room if the family continues to grow are on the second floor. The eighth and ninth bedrooms and a kitchen are in a guest- house situated on the other side of an ancient, sprawling oak tree. A fourth structure, also connected to the main house, includes the pool and a huge screened summer porch, complete with a kitchen, a living and dining area, a bath and changing room and storage for outdoor furniture. An unusual feature of the home is that it
Architect Zach Carney goes over the plans for the home with Sheran Wilkins, center, and Cathy Buffington of Buffington Homes.
also has a winter porch with a fireplace, a hot tub and a living and dining area. While the two large porches provide
the opportunity for outdoor living, the house will be built to bring the outside inside. The views of the river and the surrounding flora and the massive oak will be enhanced by huge 6-foot by 6-foot windows with transoms in the living room, master bedroom and master bath, as well as by an airy, open floor plan.
Among the challenges Carney faced in designing the house were making at least part of it handicapped-accessible to meet Herb’s needs and building a home large enough for the Wilkins family but understated enough to blend in with what Nature has be- stowed upon Kiawah. He also included gates in the plans to make it more difficult for the kids to wander off on their own. The Wilkins family appreciates the beauty of the island, and, for the past quarter century, they have been grate- ful for its serenity. When her husband was more active in the business world, Sheran traveled with him. Kiawah has served as a restful haven for them, a place they could go to get away, un- wind and simply relax. Sheran said the family hopes to spend three months on Kiawah from now on, from January through March. “It’s always peaceful here,” she said.
“We don’t like crowds. It’s a good sanc- tuary for us. We like to come here and not be bothered.”
www.ILoveSummerville.com |
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