Southern Living Idea House open for tours on Johns Island

JOHNS ISLAND, S.C. (WCBD) — Southern Living has selected Johns Island as the location for its 2024 Idea House, and now just feet from the Kiawah River, you will find the brand-new property that cultivates the love and labor of local artists, designers, and architects.

The house is around 4,400 square feet with five bedrooms, four and a half bathrooms, a guest quarter above the garage, and a pool. However, what might be most appealing is the waterfront views and coastal landscape.

The president of Dillard-Jones Builders, Tom Dillard, who helped build the home, said this played an integral part in the home’s design.

“This whole house was designed to maximize the views out of every room since we are on this great waterfront area,” he explained.

Southern Living has featured Idea Homes like this one across the South for over 30 years. The goal is to spark inspiration for readers as they partner with architects, builders, and designers to build the house from the ground up in the span of a year.

“So it’s kind of a miracle that we manage to pull this off every year which is a huge testament to the people that we’re working with,” Southern Living’s Senior Home Editor, Betsy Cribb Watson, said.

Dillard said while this unique farmhouse in the Kiawah River community would typically take around a year and a half to build, with the deadlines for the Idea House program, it was completed in about 11 months.

He also explained that this property highlights some of Charleston’s charms, including a massive oak tree in the front yard that the team creatively built around.

“That was a big driver of this whole project,” Dillard said. “But here we are — these trees are going to be healthy and fine forever and this house looks like it’s been here for 200 years.”

As for inside, local interior designer Allison Elebash, said her vision became a reality with the support and help of other local creatives.

“It’s really what makes the house to me so special because there’s so many people from the Charleston community that made it possible and are represented here,” she said.

There were over 100 local contributing sponsors for the house as well, that not only filled each room with unique ideas but captured the spirit of the Lowcountry, including wallpaper inspired by Hampton Park and sweetgrass baskets.

“We worked very closely with Rebecca Atwood, local textile designer,” Elebash explained. “Our palette for the house was the natural pallet outside that’s surrounding us at beautiful Kiawah River. If you’ve ever really watched Spartina grass and how it goes through the seasons — it changes colors with each season. So we really took inspiration from that.”

Now, the hard work will pay off as people from far and wide will come to see the finished product.

“So many people that put their time and energy into creating very special aspects for the house so that people could enjoy seeing it and get inspiration from — so that’s what I hope that the end result will be,” Elebash said.

The Idea House is featured in the Southern Living September issue which will hit newsstands on Friday, Aug. 23. Tours of the house also begin that day and run through Dec. 22. Tickets are available for $25. A portion of the ticket proceeds will benefit three local charities: Communities In Schools of SC, Sea Island Habitat for Humanity, and the Emmanuel Nine Memorial Foundation.

The house is located at 3008 Eventide Dr, Johns Island, SC 29455, and is currently up for sale for $5.399 million.

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