Showing posts with label Charleston. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Charleston. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Day one in Charleston

I took waaaaaaayyyyy too many pictures on our trip to South Carolina! It’s taking me forever to go through them and organize them and resize them. So far, I’ve managed to get through my April 15th folder. So, here’s what we did in South Carolina on April 15th!

My day started with a walk on the beach…

beach collage

After breakfast, we drove into Charleston and picked up some info and maps at the visitor center. We parked down at the end of peninsula and spent the rest of the day walking around old Charleston and taking lots of pictures. We also got talked into going to a time-share presentation – at least we got some free tickets to out of it :-)

We started off walking along East Bay Street and admiring all the beautiful houses. I overheard a tour guide say that the houses along East Bay Street sell for around $9 to $10 million. There was one for sale at a “bargain” price of $6 million. EEK!

east bay houses

I love the combination of old red brick and lush greenery…

bricks and greenery

The houses in Charleston have the most beautiful gardens. Some of the gardens are hidden behind beautiful doors. I kind of have a thing for doors. And horses :-)

garden doors and horse

There are lots of beautiful & intricate ironwork gates too…

ironwork

Some pretty porches…

pretty porches

Lovely architecture…

houses

It took me a while to realize that the lanterns that I assumed have fake flames in them are actually REAL gas lanterns with REAL flames. Very cool, and a little bit eerie at night. They sort of transport you back to the 1800s. Many of the houses have window boxes and shutters. The crescent moon on the blue shutters below is a popular symbol in South Carolina – it’s on the state flag that was designed in 1775 by Colonel William Moultrie. He was asked by the Revolutionary Council of Safety to design a flag for the South Carolina troops to use during the American Revolutionary war. Colonel Moultrie's design had the blue of the militia's uniforms and the crescent from the emblem on their caps. Click here to read more about the history behind the South Carolina state flag.

shutters and lanterns

Fountains in Waterfront Park. The pineapple is a traditional symbol of welcome and hospitality throughout the south.

fountains

Our first day in Charleston was a bit grey, but the sun finally came out late in the afternoon and was joined by a beautiful blue sky…

church steeple

And that was our first full day in South Carolina. I’ve just about finished going through my next set of pictures – they’ll be coming soon :-)

I have to say a huge thank you to my blog friend Kathryn at Take My Breath Away. Kathryn used to live near Charleston, and when I asked her for some suggestions for what to do there, she sent me a long list of places to go and things to do. We did almost everything she suggested, and it was all great! Thank you Kathryn for all your help!

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Charleston interior designer Angie Hranowsky

In honour of our trip to Charleston, South Carolina next week (thank you Unshaven Mavens & Porter Airlines!), I thought it would be a great time to enjoy the work of Charleston-based interior designer Angie Hranowsky.

I discovered Angie’s work when my blog friend Vanessa at Decor Happy posted a picture of Angie’s living room on her Facebook page:

pink living room

Angie’s home is featured in the April issue of Lonny Magazine. She transformed an 1850’s single house into a home for herself and her two children that’s modern, comfortable, stylish, colourful, and fun.

dining area

I love that she’s displayed her son’s and daughter’s artwork in the eating nook. I also love that she painted her kitchen lavender, and those purple chairs – an EBay find – are pretty cool :-)

kids art

Traditional Home named Angie one of the 20 Designers To Watch. Her work has been featured in Domino, House Beautiful, Metropolitan Home, and Coastal Living, as well as Lonny.

Some more of Angie’s awesome designs…

lakeshore drive 1  lakeshore drive 3

lakeshore drive 4  latitude lane 2  pitt street 1

stocker drive 1 tradd street 1 tremont blvd 1

And with that, I’m signing off for the next week and a half while we enjoy some sun, sand, and scenery in and around Charleston :-) And after the snow and ice pellets we had yesterday, I’m REALLY looking forward to this:image

sc oceanImage via Pinterest