Turning Heads

Story by Art Department / February 9, 2016

One native upstate couple vows to build a forever home in Mt.Pleasant after seeing the local side of Charleston.

Lynn and Paul Turner have built a total of five houses over the course of their marriage and across several southeastern states. For many years, they called Raleigh their home before moving to Birmingham. But it wasn’t until after their son moved away to pursue career opportunities in Charleston that they discovered what he called “the real Charleston”—the local side of Charleston that residents know and love. Soon, they were visiting frequently and falling more and more in love with the city, the water, and the lifestyle. “It didn’t take long for us to decide we had to retire here,” declares Paul.
“We didn’t want to build again, though,” adds Lynn. “We’ve built so many times, and it was always such a production. So we chose to buy instead.” What they didn’t know was how hard it would be to find just the right home in just the right place. With such a hot market and everything being snatched up as soon as it’s listed, out-of-towners like the Turners are often left in the lurch. Lynn recalls, “We were determined to end up in I’On.”

As it turns out, something they hadn’t dreamt for themselves was just around the corner. Throughout their quest to find a home, the couple kept returning to Hibben, a neighborhood in the Belle Hall area of Mt. Pleasant. There they met their future builder, Allen Coleman of Coleman Builders. “We had an immediate connection. He went to Clemson—my alma mater,” Paul explains. “Plus he grew up in the Upstate, not far from where I’m from. He was ready to talk to us about what we were looking for and how he could help. Everything he said changed our minds about building.” Beginning that day, an enduring family friendship bloomed before the Turners even laid the first brick. Nothing was built on the marsh at that time, and the only requirement Lynn had for their lot was that it needed a live oak. Once she found the beautiful tree that now accents the front of the house, everyone got to work. The Turners relied on Allen more than any other builder they’ve worked with for subcontractor recommendations and advice, since they were still living in Birmingham at the time. “The most we did at the start was draw out about 60-percent of the floor plans and then take them to our architect, Phil Clarke, for advice, touch-ups, and approval,” states Lynn.

As an interior designer with her own business, Lynn took it from there. She designed the whole interior from top to bottom—even Paul’s man cave has the professional stylization of a designer. “She let me pick out the pieces that went in the room, but that was it,” he laughs. The spectacular thing about the house is that not one room looks like the next, yet everything meshes into an eclectic, synchronous whole.

Whether they’re drawing floor plans or decorating with chic French textures, vintage magazine covers, bright pops of color in a beach themed room, or Lynn’s countless flea-market finds, the two Turners can certainly pull together a flawless dwelling.

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