This contemporary coastal escape is the ultimate haven for one local family
Perched at the eastern end of Kiawah Island, where marshland melts into the Ocean Course and Atlantic breezes beckon, sits a bold-yet-understated structure. Modern, warm, and subtly interrelated to its natural surroundings, the home is a refuge for Scott and Leslie Fennell. “It’s been a place for healing for our family,” she says.
The couple, who live full-time in West Ashley’s Moreland neighborhood, have a deep connection to Kiawah. Scott’s father helped develop the island in the 1980s, and they’ve vacationed there with their two children, Wilson, now 25, and Madeleine, 28, for decades. Scott, president of Trident Waste and COO of the Fennell Holdings, including the Lowcountry Hotels group, is a Charleston native, and Leslie, originally from Aiken, has lived here for 35 years.
Despite the ties, building a home on the island was never in their master plan. In 2017, they bought a smaller house in Kiawah’s Ocean Park neighborhood. After using it as a home base during COVID, they realized that they wanted to be on the island more often but needed something bigger. With Madeleine planning a family and Wilson recovering from a serious dirt bike accident, Kiawah became more than a vacation destination; it became the family’s sanctuary…