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Interior designer Cortney Bishop arrived at an empty lot beside a cherished South Carolina home—a place where vacations felt longer because of large social gatherings that spilled outdoors and out beneath the sun and moon. When it was time for a new generation to take over, the homeowners’ son finally saw the land for what it was: potential to restart the party. He and his wife bought the plot from his parents, had house plans drawn up by Cumulus Architects, and their family of six aimed to turn nothing into something. “This couple is young, they’re energetic, and they love to entertain. I knew they were going to have fun here,” says AD PRO Directory designer Bishop, who worked hand in hand with both the architect and the builder, Sands Construction.
The owners spend most of their time in Cleveland, raising four kids on careers in finance and private equity, and they wanted their dozen or so escapes a year to Kiawah Island, South Carolina, to resemble checking into a personalized property. There would be room to reconnect as a unit by enjoying family dinners and sprawling out on the couch, but more than enough space for friends and relatives to drop by and stay a while. And the vibe wouldn’t be right unless every kid was encouraged to do cannonballs into the pool as the grown-ups looked on in the shade. “We wanted to bring a boutique hotel experience to a home,” Bishop says. “One of the first things they asked for was an outdoor dining table that could seat 20.”…