Second Verse, Same As The First

George and Darlene Shaw bought their Charleston historic-district alley house-for the first time-in 1988. Divided into two apartments, its already poor condition was worsened when Hurricane Hugo peeled off the roof and wrecked the interior. While they enjoyed their off-the-beaten-path "single house" (so-called because of its one-room width with a side piazza) and the challenge of its renovation, they had always longed for a grand antebellum home with a sweeping staircase. When one they had admired for years became available in 1995, they snagged it. But George and Darlene's residential storybook has more than two chapters. The pair loved their dream home, but found it too large. Memories of their house in Charleston's historic district began to stir when, coincidentally, that house went back on the market. So in a slightly modified what-goes-around-comes-around interpretation, George and Darlene repurchased their ex-home.

Design:
Architect: Randolph Martz, Randolph Martz Architect, 107 Coming St., Charleston, SC 29403; 843/722-1339.
Interior designers: Jo Kelly Edwards, ASID, NCIDQ certified, Andrea Carmichael Inc., 2726-1/2 Cahaba Rd., Mountain Brook, AL 35223; 205/871-8400 and 205/298-0787; and Claudette Boniface, Charleston, SC 29401; 843/577-2171.
Landscape architect: Byers Design Group, LLC, 125 Spring St., Charleston, SC 29403; 843/577-5703, byersdesign.com.

Photographs by Gordon Beall
Text by Krissa Rossbund
Produced by Lynn McBride