THE MOTHER-DAUGHTERS design team at Clark & Clark Interiors is always putting their surroundings first when creating beautiful interiors. “Biophilic design is the new buzz word these days, but before we even knew that’s what it was called, it has been the foundation of our interiors concepts from the beginning,” says Lynne Clark, founder and principal of Clark & Clark.
So when clients enlisted them to design the interiors of their new custom home on the Wando River in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, the team’s natural response was a concept rooted in communication with the wooded lot and ancient oak tree that sat amidst it. “I had known these homeowners for several years, having worked on their previous residence, as well,” explains Hallie Buchanan, one of two daughters that make up the design family trio at Clark & Clark, and who holds down the Charleston office. “When they came to me with this new project, it was kind of understood that it would be a design that included many natural elements and would center around this old oak tree on the lot.”
Working with The Biggers Company on the build, Buchanan dove into selecting finishes and design elements with the natural look and feel they wanted. The homeowners wanted an open-concept home with a minimalist design, partially to highlight their growing collection of pieces from local artist John Duckworth. The colors in the abstract photographic and painted landscapes informed the palette in each room and complemented the marsh just beyond the walls. Unique sculptures and travelled accessories dot the home, adding interest in fun and unexpected ways.
Rooms were carefully designed around sightlines throughout the window-laden home, as well, using pieces short enough to avoid impeding views and simple enough to avoid competing with the landscape. The “inside-out living” concept, as Clark calls it, can be seen at every turn, from the all-glass swinging front door and reclaimed-wood beams to the deep blues, greens, and neutral tones used to create the interconnected look. “It’s color, it’s natural light, it’s spacial design in furnishings—all these things create a balance in interior design,” says Clark. “We always say, ‘If something is done artfully, nothing is noticeable.’ If you walk into a room and can’t put your finger on what you love about it, but you know it just makes you happy, we’ve done it right.”
Clark and Buchanan agree that their favorite space in the home is the combined sitting/dining room by the fireplace. It can be seen immediately when you enter the home, with floor to-ceiling windows that offer breathtaking views of the marsh just beyond and the old oak tree at the center. “The scale of this space truly does regulate your nervous system somehow,” says Buchanan. “It’s calming, it’s inviting, and the homeowners really gravitate to that space.” Clark adds that her daughter’s design choices contributed to that calming feeling. “It’s a really neutral room, but she added that green bench that perfectly draws the outside into the room in a subtle way,” she says.
In the end, the homeowners were looking for a home that maximized their idyllic outdoor surroundings wrapped in a minimalist interior style. If design can be subtle and obvious at the same time, then Clark & Clark Interiors has mastered the marriage of the two, and this home is a study in the execution.