The Schmidt-Connor House, c. 1818, available for the first time in 45 years. Deemed of valuable architectural significance and great importance to its neighborhood of Harleston Village, this late Federal single house has been lovingly cared for by one family for a generation and retains most of its historic details, while being updated for modern living. The large lot includes the 5020 sqft main home which incorporates a guest wing in the original kitchen building, a 562 sqft pool house, pool, and landscaped gardens.The simple stucco over brick facade is punctuated with one of the most impressive piazza doors in all of historic downtown Charleston. Enter through Tuscan columns and a recessed fanlight onto a wide piazza that received an additional polygonal bay in the 1890s.Inside, in typical single house style, a stair hall connects formal living and dining rooms. At the front of the house, the handsome living room has a working wood burning fireplace, swagged wainscoting, crown molding, and original heart pine floors. The entire house has been freshly painted and the floors refinished.
The original scored plaster in the stair hall has been replaced with a mural on canvas that incorporates the scored stone motif along with trompe l'oeil architectural details and whimsical flora and fauna. It rises through all 3 levels of the home. A half bath is tucked under the stairs. The dining room also has a fireplace with original mantle flanked by 2 large china cabinets concealed behind mirrored doors. Transomed doors lead to the piazza and the modern kitchen. History buffs will note the original wavy glass in the exterior windows.
The kitchen is truly the heart of this home. Warm cabinetry blends with the historic portion of the home. High-end stainless steel appliances include a Subzero refrigerator and GE Cafe Wi-Fi connected range with 6 gas burners. Like the dining room, the kitchen also opens to the piazza, making indoor/outdoor entertaining seamless. A sunny eat-in area in the hyphen incorporates 2 stories of windows that rise to a skylight. A sitting area with Swedish gas furnace in this atrium keeps the entire expanse toasty warm. There is also a wall of built-in storage.
Behind the modern kitchen, in the original kitchen building, is a guest wing. Behind the modern kitchen, in the original kitchen building, is a guest wing. It can be incorporated into the main house or closed off for an independent residence. It includes a full bath, bedroom with built-in desk and laundry closet, a living room with a remote gas log fireplace, and a full kitchen. A door to the back yard provides separate entry.
Back in the main house, the second floor comprises 2 bedrooms, both with fireplaces. The primary suite extends into the hyphen with a sitting room/library that is open to the atrium below. A wall of closets provides all the storage you need. The primary bath has dual sinks and vanities, plus a separate shower and jetted tub. Both bedrooms access the second-floor piazza and have private outdoor porch space. The third floor consists of 2 more full-height bedrooms with fireplaces. The same addition that provides the bay on the first-floor piazza creates a large bathroom rarely found in historic homes on each the second and third floors. The third-floor bath adds a laundry closet.
Outside, there is plenty of off-street parking in the driveway as well as a paved lot behind the home. A landscaped garden meanders through crepe myrtles that offer the optimal amount of shade in the summer and let the light in in the winter. An electrified shed provides storage as well as a workshop. The site of the original stable has been transformed into a pool house with small kitchen, sleeping loft, and 3/4 bath. It could be a third independent living unit, perfect for a guest house. It opens to a screened porch plus a large patio.
The grassy lawn has a charming pergola. And to the back of the property is a pool with a whimsical mural transporting you to the beach. Imagine the possibilities for evening soirees under twinkling string lights, poolside summer afternoons with your family and friends, and cozy autumn nights bundled around a fire -- all within the privacy of your home in historic downtown Charleston.
