Story by Barry Kaufman
Photographs by Blake Shorter

The Kiawah home of members Greg and Kara Olsen brings the outdoors in, standing apart as a masterpiece of Designing with Nature.

The beauty of these Lowcountry Sea Islands was forged by forces that have been in play for millennia. The tranquil curve of the shoreline has been a dance between tide and sand for generations. The waters of our rivers flow in the same dips and troughs that the first glaciers followed as the ice age loosened its grip on Earth. It is a masterpiece of complexity, the Island’s beauty carved over time, defined by the forces that created it.  

Designing with Nature has been the guiding principle of Kiawah Island since its inception. Environmentally sensitive design that considers climate, native vegetation, and natural topography requires a magnified respect for these natural processes. Because nature—like art and design—is always evolving. 

The home you see here, like the subtle arc of our shoreline, stands singular amidst the maritime canopy. And considering the forces that shaped it, and the philosophies from which its form and function sprang, yield a greater appreciation for the craftsmanship.

Built for Greg and Kara Olsen, the home began with the simple premise of creating a place that would blur the lines between indoors and out. As the couple’s beach getaway from their home in Charlotte, North Carolina, it had to embrace the Kiawah aesthetic, while providing comfort and effortless entertaining for their extended family. Each of these forces exerted their influence on the process, and the results speak for themselves.

“A lot of times with design, we start with what we know,” said Ken Pursley of Pursley Dixon Architecture. “In this case we had some incredible live oaks to work around, so we started there. But the other drivers of the house, the other pieces of the puzzle, like code requirements and nearby wetlands, led us to elevate the house off the ground.”

With this change in elevation, the home’s treehouse aesthetic began to take shape. Pursley began by going back to the South’s roots. “We looked at a kind of French Creole architecture that you see in Louisiana or Mississippi, because those homes are built up on stilts,” said Pursley. “Those types of homes have big porches that wrap around to protect you from the sun, as well. There’s almost a pragmatism to the aesthetic, where you’re letting the architecture respond to the conditions that nature is giving.”

Landscape architect Paul Freeman was tasked with making sure natural conditions set a perfect stage for the house. “They wanted privacy, but not a jungle,” he said. “As with every project on Kiawah, I coached the clients to leave as much native plant life as possible. We can always subtract.”

Between the canopy of twisting live oak branches, towering palmettos, and the underbrush of windmill palms, Freeman sprinkled in a subdued blend of native plants, from yaupon holly to magnolias.

“There’s a precision to that approach so that the landscape looks man-made,” said Freeman. “I have no desire to recreate mother nature. You’re never going to do a better job than her. But you can use those plants in a designed way to get the same effect. We used a lot of native material, but there was a very rhythmic-specific approach to the way they were installed.”

Inside the home, Pursley flipped the script on the usual beach house entrance, creating a beautiful and functional ground floor lobby set in nickel-gap shiplap. “It seems like a pretty mundane thing, but I think it actually makes a big difference in the way the house lives,” he said. “For us, a big driver of the house was that you actually enter the front door into this really beautiful finished space.” The entry also allowed for one of the most stunning statement pieces in the entire home—the beautifully open living space, which basks in forested scenery in every sightline.

“From a design perspective, it gave us a much more open, elegant plan,” he said. “The kitchen and living space has these huge sliding windows that you can close and have a full view to the back or open them to make that whole section open air. Then we went a step further. You can hit a button and screen the entire back porch, in essence turning the entire living space into a huge screened porch.”

For Pursley, this was truly the key to capturing that balance of indoor and outdoor that the Olsens were looking for. “We’re trying to blur that line not just visually but also audibly and physically,” he said. “You can hear the sounds and smell the air, so you really are fully connected with nature by having these walls that are kinetic and can fold out of the way.”

This home serves as a mirror to the world beyond it, reflecting both the beauty and artistry just outside the folding walls. Capturing that balance in the furnishings, drapery, and décor fell to Layton Campbell of JLayton Interiors. Campbell has worked with the Olsens on previous projects in Charlotte and had an understanding of their tastes and an eye toward the Kiawah aesthetic. 

“It’s set in such a lush location, so I really wanted to use a lot of organic material in creative, layered ways,” said Campbell. To that end, Campbell filled the home with bespoke pieces that carry forward the natural motif. The fourteen-foot live edge dining table on the patio is custom crafted to handle the humidity and moisture that comes from a home with optional walls. The hanging beds in the bunk room are configured to enhance the views from triple windows. And—as Greg Olsen is a former NFL tight end for the Carolina Panthers—the living spaces are replete with extra roomy seating.

Creating a home like this requires an eye for detail, but then everything you see in nature is defined by infinite detail. The acidity of the soil, the average temperature, the dew point—these unseen forces help shape the beauty around us. In this home, the unseen forces of conscientious design, balanced aesthetics, and Lowcountry livability have shaped a home into something that inspires.