 Built for two
By Maya Payne Smart A couple selects handcrafted elegance and lavish accents for their grand finale Chyrel and Bud Stoner spent two years planning their dream house. They scoured issues of architectural magazines and ripped out pages that captured décor and design elements they adored. The result: a breathtaking 3,400-square-foot home shoehorned on a third of an acre that elegantly challenges the notion that bigger is better. The couple traded in their stately Kellett Park house for a one-story home they hope will accommodate them well as they grow older. “We built this house to be the last one we ever live in,” says Bud. They certainly filled the Parkins Pointe home and the surrounding landscape with enough sumptuous detail to keep them inspired for years to come. Inside, eight-foot doors, five-piece 17-inch crown moldings and five-inch Brazilian cherry flooring add uncommon splendor. A crystal chandelier with heart-shaped detail selected by Chyrel hangs just within the carved mahogany doors of the home’s front entrance. “I wanted something very elegant as you enter the house,” Chyrel says. “That’s just our taste; we like formal styles.” The drama continues in the great room with an arresting dore bronze chandelier leafed in 22-karate gold in the dining area. The 16-foot ceiling also features dark Venetian plaster with gold accents inspired by the ceiling of the Oceanographic Museum and Aquarium, which the couple toured during a 2001 trip to Monaco. A sandstone fireplace, weighing two-and-a-half tons, anchors the room. It was shipped in pieces from Tucson, Arizona and now rests within elegant woodwork custom made by Frazor Quality Woodworks in Pickens. The kitchen’s open, flowing layout is an extension of the great room and offers an inviting atmosphere for family gatherings. It features a large granite-topped island in the center of the room where meals are served buffet style when the couple’s three children and six grandchildren visit. A round pedestal table rests to the side beneath a decorative ceiling rosette and dore bronze fan. A patio just beyond the kitchen leads to a garden brimming with rare plants, statues, pottery and ironwork. “The footprint of the house takes up 95% of the lot, which created a great opportunity for a Charleston-style garden,” says Bud. Dale Stone, a fine artist and designer, worked a little magic in garden hardscaping to make the small space appear larger. He made statuary and pottery suggestions and commissioned an exceptional work from Mike Hayes of Easley Ironworks. “Three 36-inch by 8-foot tall panels were hinged together to create a tri-screen made of ornamental iron with mirrored backs,” Stone says. “We placed that behind the trees so that the mirror would reflect down two sides of the garden that you couldn’t see from the patio; you get a visual of the waterfall that’s around the corner.” The studied sophistication of the space is a nod to the owners’ vision of themselves in a new phase of life. Bud is a long-retired business executive and Chyrel is an obstetrician/ gynecologist who plans to stop the obstetrics part of her practice in May. Bud says she’s delivered 5,000 babies, including five of her six grandchildren. “That’s called keeping it in the family,” he jokes. Their home is equidistant from the St. Francis and Greenville Memorial Hospital sites where Chyrel works. The couple even designated one of the home’s four bedrooms as Chyrel’s call room. Neutral draperies mounted halfway between the window and crown molding allow light to fill the room when the crisp white plantation shutters are open. She sleeps in the room’s four-poster bed when she’s on call so that the constant ringing of the phone doesn’t disturb Bud. It’s no wonder that the garden, a quiet respite from a demanding professional life, is the doctor’s favorite space. “I just have to get out in that garden everyday,” she says. “I forget the troubles, worries and pressures of the day. It’s my therapy I think you could call it.” What began a few years ago with a couple of roses has grown by trial and error to include a singular array of flowers and plants along a narrow swath of land. “Three years ago she didn’t know the difference between daylilies and moss,” Bud says. Despite the steep learning curve, Chyrel quickly cultivated a laudable garden. It will be one of the featured gardens in the Greenville Council of Garden Clubs tour to be held May 18 and 19. “At this point, I’m more into rare and unusual specimens,” she says of seeking out new gardening challenges like the small, delicate lady’s slippers orchids, typically found in woodland areas, that she recently added to the mix. “I’ve gone the gamut of the stuff you find at the average nursery and big box stores, and now I’m looking for something unique.” When inside, she favors the “calming and peaceful” master bedroom. A soft oriental rug blankets the hard wood flooring and provides a warm backdrop for the two-poster bed and sitting area. Natural light filtered through eight-foot plantation shuttered windows, recessed ceiling lights and ornate side table lamps illuminate the couple’s resting place. The spacious master bath features 12-inch dark granite tiles, slab granite countertops, two vanities, two toilets, a bidet, a steam shower and a large bath. The Stoner’s outfitted another of the home’s bedrooms as an exercise room. The walls surrounding the treadmill, elliptical machine and other exercise equipment feature souvenirs collected during long trips to destinations as diverse as Ephesus, Meteora and Paris. Cheryl’s favorite trip was their most recent vacation to Norway. “I was amazed at what a beautiful country it was,” she says. “We brought back some of the trolls that are in fables and legends that have come up through the years.” They also returned with some exquisite pewter wine glasses. Fittingly, a wall placard at the center of the exercise room notes: “It’s not where you’ve been that counts, it’s where you’re going.” The empty-nesters’ next adventure is a trip down the Danube scheduled for next year. Afterward, they’ll have no trouble finding just the spot to display their vacation mementos in this home built for two. |
