Houzz Tour: New Getaway Channels an Old Fish Camp
A low-maintenance, no-worries getaway offers the ultimate in relaxation for a South Carolina family and friends
Picture this: a summer cottage on a river near the ocean with high, open ceilings and simple wood floors, a place where you can relax and not worry about tracking mud into the house or squeezing in an extra overnight guest. Add some terrific local fishing — South Carolina low country redfish, anyone? — a built-in bar and a place to roast marshmallows on cool nights, and you’ve got yourself one heck of an escape.
The cottage sits in a flood zone, so it needed to be elevated. The ground floor space is used for everything from cleaning fish to roasting marshmallows to “drinking a lot of beer,” Ramsey says. The homeowners installed a couple of TVs hanging from the ceilings and a corrugated tin bar, as well as hanging lights, a ceiling fan and lockers for fishing gear. “It’s pretty spectacular,” Ramsey says. “A place to really have fun.” Laundry facilities on the ground level mean muddy clothes can go straight into the wash.
The camp itself is a mix of everything, Ramsey says, including a metal-siding exterior (“so you never have to worry about painting”), lots of reclaimed wood, and concrete floors on the ground level. “The basic concept was to keep it natural and make it feel like it had been there for many years, and not have to worry about maintenance.”
The camp itself is a mix of everything, Ramsey says, including a metal-siding exterior (“so you never have to worry about painting”), lots of reclaimed wood, and concrete floors on the ground level. “The basic concept was to keep it natural and make it feel like it had been there for many years, and not have to worry about maintenance.”
Most of the raised level is a giant screened porch, Ramsey says. Treated pine decking extends from the deck into the main room for easy upkeep. Ramsey left the standard trusses in the great room exposed to reinforce the feel of a casual, been-there-forever space. Louvered shades block the sun on hot days and protect the great room from the elements during storms.
The kitchen island is made of corrugated metal, reclaimed wood and heart pine. The cabinets are also pine.
Sliding doors close off the bedrooms and bathroom, which are also the only heated areas of the cottage. When the clients leave, “they just slide that door over and lock it up,” Ramsey says. The great room — with its screens and wide doors — stays open. The ladder leads to a loft with four twin beds (and a wire mesh rail for safety that echoes the wire mesh rail on the outside deck). “All the kids flock to that upstairs,” Ramsey says. “They run up the ladder and have a great time up there.” The homeowners can pack a lot of people in the cottage, and they do, he says.
The sliding doors are treated pine. Other doors are cedar and Douglas fir. “The house is a little mix of everything,” Ramsey says.
The homeowners “did a fabulous job of finding things and working with whatever they could get their hands on,” Ramsey says, such as these canoe paddles turned into door handles.
The homeowners used galvanized plumbing pipe and pine planks to construct shelves for storage in the bedroom and bath area. The entire house is uninsulated, but the clients installed some board-and-batten paneling and wainscoting over the plywood to give the back area a more finished look.
Reclaimed wood paneling, corrugated tin ceilings and an eclectic collection of artwork and other objects fill the bedroom spaces.
A colorful bookshelf and cabinet work well as a pantry.
The bathroom floors are ceramic tile with a wood-grain pattern.
Dining indoors or outdoors is equally casual. A picnic-style table and benches inside echo the picnic table outside.
The area is known for redfish, but stingrays, sharks and catfish also might grace the dinner table.
Two small bedrooms on either side of the hallway beyond the sliding doors provide space for guests.
The clients used whatever they found to furnish the camp, including items such as this vintage bathing tub.
This view shows the back of the house.
See floor plans and a 3D model of this home
Browse more homes by style: Apartments | Barn Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Floating Homes | Guesthouses | Homes Around the World | Lofts | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Small Homes | Townhouses | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | Vacation Homes
More Resources on Houzz
Find a home design and remodeling professional
Shop for home products
See floor plans and a 3D model of this home
Browse more homes by style: Apartments | Barn Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Floating Homes | Guesthouses | Homes Around the World | Lofts | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Small Homes | Townhouses | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | Vacation Homes
More Resources on Houzz
Find a home design and remodeling professional
Shop for home products
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple from Beaufort, South Carolina, and their teenage daughter and son
Location: St. Helena Island, South Carolina
Size: 1,012 square feet (94 square meters), including the deck, but not including the downstairs bar and fish-cleaning area
Designer: Cooter Ramsey of Allison Ramsey Architects
Architect Cooter Ramsey initially designed a house that was “more of a weekend getaway cottage,” he says. “Something a little bit fancier.” But the clients came back to him. “They said, ‘We don’t want that much house. We want a big porch. We want a place to sleep comfortably at night. That’s pretty much it.’”
So Ramsey threw out his original design and created a real low country fish camp. “In our area we have a long history of these fish camp structures,” Ramsey says. “It’s a new version of that same concept.”