Tour Charleston's Historic Homes

[Music] join us on our vacation where we mix business and pleasure in the holy city of charleston south carolina you know there's nothing we love more than old homes and there's nowhere better to see fine examples of restoration and preservation then charleston [Music] our first stop was the aiken ret house one of the finest examples of preservation in the city you'll see here clearly the difference between preservation and restoration the aiken rhett house is being carefully preserved in its current state you'll see spaces throughout the house that reflect the 18th 19th and early 20th century [Music] no modern changes are being made in this room you see period wall coverings from the late 19th century imagine how beautiful this would have been by candlelight [Music] a 19th century bathroom thank you here's the music room which holds the original heart for this space [Music] the one room in the house almost completely restored is the art gallery that holds the family's collection of fine art from their grand tour of europe was this my favorite room absolutely [Music] now an exquisite example of restoration the nathaniel russell house [Music] this is a glorious example of federal period architecture the medallion above trump lawyer which is french for fools the eye that's a one-dimensional surface painted to look three-dimensional [Music] you'll note the vivid paint colors throughout these rooms remember in the period before electricity the colors of the walls had to lighten the spaces as well so bright colors were imperative and yes all of the woodwork has been painted since the home's construction as was appropriate in the federal georgian and neoclassical era say hi lane [Music] there is nothing that smells sweeter than carolina jasmine did we bring some home we sure did [Music] no trip to a historic city is complete without a drive through the cemetery magnolia cemetery has beautiful monuments and we had to make the drive out [Music] this is saint phillips episcopal church this uh church building has been standing since 1838 it is home to the oldest anglican congregation south of virginia that congregation settled here that congregation settled here this is why charleston is known as the city of bones [Music] on the left side of the church residents that are buried have been residents of charleston since the city was founded across the street are for anyone who wasn't born in the city of charleston [Music] the joseph mangano house another prime example of historic restoration [Music] franklin [Music] you'll note that all the homes in charleston are built high off the ground to take full advantage of the sea breeze as it blows through the city in the days before central heat and air those sea breezes were imperative to cooling the interiors of these homes [Music] again as with all federal architectural you'll note painted woodwork beautiful classical relief detailing and bright colors [Music] this floating stair leads us up to incredible appliqued plaster work the plaster work would have been produced on site but not at the ceiling level it would have been created below and then applied once it had cured you'll see a different example in just a minute all of the doors in this house were beautiful faux bois and a closer look at that applied plaster work [Music] you'll notice throughout this space beautiful palladian windows and the theme repeats over and over on the exterior and interior [Music] also nobody gave us any grief about the masks we had to wear them it was required [Music] each room and each bit of woodwork in this home have been carefully examined and restored to their original color scheme so any wall or trim color that you see in this home is as it was when this home was built in the 18th century [Music] so [Music] you'll notice even though the home is incredibly large many of the rooms are small in comparison to homes of today there you'll see the famous charleston joggle board [Music] now during the 1930s this home was used as a boarding house and the third floor has been maintained in its 1930 period [Music] again these colors are all the originals from the build time of the home [Music] blah i've long been fascinated with the story of the hunley the first submarine used by confederate troops in the civil war the hunley has been raised but this is a copy the original is being restored and preserved inside the museum of charleston for those of you who don't know the hl hundley did make a strike against a union ship but it sank after that it went down with its entire crew and when it was raised the crew was still inside [Music] kevin what are you doing wrapping wrapping our restoration nation super hard today yes yes yes i see that it's not at all embarrassing to be seen in public with you everywhere you turn in charleston you're struck by majestic architecture [Music] no place more than the battery [Music] the battery in charleston has been home to the uber wealthy since the 18th century lane would you see [Music] hello lane where are we i thought you were taking it video again i know there's cars there's a house [Music] known as the holy city charleston is full of exquisite historic churches saint michaels is only one of many that we visited each one more beautiful than the last [Music] one of our favorite stops the charleston jail where we got a private tour from our friend brian kirkman [Music] this jail is known as one of the most haunted places in an already very haunted city even in broad daylight the charleston jail is eerie [Music] bye [Music] so a lot of bricks you'll see throughout charleston um a lot of them were made by the enslaved if you can see right here little fingerprints on the bricks and looking at the size of those fingerprints that was probably a child that made that brick which is really another fun thing you could do is walk throughout charleston and just go find bricks fingerprints yeah brian kergerman was an amazing tour guide giving us story after story of the convicts who spent their last days in the charleston jail and the convicts whose spirits still visit now this would have been more like a guard quarters check-in type area up front um if you're hearing any banging it's probably the win okay okay because i definitely heard that i'm a genuine guy get out no actually i really love this uh the sparkle staircase oh wow that spiral staircase is how the guards would access the guards just so you know it wasn't the wind there were actually another group of people who had broken into the jail that day and uh brian had to put on his deep voice and scare them out since our tour of this amazing historic building it's been purchased by a group that's going to turn it into office buildings now what i want to spend my work day every day in a building with this history and this much paranormal activity no no i wouldn't but good luck to the new investors [Music] thank you again brian for the amazing tour of the historic charleston jail [Music] what's a visit to charleston without a visit to the charleston city market did we pick up lots of tourist goodies sure did what else do you do when you're a tourist in a famous historic city i mean at least we didn't buy a house then we made our way out to foley beach one of the beautiful beaches easily accessible from the city to see this stunning lighthouse and spend some time in the peace and tranquility of the sea it was a nice escape after the hustle and bustle of a busy city like charleston i'm still not entirely convinced that this huge cargo ship didn't just completely run aground but we know it didn't it was fun to watch as it appeared to make its way right across the island the next day we went outside the city to some of the most famous homes that lie just on the outskirts of charleston magnolia plantation and gardens was absolutely exquisitely beautiful it was a blistering hot day but still in the cool shade of the trees that surround the gardens it was lovely [Music] these gardens date back to the 18th century and were designed in the naturalistic style [Music] this home is the third home to sit at magnolia plantation the earlier two buildings being destroyed by fire this is a late 19th century structure and sits beautifully among the gardens [Music] [Music] this is the family vault where family members have been buried since the 1700s and continue to be buried to this day was i jealous absolutely [Music] the naturalistic gardens are designed to make it feel as though you're merely wandering in nature even though they have been meticulously landscaped and planned this was definitely one of our favorite parts of the trip [Music] so [Music] the gardens are designed so that there are little surprises around every corner a bridge a gazebo some sculpture [Music] and of course my favorite some wildlife [Music] so [Music] and speaking of wildlife among the cypress knees on the path we saw our first alligator in the wild i'm not gonna say it wasn't a shocking thing to see the first time but you very quickly get accustomed to the site and then we spent time in the petting zoo yes i'm an adult and yes my favorite part of any place like this is the petting zoo you got a new friend ellie mae i do i guess i live here now [Music] many of the animals that reside here are rescue animals that cannot be re-released into the wild then it was time for drayton hall for me the reason that we drove to south carolina [Music] drayton hall is one of the finest examples of georgian architecture in the united states and it is in a state of preservation [Music] you can see that the interiors retain as much of the original paints as is possible to retain at this point they are not being returned to how they would have looked in a pristine original state but rather being preserved as they are now this allows us to see the passage of time in spaces such as these again all of the ornate woodwork would have been painted from the day that drayton hall was built [Music] this ceiling is one of the only examples of nc2 plaster carving in the united states that means the plaster was applied to the ceiling and then an artisan carved it while it was still wet [Music] because of the climate of south carolina this plaster work is in real danger and so they are working hard to map the plaster and to preserve it and keep it in place as long as possible [Music] throughout the home you can see the beautiful classical details of the georgian period and the symmetry that makes georgian architecture the art form that it is [Music] and then on to middleton place our last stop where we hadn't planned to go but that had some of the most beautifully exquisite gardens that we've ever seen so worth the extra day and the extra stop [Music] and again another little friendly alligator sunning itself in a pedestrian walkway just part of the beauty of charleston south carolina [Music] the main house at middleton plantation was burned during the civil war but its garcinia and all of its grounds remain middleton plantation is known for having some of the most beautiful gardens in the united states that retain their form from the 18th century in the gardens you'll see some beautiful statuary some of which was actually buried during the civil war then after the war dug up and put back in its place where it remains to this day [Music] do [Music] if there's one thing you can be sure that you'll always have in charleston it's a beautiful sunset we loved our time there and we can't wait to go back we learned so much about restoration we can't wait to put into practice some of the preservation and restoration techniques that we learned on this trip thanks for joining us [Music]

Channel: Our Restoration Nation

Views: 86,254

Keywords: Before/After, Time Lapse, Remodel, Home Restoration, Renovation, Preservation, Historic Home, Victorian Home, This Old House, Magnolia, HGTV, DIY, How To, Laine Berry, Kevin Berry, thrifting, vintage, decor, cottage, cottagecore, beforeandafter, vintagehome, cottageliving, oldhouse, oldhouselove, bargain, bargainshopping, budget, designonadime, bargaindesign, design, interiordesign, vintagedecor, reveal, victorianrenovation, victorianrestoration, charleston, south carolina, vacation

Id: 1fudBkqPtQc

Length: 25min 0sec (1500 seconds)

Published: Thu Dec 23 2021