To give the home a calming effect, Dungan leaned on natural materials. The Hills have an affinity for white Texas limestone, which the architect used for the façade. Oak siding, brackets, and eaves stained black create an appealing visual contrast on the exterior. The homeowners’ beloved stone also paves the sunlight-filled entry—clad in paned glass on two sides—and builds the fireplaces in the great room and on the lanai out back. Accessible from the entry, Melanie styled this large outdoor area as a second living room with performance bouclé-covered seating, black leather rocking chairs she acquired in Costa Rica, and unique pieces she purchased at High Point Furniture Market in North Carolina. Dungan also integrated a screened porch so the Hills could host dinner parties without nighttime bugs.
Inside, the black-and-white architectural color scheme continues but the materiality’s raw edges soften. The walls and sculpted portals are painted Benjamin Moore’s creamy White Dove to juxtapose black window frames and grilles. The gabled and flat ceilings throughout, with poplar and oak slats and beams, are stained shades from natural to black.
In a former life, the Hills lived in Costa Rica, where Melanie ran a thriving design practice. Though she has since retired from taking on projects for clients, she decorated her own house with the same care—as a complete representation of her and her husband’s life. A commissioned painting by William McLure, now hung over the svelte fireplace in the open plan living room and kitchen, as well as the terra cotta red ceramics they collected during travels through Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Nicaragua inspired the interior color palette. Pets, family gatherings, and indoor-outdoor living required the comfortable seating by Lee Industries be upholstered in performance fabrics and leathers.
Greeting guests out front is a historic bell that had once hung at Tom’s grandfather’s grist mill in Greenville, Georgia. Dungan designed a new limestone tower for the family heirloom. Local landscape architect Gary Mitchell of Agricultural Services created a rose garden around it. Though each piece in the house is meaningful, nothing is too precious.
“When we come home from vacation, it feels almost like we’re on vacation,” says Melanie, who notes that her daughter also helped with the interior design. There’s an easygoing spirit to the place, much like its homeowners. “A certain honesty and transparency come through in this house,” describes Dungan. “And I think that’s why it’s one of my favorite ones I’ve designed.”
