April 16, 2025

Outdoor Living Project Spotlight

With spring just on the horizon, Lowcountry residents will start sweeping off their porches, putting out their plants and preparing their outdoor living spaces for the season. One of the most essential features found in many homes in the region is an extended living or entertaining space outside. From beautiful decks, pools, large backyards and outdoor kitchens to iconic Southern front porches, micro-gardens and urban verandas, outdoor living is essential to Lowcountry life. 

We’ve seen our fair share of outdoor living projects in our three decades of business. If you’re considering giving your outdoor space a refresh, our portfolio offers the perfect inspiration, and our friendly staff is always ready to help you get started. 

One project remains one of our favorites and perfectly encapsulates our ability to find creative solutions that combine practicality, safety and quality construction with the client’s wants and needs. The owners of this seaside abode on Folly Beach wanted to create a space that promoted relaxation, conversation and living the beach life to the fullest. 

Read below for all the details on this amazing transformation. 

Problems to Address

The homeowners wanted to achieve three things with their newly designed outdoor space: create flow between areas and make it more inviting, add an easily accessible pool, and create privacy for their backyard oasis. 

The home’s original layout included a multi-level deck plan, which the homeowners felt caused separation and wasn’t inviting for entertaining. The plan would also require the pool area to be separate, making it less accessible than they desired. 

Our team’s experts toured the property to see what space we’d be working with and chatted with the homeowners to get a sense of what they wanted and the design details they hoped to include during the planning phase of our process. The goal was to create the outdoor space of our client’s dreams while ensuring a natural flow between the original house and the new addition. 

Sensible Solutions

The plans for the newly renovated porch included ripping out the old deck entirely and creating a new one that matched the home’s shape. Rather than opting for a triangular porch, our team chose a more squared-off shape that wrapped around the house. This gave the clients plenty of space to enjoy the beautiful weather and entertain guests. 

We also designed the pool to be the same level as the deck so the homeowners could easily move from inside to poolside. What was once a divided and uninviting group of outdoor areas has now been transformed into a relaxing and inviting oasis big enough to suit any occasion.

We had to get a bit creative to address the clients’ desire for privacy.

To give the homeowners the most functional space possible, we designed a layout that positioned the pool on the edge of the deck. However, regulations require a deck to have a safety railing or barrier to prevent falls. A standard railing made the space look closed off and clashed with the pool space. There was also still the question of privacy, which would take up even more space. 

We built custom planters around the pool’s edge, combining privacy and safety precautions into one functional feature. The planters were 36″ tall, meeting the legal railing height requirements, and we used aluminum framing to make them structurally sound. 

Once the frame was covered with the same decking material as the rest of the porch, rather than an intrusive railing that disrupted the flow and didn’t offer the privacy the clients were looking for; we created a beautiful barrier that blended effortlessly with the design, creating a private oasis for everyone to enjoy. 

Challenges and Unique Details

As with any remodeling project, there are always challenges to overcome. 

The home is in an AE10 flood zone on Folly Beach, so building codes and regulations are stringent. The possibility of high floodwaters meant we had to use strong, durable materials that would withstand excessive salt water. There were also limitations on how far we could extend the deck, potentially preventing us from achieving everything the clients wanted. 

Our solution? By using some of the existing foundation and original deck structure, we could extend the porch further than we would have if we had built a new structure from scratch. The raised porch also adhered to flood zone codes, ensuring that our clients would not have any issues down the road. 

Another challenge that required a unique approach was the size and shape of the pool. The clients wanted a pool as large as the space allowed. Since we were working with the home’s original footprint, the porch had an irregular shape, which made it difficult to install a rectangular pool with adequate walking space around it. 

Rather than installing a smaller pool, we designed one with a unique shape so that it could be as large as possible and have plenty of space for people to walk around the edge. The best part of this solution was that since the pool was large enough, we could also add an underwater bench on one end so people could comfortably visit outside, no matter how hot the weather. 

Through our teams’s creativity, we overcame these unique challenges and created a beautiful outdoor living space that checked all the clients’ boxes. 

High-Quality Materials

At Classic Remodeling, we pride ourselves on helping our clients choose high-quality materials that will hold up well and look beautiful. This is especially important for outdoor living spaces. 

For this project, we used Ipe for the decking and planters. Ipe is a beautiful hardwood naturally resistant to decay, insects, fire, and scratches. While Ipe can be a little costlier than standard wood and requires a little maintenance to keep it looking like new if you have it stained, it can last up to 75 years, even if left untreated. 

We used Westbury Tuscany aluminum railings around the rest of the deck and along the stairs. This rugged aluminum system is far more durable than other types and can last longer than your traditional options. This type of aluminum railing also disperses heat better than other options, so it won’t be too hot to touch, which is an excellent feature in the middle of scorching Lowcountry summers. 

These materials were excellent choices for this project because they aren’t prone to rotting or erosion and are resistant to severe weather conditions, making them the ideal choice for an outdoor living space in a high flood zone. 

It was rewarding to see a disjointed, uninviting, and outdated space transform into a beautiful outdoor paradise that homeowners can use year-round. With our expert designers, architects, and contractors on the job, the clients can now enjoy a stunning new deck that fits their daily lives and adds more value to their home.

Ready to make your home inspiration a reality with our 30 years of superior performance, craftsmanship, and service? Contact us today!