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Today we’re hearing from Helen Joy George – who spent time growing up in Sullivan’s popular “dome house” – about her experience living in the eye-catching structure.
What inspired your father to build this home in 1992?
He built the house for my grandparents — Helen and Huiet Paul — after their Sullivan’s Island home was destroyed in Hugo. My father was inspired by the curve of seashells + waves.
Since the house was built to withstand hurricanes, did your family ever experience one while living there?
Yes, I remember waiting out many low category hurricanes there. We would go out and play on the beach during the eye. If the hurricane was a high category, we usually left but oftentimes the news crews would hunker down at the house.
How was your experience growing up in the house?
I grew up visiting all the time in my childhood, and I ended up living there with my grandparents when I was 12 for a few years. Growing up, coming to the dome house was magical. I think that was due mostly to it housing the family that I love (more than its strange shape and beckoning curves). The home was spacious and open — just like my grandmother’s hospitality.
Even though my family was an old, historic Charleston family and one would expect us to live in a home that was also old + historic, this unique structure absolutely fit us. I always felt like there was barely even a window separating me from the vastness of the ocean, no matter where I was in the house.
Do you have any unique memories with your family in that home?
I have fond memories of 2 cousins having their wedding receptions there. The occasions included dancing the night away + running to the ocean when we got hot. For several summers, we hosted cousin swing dances in the large great room — complete with a disco ball and dance lessons.
One time Lauren Hutton — the famous supermodel — came and visited my grandparents.
Also, Mademoiselle Magazine came for a week to shoot an editorial in the house. They stored hundreds of thousands of dollars of clothing in my room. We even ate the catering with the crew. By the end of the week, my sisters and I had made fast friends with the model and crew.
In the summers my sisters, cousins, and I would drag the mattresses on the porch facing the ocean and sleep with the breeze blowing gently on our skin.
Did people ever come up to the house and ring the doorbell because they were so intrigued?
Absolutely, we had many doorbell ringers. While my grandmother was alive, I remember she would often let them in for a tour. As a child I played a game, I would sit with my sisters on the stairs and we would count the cars that stopped and snapped pictures. I always felt so special that I was part of something spectacular.
What would you say was the most unique aspect about the inside + outside of the house?
The most unique aspect of the inside of the house was the swirling staircase that looked just as if it were made of white sand. As for the outside, I would say the one simple curve of the building in contrast to the typical angular beach houses surrounding set it apart. It takes your breath away.
Was there anything inside the house that people would probably never guess that made it unique?
Other than an elevator that my grandparents used as they aged, there is a grande fireplace that also looks like it is made of sand.
Also, hanging pictures on the curves of the wall was quite the challenge.
What did your family enjoy most about the home?
Sitting with loved ones on the porch. I can think of a hundred conversations I have had with my grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, and friends while rocking on that front porch looking out on the endless sea. We most enjoyed the vessel that held decades of connection + memories for our family. Since it is so simple in design, it felt like it was arms wide open at any moment, welcoming, beckoning. No matter how full of people it got, it never felt crowded or cluttered.
Since the home was sold, have you ever gone back to visit?
I have gone to the beach directly in front of it and gazed at it as the sunsets. It aches a little bit but mostly I am washed over with how precious those memories are.
Are you a Lowcountry native?
I was born in Colorado and traveled my whole childhood (due to my father building domes). Charleston was always our home base that we would come back to between jobs. I claim Charleston as my hometown.