Charleston Single House by Shelley Hopkins

One of the best things about living in Charleston is the beauty of the nature, and of the neighborhoods and homes.  I am on a quest to learn more about the architecture and history of the area, so I am starting with the Charleston Single Home.  This is a home style unique to the Charleston area.  Homes are narrow and long, a single room’s width wide.  Usually, but not always, the homes have beautiful side porches with a door on the porch.  This door allows the main entrance to the home to be more private, and is a way of signaling if the homeowner wants company, with an open door saying welcome.

  I love the idea of a porch door because this reinforces the idea that the porch, also called a piazza, is part of the home.  These porches open to side yards or gardens.  The next home usually has fewer or smaller windows on that side, giving the garden privacy for the homeowner. 

The long slender home style with the piazza is perfect for the hot summers, offering cross ventilation.  This style started in the early 18^th century before electricity and air conditioning.  I researched the Charleston County Library web site to learn more about the history of this architectural style.  Many people thought this style was due to home owners facing the narrow part of the home on the street front to avoid paying taxes, with the idea that homes were taxed on the amount of street front they had.  This seems to be a tour guide legend with no basis in history. 

There are several main reasons this home style flourished, including privacy,  the cross ventilation and also perhaps fire control.  The first single house was recorded in the early 1700’s.  Walls surrounded the city and space was at a premium.  The single house provided a wise use of space with privacy and style.  In the mid 1700’s Charleston suffered a fire, and after this time period single houses flourished.  Row houses were closer together, and with the single house each home was separated by a side area courtyard. 

Perhaps the Charleston single is a mixture of the plantation homes of the south and the more cosmopolitan port homes many of the Charleston residences would see in their travels.  The best thing about Charleston is how these homes have such beautiful gardens and flowers.  Nearly every season of the year something is blooming or doing well, and Charleston homeowners know how to enjoy their gardens.  I visited the low country years before and my main memory was of the gardens.  Whether the home was a mansion or a humble shack, wisteria and flowers were everywhere.  With a climate like ours, why wouldn’t we enjoy every moment.

If you are interested in searching for this style home in Charleston please feel free to visit my website, ShelleyHouseHunters.com  or to home search for an already made search