Hats Off to Our Builder 20 Relatives in Colorado!

Congratulations to Charlie and Nancy Shea of Colorado! What an accomplishment for C.R. Shea Homes to receive the state's first National Association Home Builder's gold rating!

The article begins:

"A local custom home builder who was ready to build a spec home in Pine Creek when recession hit in 2007 decided to take a chance on the home with green building — and made history in the process. . ." Click here to read the full article.

Behind The Scenes on the Charleston Home+Design Commercial Shoot

What a great opportunity we had working with Publisher, Tim Barkley with Charleston Home+Design Magazine and HGTV's, Designed to Sell, Terry Haas at the video shoot of a commercial for the Charleston Home+Design Show. We were approached about using a Structures custom home as the "back drop" for their commercial.

We picked up the phone and contacted Architect and Structures client, Christopher Caponigro and Tamra Measure of Daniel Island Park. They designed their home and approached us to build it in 2007 and have enjoyed living in what they created this past year.

Check out the behind the scenes video that was taken the day of the commercial shoot for Charleston Home+Design Magazine. Terry Haas is seen speaking about her new E-Book, You Win Guide! - a comprehensive guide to helping sellers walk through their home, room by room to make the best impression for the buyer! Check it out!

Terry's YouTube video clip runs from .00-4:52
Structures Sales and Marketing Coordinator, Deborah Way and Architect, Christopher Caponigro's YouTube video clip/testimonial runs from 4:53-8:56.

So Much To Experience and So Little Time

I'm not sure why it's taken me almost 5 years to finally sign up for the Be A Tourist in Your Own Hometown, but I can guarantee it won't be the last year I will take advantage of this great opportunity for us locals. A friend and I bundled up this past Saturday to make our way out to Magnolia Plantation off Ashley River Road - can I just say, it was in the low 30's, but with windchill, it definitely felt more like the 20's! (Last I checked, I lived in SOUTH Carolina, we're not used to this cold)

We signed up for the tours and discovered a great place we will be visiting again in the Spring when it's perfect weather for the boat tour and outdoor gardens. We had a great time, discovered more of our history and enjoyed taking a bunch of fun pictures along the beautiful drive.

If you're anything like me, the days turn into weeks and then before I know it, 2011 will be here just as fast as 2010 arrived. . . I'm planning on taking the time to enjoy the place we call "home" and so many consider their "vacation"! I wonder where we'll end up as "tourist" this coming weekend!

If you'd like to enjoy our Lowcountry too, another great event is right around the corner in a few weeks! The Southeast Tourism Society has listed this in their Top 20 and it's going to be right here in our backyard at Boone Hall Plantation. January 31st from 11-5pm over 65,000 pounds of oysters will be enjoyed by many in the Lowcountry! Never been? Why not change that this year and make your way out for a day of fun and good eats!

For more information, you can click on the links above or call Boone Hall Plantation - 843.577.4030!

Happy Holidays - From Our Family to Yours!

I hope this Holiday greeting finds you and your family well as we hopefully slow the pace in this season of celebration! What a year it's been for all of us and I think you'd agree that its been full of opportunities to climb some pretty huge mountains. This year has been so challenging, but let's not forget that it's also come with rewards, maybe they just look a little different than we were all used to. . .

Instead of Ease - words like Perseverance have taken it's place, instead of Sheer Abundance - words like Gratitude and Simplicity and instead of accidentally taking People/Things for granted - hopefully our thoughts linger a bit longer on those things that truly last, Family, Faith, Freedom. As the Structures Team reflected over the last year, we looked at the huge challenges and then we counted the blessings we carry with us from 2009. From that reflection came some of the words in our photo. Words that helped to carry through this year and we'll take with us into 2010! We stand with smiles, not because this year was a piece of cake, but because in light of the challenge, there is still so much to be grateful for!

What would be your word for this year?

Happy Holidays from,

Kristy, Amy, Dave, R.P., Deborah & Steve, at Structures Building Company

The Greater Prize, Still Being Present. . .

Receiving the award for Best Custom Product for 2-3 million

Since our founding 10 years ago, Structures has entered Charleston’s annual Prism Awards, a ceremony that celebrates the best designs, craftsmanship, customer service and sales in the local building industry. Fortunately, we have walked out of the event with at least one award every year. Some years, frankly, I took it for granted that we should win an award, except for this year. This year was special.


The awards ceremony was held on a shoestring budget, no MC, there was a cash bar, and the feature speaker was our Charleston Trident Home Builders Association’s wonderful president, Tori Martindale of Atlantic Remodeling. Tori spoke about a year that was eerily similar to ours; one that included layoffs, paycuts, benefit cuts and a reduction in overhead that involved consolidating into a home office. The room was quiet and a few tears were shed, as she spoke about the challenges we’ve all faced this year. I also couldn’t help but notice how empty the room was. There were some new faces, but the faces of builder friends were few and far between. Many have lost their businesses or are starting over. Some likely didn’t have much to celebrate this year, it was humbling.


As I sat through the program and awards, I was again humbled as Structures did really well at this year’s event. We were recognized in a diverse group of categories;


1. The award for Affordable Housing for Latoya Palmer’s Habitat Home
2. Charleston’s Green Builder of the Year Award
3. The award for the Best Luxury Built Home for the Behren’s Residence
4. Custom Builder Customer Service Award from GuildQuality

Deborah Way receiving the award for Green Building Company

In receiving these awards, I'm humbled by the tireless determination and standard that comprises those within the Structures family and our amazing team of trades. We all share the same commitment for building “green” custom homes, regardless of size or budget. . . our high standard remains the same.


The awards mean more this year, because honestly, we're humbled and thankful to have made it through another year - a year that's strengthened each of us to the core. . .

Curled Up at the Cottage

I often take for granted the quiet moments to sit, reflect or simply read a good book... Its one of those things I have to plan and not just assume will happen.

After the Coastal Living open house today and one more late showing from a couple from out of town, I decided that pulling out my book and plopping on the couch would be perfect for an hour... Nothing like relaxing in a beautiful space, hearing the fountain in the courtyard, and reading beside the fire, if only I didn't have to go home...

Singing in the Rain

When clients select a design/build or custom process with Structures, our job and joy is to cater to the needs and desires specific to their building process. We love taking care of all of the details and over the past 10 years of being in business, we have gained an impeccable reputation for building for the local and out-of-town clients. Our goal is to give each client a building experience where they can love and enjoy the process, and be led with their own on-staff, Design Manager, through the many details that make their home truly custom.

When Mr. and Mrs. Kemp arrived at the Charleston airport to visit their Daniel Island Park custom home, they were greeted with the downpours to our beautiful Charleston. No worries though, the rain wasn't going to rain on our parade... We simply gathered up the golf umbrellas and toured around inside their roofless home answering questions and making little changes to the plans... again, some of the benefits to the custom build process, if we're able to make something happen, we're happy to figure out a way to do it!

Throughout the next day we will enjoy catching up, (like a great family reunion) along with walking them through the custom process of picking out a handful of selections we'll need selected for the next phase of construction that will take place before they fly back down for their upcoming scheduled visit. Hoping the next visit will be just as great as this one, excluding the rain. . . :-)