Charm is why people buy historic homes: the architectural details, the original features, the sense that a place has already lived a few lives. But charm can come with a catch. For one circa-1796 home in Charleston, South Carolina, that catch included dark rooms with cramped corners in a narrow floor plan.
The new homeowners wanted to honor the home’s past, feel authentic to Charleston, and give their massive art collection room to breathe. They also wanted it to feel modern but collected and personal, not like it came from one showroom floor. So, they handed the project to interior designer R. Chandler Collins, a South Carolina native. It was a fresh start for the homeowners, who brought only their art, a bed, and a sofa, and for Collins, who was just launching his design firm, Rauss Caulder.
Designer Chandler Collins recently launched his new firm, Rauss Caulder. Photo credits to: Callieco Creative
Of everything the house needed, two things pulled Collins in the same direction. Dark rooms needed light; a serious art collection needed to be seen. Robert Abbey lighting solved both, used throughout to showcase the home and the art in their best light.
Designing Within the Bones of a Charleston Single House
“We craft spaces,” Collins said. He thrives on making historical properties suit their homeowners’ everyday lives – but still feel right. This home was built in the Charleston Single House architectural style, a one-room-wide format that is a signature of the city, and was mostly untouched, apart from the renovated kitchen and the addition of a few bathrooms and a laundry room.
The front of the Charleston Single House, a signature architectural style of the city.
“Our approach in a situation like this is to install furnishings that respond directly to the architecture and sense of place rather than compete with it,” Collins said. “Rather than leaning into expected coastal or overly traditional motifs, we focused on craftsmanship, proportion and quality materials.”
The trick in this project was fitting everything into the narrow floor plan – “there’s nowhere to build out” – so most of the furnishings were designed and fabricated specifically for the spaces. “A heavy dose of custom fabrication allowed us to respond to the historic rooms' scale, quirks and proportions.”
Solving a Multi-Purpose Living Room with Custom Furnishings
On the first floor opposite the kitchen, for example, was a 17-by-22-foot area that served as the home’s only living room space, where the family would be eating, lounging, watching football games, entertaining – “all of these things had to happen in this one room.” For a particularly tight corner, carpenters came in to scan the space’s dimensions, then crafted a custom banquette, which was paired with an antique Regency English breakfast table, he said.
The Wyatt Wide Wall Picture Sconce in Deep Patina Bronze illuminates this statement piece, tying the custom banquette together.
Collins sourced antiques to establish “the historical framework of the interiors,” including a 9-foot-long Welsh dresser base and a 19th Century Syrian wardrobe. The home’s purchase came with a bonus – large handknotted rugs that “became the foundation for many of our design decisions, reinforcing a sense of stewardship through the design.”
Another challenge was the lack of natural light. In this home, it was only coming from the front. “Eighteenth-century homes are often dark, and we ran into that here for sure,” he said, so bringing in table, floor and art lamps from Robert Abbey was key. And because of the homeowners’ vast art collection, he used art lamps as the main ambient lights in each room, including the Wyatt wall sconce.
The Wyatt Wall Sconce and the Clare Floor Lamp give the artwork the attention it deserves, balancing ambient light with the natural light this space offers.
Collins was already familiar with Robert Abbey’s line from his prior experience with an interior designer boss who absolutely loved them. “I had seen such gorgeous pieces come out of their production, so I knew the quality level.”
Lighting the Details: Finish, Craft and Control
To address the home's lighting needs, he dove deep into the Robert Abbey catalog, finding both classics and newer pieces, varying finishes so the spaces felt collected overall.
In the primary bedroom, for example, he brought in Robert Abbey’s Double Gourd Table Lamp in white porcelain, the Cristallo Chandelier and Clare Floor Easel in modern brass and the Koleman Floor Lamp in Polished Nickel. “We really wanted to play with that visual balance in the finishes; it’s such a quality product. I think we used every finish in their catalog.”
The Cristallo Chandelier, Double Gourd Table Lamp, Koleman Floor Lamp and Clare Floor Easel work together to give this bedroom a warm, elegant feel.
The inspiration behind this Charleston home's master bedroom. Moodboard by designer Chandler Collins featuring Robert Abbey Cristallo Chandelier in Modern Brass and Clear Crystal, West Elm Harmony Upholstered Bed in Storm Gray, David Michael Upholstered Side Chair in Gray and Robert Abbey Clare Floor Easel in Modern Brass with Lily Painted Metal Shade.
In the kitchen, he used Robert Abbey’s Mavisten Edition Carbonia Chandelier in a finish he’s never seen before – black chrome. “I loved it,” he said, as it really set the fixture off in the kitchen, as well as complemented the space’s walnut countertops. “In kitchens, you want the fixtures to have a more contemporary feel.”
The Mavisten Edition Carbonia Linear Chandelier in Black Chrome adds a contemporary focal point to this modern traditional kitchen.
When it comes to lighting, details are important, Collins said. “In the case of Robert Abbey, the construction quality is excellent, the finishes are applied by hand, and their manufacturing is done in-house, which creates a wonderful quality control aspect.” Another plus is Robert Abbey’s high-quality cord covers and plug-in options for art lighting and sconces, Collins added. Collins is also using Robert Abbey products for two additional projects.
Privacy, Upstairs
Because the living room on the first floor faces the street – “you hear people commenting about the pretty flowers in the window boxes as they walk by” – Collins created little living areas in each bedroom upstairs for when the family wants more privacy. The primary bedroom, for example, has a full sofa and chair for those nights when the family wants to watch a movie together.
The homeowners’ massive art collection provided focal points for every room.
Designing Every Room to Feel Lived-In
In Collins’ personal experience, “Every room is a living room, a place to sleep and a place to eat, a place to write a letter. You live in each and every room of a Charleston home.”
The best historic interiors aren't recreations of the past, he added. “They acknowledge the house while accepting that it will always continue to evolve. My goal here was to make rooms that feel settled and inevitable, even though all of the pieces are being introduced to the spaces for the very first time.”
If you're a designer bringing historic homes (or any space) to life, Robert Abbey's Trade Program gives you the tools to do it right: preferred pricing, quick ship on the pieces you need most, early access to new introductions, and a dedicated concierge who knows your projects. Because every room deserves lighting that's crafted with the same care you put into the space.