Idiosyncrasies

flooding in charleston sc

No Joke. Charleston Sea Level Up Almost 2 ft in 100 years

Today was one of the highest tides we’ve seen in six years topping out at just over 8 feet (our normal high is just under 6 feet). Roads all over the metro area were submerged and shut down, making traveling for two hours on either side of the high tide like playing a game of Frogger. Yeah – you can...

I’d Rather have Cold than Mold in Charleston

Yes, for the past couple days, the entire right half of the country has been enveloped in a so-called ‘polar vortex’, with temperatures well BELOW ZERO (huh??) up North, and single digit record breaking temperatures here in the South. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining about Charleston’s recent weather because my northern neighbors would most certainly guffaw,...

The Charleston Slant – or Why We Sometimes Walk Uphill in Our Houses

I frequently work with clients who are not from Charleston, who have never set foot inside an historic Charleston home until they have done so with me.  One of the first things they notice once inside, besides the gorgeous fireplaces or detailed molding, is that occasionally, and sometimes dramatically, the floors slant. Slanting floors?? Ack! Alarm sets in. “Could the...

I Used to Live in a House of Ill Repute

One of the best things about living in downtown Charleston is that not only are you surrounded by history all the time, but you also live in it too.  Sometimes the locale can be of honorable historic significance, other times – not so much. One of my earlier homes in Charleston was a former brothel on Fulton St, next to...

red-pants-charleston-sc

Southern Stylin’ (Charleston Idiosyncrasies – Part 2)

In honor of Charleston Fashion Week, an event held a la the one in New York’s Bryant Park where tents are filled with fashionistas, clothing, high heels and the Who’s Who of the Sartorial Universe, I thought it appropriate that my next entry in the Charleston Idiosyncrasies series should be about just that.  Charleston Fashion. As a people, we Charlestonians are...

So What’s in a Name? (Charleston Idiosyncrasies – Part 1)

Everything if you are a Charlestonian. Pinckney, Tradd, Calhoun, Gibbes, Anson, Ravenel, Legare (pronounced Luh-gree), Manigault, Aiken, Huger (pronounced Hugh-gee), Middleton…. These are names you hear over and over in your Charleston goings and comings.  Perhaps you drove down a street of that name, or wandered past a soaring mansion with a plaque bearing that name, or met someone at...