Climate controlled wine storage and a generator so they’re prepared during summer thunderstorms were also musts for Rob. Lydia’s top priority was creating a timeless, easy-to-live-in home for her children that was both comfortable and stylish. She wanted the home to combine Napa’s wine country with the casual elegance of the Lowcountry to reconnect her family to their South Carolina heritage. For their new construction home, the Mondavis worked with Allen Patterson Residential and Reu Architects. Lydia worked with Caroline Reu Rolader to design each aspect of the home, using her experience with spa and resort design to bring her family home together. The two worked over a long weekend and sketched out the house while sitting on the dock with Maker’s Mark on the rocks. Lydia recalls a storm brewing over the water and getting stuck out on the dock until it blew over. Lydia laughs, “I knew we should have brought the entire bottle of bourbon out with us.” Family heirlooms from both sides are showcased throughout the home that Lydia describes as a ‘modern expression of old world craftsmanship’. Building their home was a plus for Rob and Lydia because they could work with
their builder and architect to create their dream home from the start. Now, that’s not to say there weren’t challenges. Building a comfortable living plan on a narrow lot proved to be more difficult than expected. The couple didn’t want a huge house but needed something that would be efficient and well laid out with spaces for just the kids, and for the whole family to gather. Lydia and Caroline collaborated with the builder to create a space that would meet their goals. The teamwork led to a five bedroom, five bathroom home, under 3,000 square feet, on less than a 60 foot wide lot.
Rob notes. Uncle Peter agreed. “If you actually look at the redwood you can see that each piece is intact,” Rob continues. “You can see where they were banded and when the weather changes, you can smell the wine breathing in the wood. It is more than antique wood, it is a reminder that one must seek out new opportunities, be calculated, yet take risks to move ahead.” Their builder, Allen Patterson, custom built the sliding barn door as well as the fireplace mantel and wood beams on site. “When the red wine stained wood arrived, the yellow jackets swarmed to the wine on the wood,” remembers Allen.
Both Lydia and Rob invested time and love to make the home a space that they, and their boys, could enjoy for years down the line. A custom white wine stain for the reclaimed heart pine floors combines warmth and richness that offers a cool, refreshing feel on bare feet. The sliding barn door and beams in the great room are pieces of the Mondavi heritage, a gift from Rob’s great uncle Peter. They are reclaimed tank staves from the 1860’s. “I remembered that my Uncle Peter had dismantled, saved, and hidden the original redwood tanks and I had hoped that he might be willing to share a few precious pieces for our family to bring a piece of our history to the South,”
The sliding barn door that covers the TV, fireplace on the waterfront screened porch, and the butler’s pantry with the screened porch connector to the guest carriage house are some of Lydia’s favorite features. Additional space to keep outdoor items is seen in the mudroom. “We’re constantly dragging beach chairs, fishing rods and toys, and we didn’t want to nick the corners of trim detail or crown moldings in the house,” says Lydia, whose mother, interior decorator Anita Wilbanks, used Benjamin Moore’s super-high-gloss and eco-friendly paint on trims and interior doors. “My mother chose soft neutral colors based on looking at the ocean
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