By Brittany Conley – Photos by G. Frank. Hart
KEVIN HOMMES HAS spent most of his life in the Wilmington area. You might say he has the sea running through his veins, as he grew up loving the beach, the ocean, and all the activities a boy could imagine that come with an oceanfront way of life–and as a man, he has never really outgrown them. Even as a teen, he knew he wanted to live out his life on the sandy shores of Western North Carolina. While visiting friends once, he spied a home with the most amazing water views, covered in shake siding and balanced on pylons and it made an impression, though at the time he likely didn’t expect to one day call it home. But after establishing his career and family–his beloved wife, Margot, and their three children–and seeing the home on the market, he jumped at the opportunity. “We are water people, we spend a tremendous amount of time on the water surfing, fishing, boating. We’ve worked hard to get to where we are. There is nowhere else I’d rather be than on saltwater,” says Hommes. Surrounded by views of the Intracoastal Waterway and the sound, the recreational options are truly endless.
It was almost perfect. The Hommes family loved the original home, built in 1980. One of the many things they loved was that it was southern facing and used large eaves so that in the heat of summer, there was protection from the heat, but in the winter, it took advantage of passive solar to warm the home. “There were so many cool features in the home,” says Hommes. As amazing as the house was, with its age there were certain aspects that needed some serious updating. It had 8-foot ceilings, and a boxed-in kitchen, plus they felt they needed to add some square footage so their children would have plenty of room to grow. With so much to do, they contracted Cress at Bell Custom Homes to take on the renovation– but there was a significant problem.
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