|
By Cathy Baldwin
Nestled deep in Nags Head down a hidden private drive on the edge of the Roanoke Sound, sits a grand three-story, cedar shake architectural masterpiece. The top deck is an enchanting place to be come sunset. The fading light casts a magical glow through the nearly floor to ceiling curved glass windows. A one-of-a-kind beach glass and crystal chandelier bends and refracts the light like prisms across the walls. The effect is stunning.
For Mike and Willo Kelly, this sunset paradise is the place they call home. The Kellys are well known on the Outer Banks for their community service and their livelihoods. Willo is the Outer Banks Homebuilders/Realtors Government Affairs Director and Mike’s been a restaurateur on the Outer Banks for the past two decades. Kelly’s Outer Banks Restaurant and Tavern is his, as well as Mako Mike’s and Penguin Isle.
But their very public lives get a much-needed respite when they go home at night.
For Mike and Willo Kelly, the home is a culmination of decades spent collecting Outer Banks memorabilia, twenty years of owning a sound front lot, the excitement of a new marriage and countless dog-eared pages of Mike’s subscription to Architectural Digest.
“It took almost two years to build,” says Willo.
Mike laughs, “I had to tell her to stop watching HGTV!”
But the truth of the matter is that Willo and Mike wanted to get it just right. Mike had owned the lot for more than twenty years, but hadn’t touched it until he and Willo were engaged in 2005.
“This is the third design we had for this site,” says Mike. “I spent a lot of days measuring rooms.”
“Mike designed the house and took it to Cahoon and Kasten to make it into plans,” says Willo. She estimates that the three-bedroom, five and a half bath home, built by Forrest Seal, totals 7500 square feet, including the two-car garage.
“We reversed the initial floor plan to take advantage of the views,” she says. Standing on the third story deck of the Kelly home, there seems like there’s no better spot on the whole Outer Banks to view the sunset over the Roanoke Sound.
“There are so many colors, so many cloud formations,” says Willo. “Some-times you just have to pinch yourself.”
But the view isn’t the only breathtaking facet of this house. The exquisite craftsmanship takes the Kelly home to a whole other level.
“We were very fortunate to have talented friends involved,” says Willo. “Patty Livengood, first and foremost.”
“She’s got a great eye… an amazing sense of color,” adds Mike. Patty played an important role in designing the home as well as lining up the subcontractors.
It was Patty who helped Willo locate the Schonbeck chandeliers that hang in the home. “Patty says that lighting is the jewelry of the house,” says Mike. The two Schonbecks are miraculous when the sun hits them. “It’s the best first thing in the morning right after sunrise,” says Mike.
Patty helped the Kellys choose the geometric lighting that hangs above the countertops in their kitchen as well. Even though Willo admits that the kitchen was one of the last rooms in the house they designed, the elements of the room come together flawlessly – from the fossilized Italian limestone countertops from Artisan Marble and Tile to the curved cabinets from Coastal Cabinetry.
But the kitchen isn’t just for show. The Kellys wanted a kitchen that was functional for entertaining, but comfortable enough for family. Tucked in the corner across from the spacious pantry is an elevator. “It’s great for groceries,” says Willo. Also for carrying buckets of ice and beer, which came in handy for their recent Super Bowl party. The Viking oven is a plus, too, whether the Kellys are entertaining a large crowd or just a few family members. “When the kids are here, I love to do a big breakfast,” says Willo.
One of the unique features of the home is the amount and variety of wood used throughout. White oak, poplar, mahogany, cherry, tiger wood – they’re all incorporated into the floors, wainscoting and cabinetry. An elegant purple-heart wood curved staircase leads from the second story to the third. Mike has plans to paint the risers of the staircase gold, in honor of his alma mater East Carolina University where he served on the Board of Trustees for eight years.
Mike and Willo give credit to Larry Bray and Barry Jackson, the craftsmen responsible for much of the woodwork. Willo points to the compass rose on the ceiling of the living room, “It has all of the woods used on the third floor,” she says. Not only is the woodwork exquisite, but the compass actually tells which direction the wind is blowing. Bray also designed and built the cabinets in the billiard room. The cabinet faces are wine crates and the knobs are corks.
In fact, just about everything about the billiard room is unique. The table itself has quite a past: it was originally from the long-gone casino in Nags Head. “Friends come over and recognize the table – some of them actually played on it when it was in the casino!” says Willo. The table is so big that it had to be brought into the house before they were finished framing.
Even the entryway to the billiard room is a stunner. The barrel vault ceiling that leads from the living room to the billiard room is lined with one-inch square pearlescent glass tiles in purple and gold tones. The Kellys credit Majid from Artisan Marble and Tile with that choice. The tiles also line the fireplace in the living room.
Hanging above the pool table is a favorite painting by John Silver of guitarist Hubert Sumlin who is being inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame this year. “He had played at Kelly’s and was one of Eric Clapton’s idols,” explains Willo.
Most of the art throughout their home is local. “I’d say about 90 percent of the art in here is from local artists,” says Willo. John Silver, Glenn Eure, Rick Tupper, C. Ann Hill, Nancy Gillam Spruill and more grace the walls throughout. John Orlich is responsible for several one-of-a-kind stained glass and cut glass pieces of art commissioned for the home.
“Mike loves to collect things,” says Willo. “Especially Outer Banks historical memorabilia.”
Outdoors, the sign that hangs above the garage, “Beggars’ Banquet”, is one of those collectibles. Also the name of a Rolling Stones’ album, the sign hung in the Hotel Nags Header dining room in the early 1970s. Mike acquired it through a friend and hung it in Kelly’s Restaurant. During the restaurant’s renovations, the sign was taken down, put in storage and forgotten. Mike uncovered it when he was building the home, and thought it was fitting as a name for the house, considering all of his years in the restaurant business.
Several pieces throughout the home came from George’s Junction, a restaurant Mike once owned in Nags Head. The grand wooden double doors that lead into their bedroom were at one time the front doors to the restaurant. “Reuse and recycle,” Willo laughs.
On the ground level in the breezeway leading to the front door are several concrete frescos of lobsters and seashells. They, too, were rescued from George’s Junction.
The breezeway leads to a state-of-the-art outdoor kitchen. A Viking grill, red concrete countertops, hand-painted jute rug and cozy outdoor furniture complete the whole set-up. When it’s not in use, the grill and cooking area are protected from the elements by a storm shutter. Just around the corner in the backyard, a pool and hot tub make the outdoors an ideal place for entertaining.
The Kellys are pleased with the end result of their years of hard work. And they should be. In spite of its size, the house feels comfortable and welcoming.
“Everyone always says it feels like home,” says Willo.
And home it is, to the Kellys. A marvelously crafted, exquisitely decorated home that’s a real tribute to the finest art, history and craftsmanship that the Outer Banks has to offer.
|
