Elizabeth and Andrew O’Conor had a lot on their plates in spring 2020, when they decided to move: 3 kids (including an infant), five chickens, a wild work travel schedule, a vacant lot on James Island that beckoned and a clear need for a house that was not bursting at the seams.

The daughter of a designer, Elizabeth wasn’t prepared to skimp on aesthetics and details, but custom building prices were soaring before their eyes. “I’d been following New Leaf for years,” she recalls. “I was obsessed with the quality of their construction and their design aesthetic.”

So imagine her joy when she discovered New Leaf’s Build on Your Lot program, which blended the ease of a production build with the next-level ability to match the right house plan to an existing lot.

The O’Conors chose the Southport plan, and worked with our team to modify it slightly for their specific needs, reconfiguring an upstairs bathroom entrance to accommodate multiple bedrooms.  They set to work in the spring on the lot they subdivided, residing next door during construction.

She’s a big fan of the open downstairs floor plan, as well as the mudroom and laundry off the back. Those open up to a generous yard for the kids – and the chickens.

Drawn by the custom-quality of materials – from Hardie Plank to upscale trims – Elizabeth says the real joy was working with New Leaf’s team.

“We built during the pandemic, and that meant everybody in town was dealing with shortages of labor and materials. But these guys kept us informed. They’re a great company and they were really fun to work with!”