When designing and building houses, Fred and Deborah Choate are convinced that charming details make all the difference when it comes to custom construction.

Their list of particulars may include an outside fireplace on a cozy screened porch, a fabulous plaster ceiling, eye-catching custom cabinets or a unique floor plan that incorporates a library instead of a living room.

Boring cookie-cutter houses — ones that look exactly like one another — obviously are not for Fred and Deborah, who own Choate Family Builders.  They pride themselves on bringing a unique look to each house they build, including their own.

“There are contractors, and there are hands-on builders,” Fred explained.  “I’m a hands-on builder.”

The Choates’ spectacular Southbridge home is a perfect example of the thought and ingenuity that goes into the planning of the residential construction in which they specialize. 

The 4,200-square-foot Craftsman-style home is chock full of appealing architectural elements, such as floor-to-ceiling wainscoting, plenty of windows with lots of panes and enchanting built-ins.

Although they are not native Savannahians, Fred and Deborah have been here more than a decade and indicate they are here to stay.

“We have wonderful friends here,” she said.  “I don’t think that I could ever leave them.”

The couple relocated to Savannah 14 years ago from Fred’s native Pennsylvania.  Deborah hails from Indiana but moved east to study interior design and met Fred while on a “kitchen job.”

“He likes to say we’ve been cooking ever since,” she mused.

Long, arduous commutes to work, coupled with a desire to change their hectic lifestyle, prompted the Choates’ move, Deborah said, adding that she had heard about Savannah from one of her college professors who grew up at Isle of Hope.

On a lark, she and Fred came to visit one weekend, checked into a downtown inn and found themselves drawn to the Southern hospitality and warmth of the city.

“It felt like it was destiny,” Deborah said.

Fred basically began his construction career years ago when he was just a teenager.  He learned to frame while working summers and gradually moved on to carpentry.  When Deborah brought her interior design expertise to the table, the two were in business.

Like many builders, Fred and Deborah have lived in numerous homes.  “We must have gypsy in our blood,” she said laughing.  “It’s exciting and fun, but (Fred) gets mad when I have to buy new furniture,” which was the case, for the most part, at Southbridge.

Their previous residence in Ardsley Park was home for six years.  It was a classic two-story brick structure that was built nearly 100 years ago.  Looking back, Deborah said, most of the houses that they have called home have been classic in design.  But while living in Ardsley Park, the couple often studied various houses while walking their dogs.

The Craftsman-style homes sprinkled throughout the neighborhood caught their attention more than once.  With simple lines and architectural elements such as wide eaves, numerous windows and built-ins, the Craftsman home offered a fresh, simple look that was pleasing to the Choates.

The two found a plan that they both liked, but it was too small for their liking.  As she usually does with a design, Deborah “tweaked it,” and Fred went to work building the house on White Oak Bluff at Southbridge.  At nearly every turn, Deborah was there to add her two cents’ worth, experimenting with paint colors or adding built-ins and cubby holes.

“We’re both hands-on people,” Deborah reiterated.

With their four children grown, the Choates didn’t want a huge home, yet they needed a home with room for an office as well as a studio for Deborah’s other great love — painting.  They also enjoy cooking together and entertaining, so they knew they wanted a spacious kitchen.  A screened porch with an exterior fireplace would be ideal for dining outside and entertaining.

The interior, she said, would be more on the order of a hunting lodge, especially a great room with a high ceiling and exposed beams.  Instead of a typical living room and dining room on either side of the foyer, Deborah’s plan called for a comfortable, wood-paneled library just inside the front door.

With plans in place, construction took roughly a year.  They moved into the stunning home a little more than three and a half years ago and are pleased with both the house and the quiet section of Southbridge that backs up to a wooded area.

The neighborhood’s proximity to both Interstates 16 and 95 works well for Deborah, whose interior design business often takes her to Jacksonville, Fla., High Point, N.C., and Atlanta.

From the street, the Choates’ home does not look as spacious as it is inside.  Purposely, Deborah planned for that illusion because she was working with a “long, skinny lot.”

On the right side of the sizable front porch, which is typical of Craftsman houses, is the front door, with its simple lines and numerous window panes — another characteristic of the Arts and Crafts movement popular around the turn of the 20th century.

To the right of the foyer is the library with its floor-to-ceiling cabinetry and shelving.  Interspersed among the books and family photographs are knickknacks the couple has collected during their extensive travels.  The furniture is simple — a small round table with two chairs — with a couple of accessories such as a globe in the corner, completing the comfy picture.  Deborah often retreats to this room to study plans and flip through her extensive assortment of design and art books.

From exposed ceiling beams to a stone fireplace to luxurious, rich-looking leather furniture, the great room was designed to resemble a hunting lodge.  The mounts of animals, such as a massive elk, which are displayed on the walls were bagged by Fred during hunting trips, including several out West.

Adding to the lodge-like feel is a chandelier and sconces that look as if they could be lit by candles.  Walls are painted a soothing shade called peanut shell, with the trim painted the same color but “double strength,” Deborah said.  In fact, to attain a pleasing flow throughout the home, Deborah asked that all the walls be painted the peanut shell color.

Large artwork, some of which is Deborah’s, and tapestries hang from the great-room walls.  Custom cabinetry flanking the fireplace provides storage and a hiding place for a big-screen TV.   The absence of window treatments allows plenty of natural light to pour into this gathering space.

Deborah and Fred worked together on the dining room’s spectacular plaster ceiling, a project that almost caused a divorce, she said, laughing.  Wainscoting stretches from the floor to the ceiling with nearly one wall devoted to built-ins for china, silver and serving pieces.  On the opposite wall is a massive antique English court cupboard with intricate carvings.

Deborah painted the kitchen cabinets barn red, then distressed and glazed them.  An antique-looking hutch built by Fred fits perfectly between the cabinets and rear windows.

Off the kitchen is the screened porch with an outside fireplace.  In addition to being a fabulous entertaining area, the spot offers a hideaway, of sorts, for Fred, who occasionally enjoys smoking a cigar.

To the left of the great room is one of the two guest bedrooms and the huge master suite.  The master bath features a free-standing tub, a gigantic shower and beautiful custom cabinetry that was painted and glazed.  A whimsical touch is the framed print of Mona Lisa, who appears to be watching over the room.

The master bedroom is decorated with traditional furniture, including a four-poster bed.  A chandelier hangs over the love seat at the foot of the bed.  Deborah’s portrait of George Washington is to the right of a secretary.

On the other side of the house is the second guest room and bath, as well as the upstairs office/studio.  Once again, Deborah exercised her creativity by painting on each stair riser a litany of “more, less” words, which in part reads:  “talk less, say more; fear less, hope more; fight less, kiss more; frown less, smile more.”

A variety of artwork, including several pieces by Savannah’s Jane Lyon, is showcased on both walls leading up the stairs that empty into a room that serves as an office, art studio and guest room, if necessary.  When Deborah noticed a “dead spot” on the house plans, she replaced it with a nook for a bed that her children nicknamed the hobbit bed.

Because the Choates work long hours, they especially wanted their home to be a “nest” where they could relax and unwind, Deborah said.  With its spacious floor plan, attention to detail and comfortable style, the result of their hands-on project can be summed up in two words: mission accomplished.