1543 Wando Landing St.

Visualize a home’s third level being able to handle a social gathering like this: Guests watch TV from a deck with river views as homeowners grill burgers. Partygoers mingle in the family room and screened porch while party-throwers mix drinks in the kitchen.

Sure, lots of houses have such conveniences. Yet typically they are spread among levels, are all downstairs or are on a ground floor – not up high where the Southern exposure is best.

But that's the case at 543 Wando Landing St., situated in the Smythe Park section of Daniel Island. The 3,000-square-foot home is on the market for $970,000.

It has a three-car garage on the first level; most of the bedrooms are on the second floor; and the family room, kitchen, porches and balconies are on the top, third, level.

“I was just looking at the market,” says the custom builder, Ben Lasky of Lasky & Associates, on why he decided to use the inverted floor plan. “You have to think outside the box.”

While the layout is unusual, the four-bedroom, three-and-a-half bath home is by no means a gimmick.

Angela Black Drake, a Realtor who listing the property for Limehouse Properties, likened the look to homes on Sullivan’s Island. “You still park underneath. Why not have the dining (and living) area with the best view views, which is the third floor.”

The exterior design is traditional with a double front porch, ceiling fans, mahogany front door and stairs leading to the main level. There’s a low black fence in the front. The lot, which includes a landscaped yard with a row of sweetgrass in back, is one-third of an acre. A side driveway attaches to the garage, which has one opening wide enough for a car but is not very deep – it’s specially designed for golf carts, which are popular on Daniel Island.

Screened and covered porches mark the house, bringing the space under the roof to 5,700 square feet, Lasky says. Decking is either natural wood or fiberglass.

Tying the house together is an elevator connecting all three levels.

The look inside the home is classic. Kitchen features include granite countertops, stainless built-in refrigerator, Jenn-Air dishwasher and microwave, an electric convection oven and a six-burner gas stove from the Jenn-Air professional series. Painted maple cabinets are found everywhere from the kitchen to the living room. The bedroom closets and the oversized kitchen pantry come with built-in shelves. There’s a sunroom with ceramic tile floors.

The house has three bedrooms on the second floor and one on the top level. The master bathroom has a jetted tub with a large, glass-enclosed shower beside it. Bathrooms come with low-maintenance Trustone, or faux granite, countertops.

Rustic American cherry floors run throughout the main living areas in the house. Electric fixtures include special buttons that turn off the lights upstairs when occupants are on the second level.

Above the top floor is a large attic accessible by hydraulic ladder. “We could put in a third floor,” Lasky says, but he decided against it, figuring buyers would want to decide if they needed the extra space or not.

Prospective buyers could include empty nesters, “someone who likes the outdoors. With four bedrooms, “You could get a family or four in here,” he says.

“If you have children, it’s ideal,” Drake says. “It’s within a couple of blocks from the park (at Smythe Park),” she says. Retirees and people relocating have also shown interest.

“Far too often builders exclusively define value as a low price per square foot. Many corners are cut during throughout the construction process. Our Wando Landing project took no shortcuts,” Lasky says.

“To put it another way, to some people, value is an ‘all-you-can-eat-buffet.’ To others, it is nicely priced fine cuisine. Wando Landing,” he says, “is analogous to dining in the courtyard at 82 Queen St.”

Open houses will be held at 1543 Wando Landing St. from 1-4 p.m. today and Sunday, Drake says.

The house is near the southern tip of the developed part of Daniel Island. Take the Interstate 526 exit onto the island and follow Seven Farms Drive to Daniel Island Drive. Turn left on Daniel Island Drive and continue to the last left, which is Wando Landing Street. On the right is 1543 Wando Landing St.

Reach Jim Parker at 937-5542 or jparker@postandcourier.com

Agent: Angela Black Drake

Office: Limehouse Properties

Phone: (843) 991-0337

Philosophy: Attention to my clients’ needs is everything. Whether they are buying or selling their home, it is important to be personally involved in each step of the way. Combining 11 years of real estate experience, active listening skills and extensive knowledge about this ever changing and exciting market gives my clients a level of comfort so that they can make the right home buying decision.

angela@limehouseprop.com