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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Eighty-seven: Impressions of Charleston, South Carolina > Casa Flamingo, Isle of Palms, South Carolina, 2013
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05-AUG-2013

Casa Flamingo, Isle of Palms, South Carolina, 2013

A beach house should allow its guests to disregard life as it is usually lived, and instead provide a whimsical haven for the imagination as well as place to rest and recreate. This beach house, known as Casa Flamingo, seems to do this quite well. It is incongruously painted entirely in pink and trimmed in white, as well as guarded by a pair of enormous plastic pink flamingoes. I crop in on the twin staircases leading to the front door, which is on the second floor of the building. Because the barrier islands of South Carolina frequently must absorb the wrath of hurricanes, the homes here are often built with the main entrance on the second floor. (The lowest floor which is first to flood, is often used for storage or parking.) This house, more than likely, is a summer vacation rental, as are many of the other houses on the Isle of Palms. The twin staircases, along with the flamingoes and the pink paint, team up to invite our imaginations to enter the image and take it from there.

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Tina (a.k.a - Beach Babe) 26-May-2015 13:44
Hi Phil. Yes, I am the Property Manager for the home. Imaginations do run wild in this fun and whimsical home. Thank you so much for your response. :-)
Phil Douglis23-May-2015 19:12
Thanks, Tina, for filling us in on this house, and still letting our imaginations take it from there. And thanks particularly for letting us know that the figure in the window is not either a ghost or a person, but actually a life-sized statue. I have over five thousand images in my galleries here, and this is the first time my viewers have been offered a chance to actually rent the subject of one of my pictures. You are most likely an agent for this property, and I hope you will find a few prospective renters for this delightful subject.
Tina (a.k.a. - Beach Babe) 21-May-2015 19:39
Hi everyone. Casa Flamingo is an 8 bedroom, 6 1/2 bath, 4,500 sq. ft., three story vacation rental home on the Isle of Palms, SC. The flamingos that you see are actually made of concrete and painted to look real. The yard is adorned with many flamingos. The home isn't haunted. What you see is a life-like statue. There are many of them in the home. Some are pirate statues and there is also a hula girl. The home actually has three levels. The first floor is the basement level has a recreation area and two bedrooms. The second floor has 5 bedrooms and the top (3rd floor) has 1 bedroom, the living room, dining room and kitchen area. The main common area being on the 3rd floor gives you a great advantage - you get the best panoramic views of the ocean and beach at this level. Curious at what the inside of the home looks like? Please visit www.sccasa.com to see more. Thanks! :-)
Phil Douglis12-Sep-2013 22:19
I noticed that as well, Rose. Perhaps it is a reference to the nature of a vacation itself.
sunlightpix12-Sep-2013 00:08
I like the sign on the ground floor that says "Escape"! V
Phil Douglis03-Sep-2013 20:11
Well said, Iris. Miami was originally conceived as a playground, and its architecture is often whimsical as a result. Charleston has a quite different architectural tradition, yet the nearby Isle of Palms was also designed as a recreational site. Pink houses and plastic flamingoes are rarely taken seriously, which makes them a good fit for a place where play is valued more than work.
Iris Maybloom (irislm)03-Sep-2013 02:38
Miami, meet Charleston!
Phil Douglis01-Sep-2013 22:14
I was not aware of the ghost in the upper right hand window when I made and posted this photo. But your comment prodded me to study the image more closely, and that window does contain a headless woman dressed in some kind of a poncho. An arm, clothed in a striped fabric, is the most visible part of this "ghost." I don't think it is actually a person, more likely it is a fanciful poster. But if you see a ghost, Tim, I would suggest that you cancel your rental agreement.
Tim May01-Sep-2013 16:51
There appears to be a ghost in the window. So this place holds the promise of a haunted pink time.
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