Seabreeze Custom Homes

Bill Farley

AMONG THE LEISURE ACTIVITIES Van Kinnett enjoys are golf, fishing and hunting. But as the owner of Mount Pleasant-based Seabreeze Custom Homes, he doesn’t have time to enjoy them as much as he might like.

That’s because Kinnett has another passion: building top-quality, one-of-a-kind homes for customers in I’On, on Dewees Island and throughout the Charleston area. A Georgia native, Kinnett spent 20 years in manufacturing, principally with the Blue Bird Corporation, one of the world’s leading builders of school buses and recreational vehicles. His work there was extremely detail-oriented and focused on safety issues, particularly because the company’s main product was responsible for the safe transportation of children. That meticulous attention to detail remained with him as his career headed in a new direction and is evident today in the many outstanding homes he has built in the Charleston area’s upscale communities.

Kinnett’s construction career took off in 1998, when he went to work for the developer of Dewees Island, building custom homes for people who purchased lots on the exclusive island. With his talents also on display in I’On, he struck out on his own in 2004, founding Seabreeze Custom Homes.

From the outset, Kinnett’s philosophy was, “We go into each project understanding that we are building our client’s home, not our home. That’s why we listen to everything our clients have to say and make their concept of their dream home our blueprint for the entire project.”

“We’re strictly a custom builder, working primarily in the high end of the market, and we enjoy working closely with each client to assure that they get exactly the home they are looking for,” he adds.

“Typically, each of our clients has a design from an architect when we begin working with them. Ideally, we become involved in the process from the outset so that we, the client and the architect can form a team. That’s how we assure top quality and avoid mistakes before they happen,” Kinnett says. “Sometimes builders prefer not to have much customer involvement after the plans are set, but Seabreeze and all our subcontractors are very customer-oriented.”

Although Kinnett doesn’t rule out more modest projects, and his company will build homes in any neighborhood, the majority of his homes range from 3,000 square feet to more than 5,000 square feet and are valued from $800,000 to more than $1.5 million.

A soft-spoken, even-tempered person who seems to have a kind word for everyone he has worked with and for, Kinnett takes pride in being able to say, “I believe that I am still friends with everyone I have ever built for. I enjoy those relationships, and I enjoy working with every client
to build top-quality homes that meet and exceed their every expectation.”

As a result of this attitude, Kinnett says most of his business comes through word of mouth. Van and Carla Kinnett, who manages
the Seabreeze office, have two daughters: Christine, 20, and Caroline, 17. But perhaps the biggest kid of all–because he truly loves his life and his work–is Van himself.

To find out more about Seabreeze Custom Homes, call (843) 849-8084 or e-mail vkinnett@comcast.net.