Home Was Already Here

The answer had been there all along. Michael and Amy Murphy just hadn't realized it yet.

After moving to Wilmington from Greensboro, the couple spent two years settling into life at Riverlights. Before that, they had lived in Massachusetts, where being close to the water wasn't a luxury—it was simply part of everyday life. Greensboro had been a wonderful place to raise their family, but after two decades inland, they found themselves longing for the coast once again.

Their daughter attended the University of North Carolina Wilmington, giving them plenty of opportunities to visit. Every trip reinforced the feeling that Wilmington was where they wanted to be.

“We just loved Wilmington,” Michael said.

Riverlights seemed like the perfect place to start, so they purchased a townhouse and immersed themselves in the community. They met neighbors, made friends, and quickly found themselves feeling at home. Eventually, they decided they wanted something more permanent—a home designed around the way they envisioned spending the years ahead.

Like many prospective homeowners, they explored neighborhoods throughout the Wilmington area searching for the right place to build, but nothing seemed to feel “right.”

Then Michael had a realization — Why were they looking anywhere else? Riverlights had already become “home.”

That decision led them to Charter Building Group and Holly Overton, the company's co-owner, whose role extends far beyond overseeing construction. Working alongside her father founder Rich Donaldson, Overton helps homeowners navigate one of the most personal decisions they'll ever make. Since the company’s founding nearly 30 years ago, Charter has built its reputation on creating custom and semi-custom homes that begin with proven floor plans but evolve around the families who will live in them.

“We're helping people create the place where they're going to live their lives,” Overton said. “Every family is different, and every home needs to reflect that.”

The Murphys found a homesite and selected Charter's New Haven floor plan, a design offering more than 3,500 square feet and the flexibility to personalize nearly every aspect of the home.

As they moved through the early stages of the design process, an opportunity they hadn't anticipated presented itself. A waterfront homesite became available.

It was the kind of lot they had hoped for but hadn't expected to find, and the timing couldn't have been better. The Murphys made the decision to change course and secured the property.

Suddenly, the conversations changed. Instead of simply deciding where rooms should go, they were designing around the view. Additional windows became priorities. Living space upstairs became just as important as the main floor. Every decision focused on bringing the outdoors in and making the water part of the home's everyday experience.

Inside, the Murphys embraced a coastal-modern aesthetic defined by clean architectural lines, mixed metals, and understated finishes. Rather than leaning into traditional coastal décor, they chose a quieter palette that allows the surrounding landscape to take center stage.

One of the most personal spaces in the home is just beyond the kitchen. Tucked inside the butler's pantry is a professional-grade espresso machine.

“It was one of the two things I absolutely wanted when we were planning and building our home,” Michael said with a chuckle.

His current drink of choice is a dirty chai latte — a blend of chai tea and espresso that he makes quite often — sometimes several times a day. Amy has become just as enthusiastic, experimenting with flat whites, matcha drinks, and countless other combinations using the machine's app.

“If we don't make another drink with the machine,” Michael joked, “we've certainly gotten our money's worth.”

For Overton, those kinds of details are never incidental. They are reminders that every family's priorities are different, which is why Charter's design process is intentionally collaborative. Homeowners spend three days with the company's in-house design team selecting finishes, fixtures, and materials, while Overton works closely beside them to help translate ideas into decisions that will still feel right years after move-in day.

For Amy, that guidance made all the difference. 

“Holly helped us see how all of the pieces would come together,” she said. “She guided us through the process without ever making it feel like she was making the decisions for us. We always felt like she understood what we were trying to accomplish.”

That ability to guide without directing is something Overton earned through experience. When the housing market collapsed in 2008, Charter, like many builders, faced difficult decisions. The company downsized, and everyone who remained found themselves taking on responsibilities well outside their normal roles.

For Overton, those years became an education she never expected. She scheduled trades, solved problems, coordinated projects, and stepped into whatever role was needed to keep homes moving forward. The experience gave her a firsthand understanding of just how many people and moving parts are involved in bringing a home to completion.

“It's easy to underestimate how much goes into building a home when you've never had to do every part of it,” she says. “Having that experience gives you a different perspective.”

Today, that perspective shapes the way she leads. It has given her a deep appreciation for the employees behind the scenes and a greater understanding of the trust homeowners place in Charter when they begin the building process.

The Murphys felt that trust from the beginning. Because they were already living in Riverlights while their home was under construction, the Murphys had a front-row seat to its progress. They visited often, sometimes simply to see what had changed and other times to linger for a while, taking in the view or watching the sun set over the water.

With each visit came a growing sense of pride and anticipation. They could see the home they had spent so much time imagining taking shape right in front of them.

And somehow, even before there were walls and windows—when the homesite was still little more than sand—it already belonged to them.

“From the start, this always felt like our home,” Amy said.

Long before furniture arrived, before artwork was hung, or the espresso machine brewed its first dirty chai latte, the Murphys already felt connected to the place that was becoming their home.

Today, oversized and abundant windows frame the water they almost didn't have. Friends gather in living spaces designed around the view. Morning coffee and afternoon matcha drinks have become part of the rhythm of daily life.

Looking back, Michael smiles at how close they came to building somewhere else. The right house mattered. But it turns out the right community had been waiting for them all along. They simply had to realize they were already home.

For Overton, the Murphys' experience isn't unusual. After nearly 30 years of building homes, she has watched countless families arrive with a vision and leave with something even more meaningful—a place that truly feels like home. It's the part of the job that has never grown old.  charterbuildinggroup.com