Renaissance Man
Written by Mark E. Lett I Photographed by Rob Kaufman
Curiosity, it has been said, is one of the great secrets of happiness.
No wonder Randolph Stewart is smiling.
Curiosity has been a driving force throughout his 74 years, propelling the Bluffton resident along an ever-growing list of interests, pursuits and careers.
Innate curiosity was a constant as Stewart built a portfolio of experience and expertise that includes accounting, design, architecture, antiques, urban planning, historical preservation, music, theater, writing and publishing.
And, for good measure, he has sailed international waters aboard a world-famous Norwegian tall ship.
Stewart’s resume is so broad and deep that friends and associates consider him the Renaissance Man of the Lowcountry.
For Stewart it’s a way of life and an inquisitiveness influenced by experiences as an Army brat in Europe, the son of an attaché in Korea, attending high school in Maryland and living in the South as a member of a family well-populated by designers, creative personalities and high achievers.
These days, Stewart is at home at his business and residence on Johnston Way, just steps away from the library and post office in the heart of Bluffton. As founder of R. Stewart Design, he operates from a third-floor headquarters to direct a business that includes residential design, urban planning and preservation.
“It’s my penthouse in Bluffton,” he says, sitting among an array of artifacts and pieces from the antiques store he owns in the building.
Stewart, with family extending six generations in Savannah, is a former owner of antique shops in Savannah and Tampa. He said he was drawn to Bluffton on visits to his sister, popular interior designer Corinne Reeves.
“I thought it was a nice little town back then,” he said, adding that he was — and is — charmed by “the history, the river and the people.”
“I thought I would live here for maybe two years. It’s been more than 20,” he said.
“For the first five years or so, I was known as Corinne’s brother. That was kind of neat.”
It wasn’t long, however, before Stewart’s skills and interests left a mark on Bluffton and the Lowcountry.
Educated as an accountant at Georgia Southern University, Stewart shifted his career path to work as a general contractor. Before long, he was designing homes.
“Being a CPA was not for me,” he said, “but accounting helped me succeed in design and architecture and contracting.”
In those pursuits, Stewart has been involved in restoring homes on the National Register of Historic Places and creating concept designs and construction plans for more than 350 custom homes in nine states from South Carolina to Idaho.
Local projects have included homes on the May River, the Tabby Road and Stock Farm communities and the Calhoun Street Promenade. He is an authority on Victorian design and furniture, a former trustee of the Bluffton Historic Preservation Society, Vice-Chairman of the Beaufort County Planning Commission, an occasional performer with the May River Theatre and co-author of the Historic Preservation Manual for the Town of Bluffton.
Stewart’s curiosity and community involvement were evident in 2013 when he became owner, publisher and editor of The Breeze, a magazine for Bluffton and the Lowcountry.
As the magazine’s leader, Stewart said he pursued a content plan that he called for “quick reads” on key topics. Among those: history, architecture, fiction, music (contemporary and classical), cooking and food, and the environment.
The magazine’s mission, Stewart said, also was “to do some good and help some people.”
A February 2020 issue, for example, included articles describing how to avoid scams and the stories of notable people who succeeded despite a learning disability or attention deficit disorder.
Stewart recalls, with some pride, when he debated within himself whether to publish an article by the mother of a schizophrenic son.
“Then I woke up one day and said to myself, ‘If I can help just one person by running this article, then it’s worth it,’” he said. The magazine was closed in 2020 in the midst of the COVID pandemic.
In November 2021, Stewart tapped another of his many interests and crossed the Atlantic Ocean on one of the world’s largest tall ships, the Norwegian Statsraad Lehmkuhl. The captain and executive officer of the 278-foot vessel were sons of the late Albert Seidl, a friend who owned a classic sailing ship once moored in Savannah.
The so-called “Legendary Lehmkuhl” is part of the One Ocean Expedition. Described as a “floating university,” the vessel conducted a 20-month circumnavigation of the globe to share knowledge and raise awareness about the ocean’s importance, health and future.
The century-old vessel, with a mast 18 stories tall, is equipped with state-of-the-art research equipment that continuously collects data as it sails around the world.
Stewart also sailed on the Lehmkuhl in Singapore, Jakarta, and around Cape Horn.
In addition to soaking up the science of the oceans, Stewart said he spent time with international travelers and heard their views of America. What they told him, he said, was disappointing.
“We are the most powerful nation in the world, and we should be the example to follow,” he said. “But so many of them are laughing at us” because of America’s current climate of political discord and disharmony.
“I’m don’t believe in a Democrat or a Republican. I believe in America.”
Stewart’s passion for lifetime learning is as strong as ever. Two words, he said, are essential: “Live Life.”
What’s next?
These days, he’s kicking around the idea of “exploring and experiencing more of the U.S.” One option, he said, is to “jump on a plane to Chicago and take a train across the Rockies.”
No wonder Randolph Stewart is smiling.
