Tabby Construction Never Goes Out of Style

Nothing says “coastal construction” like tabby.  Tabby is a multi-layer concrete siding that is embedded with oyster shells.  The shells can be broken or whole, or a combination of the two.

Tabby has a long history in our area.  In 1733 General James Oglethorpe initiated the use of tabby construction in Coastal Georgia.  His own St. Simons Island home, Orange Hall, was built of tabby material.  Historical tabby construction can still be found throughout the Golden Isles, and the use of tabby is just as popular today as it was hundreds of years ago.

We at Georgia Coast Design & Construction have used tabby in many different ways.  In exterior applications of some of the homes we have built, we’ve covered areas such as the foundation and siding.  We often mix the use of tabby with other siding materials, so that one part of the exterior may be tabby, another part brick, another part stucco, and another part Hardie Board.  We find tabby is popular not only for its aesthetic, but also because it is maintenance-free and holds up extremely well in our humid coastal climate.

We have also used tabby in interior applications.  It is not unusual to make tabby part of a coastal fireplace surround or to finish an accent wall in tabby.  The Southern Living Showcase Home we built several years ago featured a curved tabby bathroom wall that framed an oval free-standing tub.

Let us help you with the design of your next house, so that it can be just as beautiful and interesting as it can possibly be.  

Scroll down below to view some of the interior and exterior examples of tabby construction we have done, and let your imagination run free at the possibilities of what you could do, too!