In last week's post I showed off a couple of custom Shaker-style barn doors that I've been working on in my studio.
So naturally this week's blog post is all about those doors, and where they ended up.
It all started when Leslie Huntley of Roost Interior Design contacted me about putting a pair of sliding barn doors in her clients' home office in their downtown condo. They had a perfectly good door there...
...but floor space in these condos is limited, and they wanted a new door that didn't swing open, so they could put more furniture on the wall.
We couldn't find any pre-made doors that would work well in the space, so I got to work in my shop.
By the way, check out that respirator! It's my new toy... top of the line and easy on the lungs.
Plus it looks like something out of a sci-fi movie.
Side note: I never realized how many sci-fi astronauts are wearing standard dust-filter respirators until I started researching dust filtration. It seems to be a Hollywood shortcut: buy a mask from Lowe's, spraypaint everything black, and slap on a few extra gadgets and hoses.
And once I noticed that, I started noticing all kinds of things, like plastic French drains being used as spaceship "pipes." Low-budget Netflix space operas just haven't been the same since then. Anyway, back to the job... I also make custom cabinets at our sister company, Artisan Built-ins, so Leslie commissioned us to build a set of white bookcases with a custom shelf to hold a printer. Here's the 3D model we created so she could preview the design.
And here they are in our workshop, alongside another project for the same condo... an electric chimneyless fireplace.
As you can see, our model was very accurate.
Back on the job site, the office walls were painted a striking cobalt blue...
...the better to set off the crisp white sliding barn doors and the bookshelves.
If you've got sharp eyes, you might notice that the printer shelf is a little lower than it was in the drawing. That's because I planned ahead and made it repositionable or removable so that if they don't need a printer there any more, they can take the shelf off and have a plain bookcase once again.
The whole project came together beautifully, and the formerly bland room is now a striking office that looks just as interesting as the view of downtown Asheville.
If you've got a tight floor plan that needs a custom solution to make it workable, give us a call. We can come up with a plan that optimizes your office and makes it fun to go to work.
I've committed the cardinal sin of blogging (which is being "too busy to blog") but I finally caught a moment to show off a semi-recent project: installing wire shelving in a kitchen pantry and a laundry room. There are definitely some pros and cons to this kind of shelving, so I thought these photos might give you all a chance to see how well they would function in your home. I'll start with the "before." The shelves went into an empty hallway near a back door. This is the door that the family uses, so it's a great place for pantry shelves, because you can come in and stack groceries on them and so on. We used fairly deep shelves from a kit from the hardware store. Here's how they looked right after I put them in. Not too shabby! Very neat and tidy. But as I said, there is a down-side to these as well. Let's dig into the nitty-gritty. Pros and Cons to Installing Wire ShelvesI always like to start with the upside. PROS:
CONS:
But for a pantry or laundry room, these are great... ...although if you want to upgrade to solid shelving or even cabinets, we can do that, too. It's become a growing trend to add high-end laundry rooms and pantries to a home, and it could lead to a nice increase in your home value for a modest investment. Either way, we're always glad to help. Call or email today to get started.
Today I thought I'd show off a project from our sister page, Artisan Built-ins. This is a set of bookshelves in an offset modern pattern, with integrated brass lights to showcase the books. To the right is a built-in windowseat with a flip-top lid to allow for storage. It really transformed the room, which started as a blank canvas. We designed these for the homeowner based on a previous design which we did for another customer. The uprights on both bookcases are staggered to avoid the "tic tac toe" look which you see in traditional shelving. We actually finished these a few months ago, but this is the first time we've seen photos of it with the books, and the custom cushions on the windowseat. It looks like a great place to relax with a good novel. If you've always wanted a library of your own, give us a call. We'll help you take your room from "Blah" to "Beautiful."
Would you buy a house with mustard yellow walls? One of my customers recently bought a home near downtown Asheville with walls the exact color of my favorite condiment for a ham sandwich. Somehow it's more appetizing on the food than it is on the wall. (Side note: I've got to stop blogging at lunch time. Now all I can think about is ham sandwiches.) Anyway. Take a look at the living room now. I think I could live here, don't you? They had us paint the dining room in a cool mint green which really set off the white trim. I like it. It's kind of retro. The master bedroom also had an unusual color: a deep navy blue. I usually like dark blue walls, but for some reason it was oppressive in this room. My customers tried several colors, including the green from the dining room, before they settled on a soft dove gray. It's a very different room.
The moral of the story is that when you're house-hunting, pay no attention to the color on the walls. Repainting is comparatively cheap, and while everyone else is stuck on superficial impressions, you can focus on more important things like the layout of the rooms and whether the home was well-maintained. If your home needs a fresh coat of paint, give us a call. We'll be happy to give you a free estimate. Are you trying to find someone to renovate a room, but discovering that the job is a little bit too small for a "contractor"? If you live in Asheville, we may be able to connect you with an experienced remodeler who is willing and able to take on small renovations. Several of the gentlemen in our network of craftsmen have decades of experience in home remodeling, and they're available for small jobs such as:
I personally know every single person in our network. I know they will do a good job for you, and they will be friendly and professional. If you need someone to do that small home update, get in touch with us. We'll listen to your needs and do our best to connect you with the right person for the job.
But don't delay. Asheville is growing fast, and the remodeling industry is very busy. That means that these slots may fill up very quickly. In fact, most of the craftsmen in our network are already scheduled out 3 to 4 weeks. So call us today to get your job scheduled. The sooner you call, the sooner the work starts. |
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