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.
I really appreciate his attention to detail: the diagonally-set drain, the perfectly even tiles and smooth grout lines, and the tiled niche in the wall all come together to make a beautiful design. Here's the other side of the same room: The tiled floor has been installed with the same attention to perfection. Frank is also a talented trim carpenter and cabinet maker. One of my favorite projects of his is this set of handmade cabinet doors: This cabinet next to a fireplace also caught my eye: What a great way to hide your television! And it looks like it was built with the home, which is one of my criteria for great cabinetry. When he's not working as a local handyman, Frank spends his free time turning beautiful wooden bowls like these: I really like the way he uses stain to create bands of color on the outsides of the bowls. He has a nice, subtle aesthetic.
You can shop for more of these bowls on his website at www.autumnwoodbowls.com. We're really glad to welcome Frank to our network. If you need someone to install tiles in your Asheville home, please give us a call.
One of our customers is a work-from-home mom with a couple of kids. She recently bought a home with a separate office, but it didn't have a door which she could close to keep out household noises during conference calls.
The opening was something of a challenge, because it was taller than a standard pair of French doors. We added a custom glass transom to fill the extra space, and capped the whole unit off with trim to match the rest of the home.
One of the little debates we had was how to keep the doors closed.
The standard solution for indoor use is to have a pair of dummy knobs and a ball catch.
The nice thing about this setup is that you don't have to fool around with turning a knob or sliding a latch. You can just burst through the doors like a rock star.
Unfortunately some consider the latch itself to be somewhat noisy... and of course it's hard to lock the door to prevent intrusions during an important meeting.
Another solution is to use a slide latch at the top or bottom of one of the doors. This can be tricky if you want to use both doors, because you have to reach up or down and pull on the latch to open the door. It also costs more to install. ​But it's quieter, and it's lockable.
In the end, the customer decided on the slide latch.
If you need someone to install an interior door in Asheville, we'll be happy to help.
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. Interior painting is one of my favorite jobs to do, because I can make such a difference in a room in a relatively short time. I recently finished a whole-house interior repaint in a beautiful Craftsman-style home that had a dated brown wall color all throughout the house: My customers chose a lighter color with more gray in it, and it gave the living room an airy and open feeling. (By the way, you may recognize the built-in entertainment center if you follow my other blog at Artisan Built-ins. I installed it last month.) Moving upstairs, the kids' playroom was a dull mossy green that made the space feel dark. Check out that before and after! That's not my camera playing tricks on you, as you can see if you compare the tone of the carpet in the two pictures. The new wall color reflects the light a lot better, which is helpful in a room like this with so little natural daylight. But I think the biggest change was in the master bathroom. The dreary brown did nothing to flatter the tile. What a difference a lighter tone makes! It ties in with the pretty marble sinks and bounces light all around the room. I also installed new medicine cabinets with cherrywood frames that make a nice statement against the pale gray. Now the room looks like a spa retreat where you can escape from the world. If your home has dingy or dated wall colors and you're ready for a change, give us a call to lighten up. We'll be glad to help you, because we love this stuff!
|
About
Connect!
Archives
April 2022
This blog is for entertainment purposes only. See our Terms of Use for details.
|
What Our Clients Are Saying
"Arthur is that rare professional handyman who is totally reliable; fairly priced; pro-active in communications; honest; punctual; skilled -- and a really nice guy." "Arthur is a great resource to have here in our area. He's prompt, professional, does great work and is cost effective. I'll definitely use him again!" |
Follow Us:Email US AT:Service Area:
In-town Asheville
Mars Hill and Weaverville Arden and Fletcher Fairview Popular Services |