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I wanted to pause long enough to note Bert King's recent passing and reflect on the legacy he has left us fans here in Asheville. Here is some information and an interview by Triangle Modernist Houses. And here is my own facebook fan page documenting what I know of his designs here in Asheville. Please take a moment to know his work, treasure his constructions and honor him by stewarding great care of the rich layer of architecture he has left us with.
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Things Are Heating Up Hi Folks! Things are sweltering this summer midst the thunder and lightening and has been the busiest for me professionally and, equally so, for my realtor and designer friends in Asheville. Obviously, I’ve been led astray from blogging these days. Sometimes in life you have to follow the energy and for me that has been in cars, on trams and circling Asheville by plane. I am currently working to open Microsoft stores across the country. Combining my design and marketing skills I’m overseeing production of all messaging vehicles for new stores. I’ve opened eight stores this year and have several more to go before I can refocus on all the cool things going on in Asheville. And there are some purr-etty cool things. An Aloft hotel just opened across from The Blue Spiral in downtown. Designer Charlton Bradscher opened up shop in a vintage modern store across from the Arcade and I recently ran into Brad Rice of Bellwhether Buildershammering another ranch home into a swank pad overlooking the Grove Park Inn golf course with the guidance of architect Scott Huebner. Designer and builder David Way is the middle of another one of his signature “Shoebox” modern constructions just off Merrimon. Tom and Yumiko Virant, Virant Design, completed a great new studio building for themselves up on Sunset Mountain. William and Michael, Four Corners Home, recently completed their airborne modern home overlooking the city and it was just published in Western North Carolina Home and Garden magazine. Last, Hoss Haley opened a show featuring his new smaller scale sculptures and enamel etched paintings. Yes - the summer rain is breeding a ravenous, modern frenzy equal to the vampires claim to Lilith's last drop of True Blood. Along with all my travels my partner, Roger, and I have been exchanging properties this summer which has required weeks of relocation and renovation. If truth be told, he has been designing and directing all the work while I give whiplash nods of approval from the air. Leaving our swank, vintage pad was difficult, but we are enjoying our wonderful, Bauhaus style contemporary with days of windows built in the last few years. The home, originally by Liquid Design, was a spec home lost to the bank during the economic down turn. The bank, having to complete the interior of the home, did it thoughtlessly on a nickel. So, we’ve been bringing it up to the designer level destiny it has longed to live out. Roger, having remodeled contemporary homes in LA and Palm Springs for clients, was a top designer for Marshall Fields and had his own design & manufacturing company. He has a great eye for creating clean and simple interiors that are livable, luxurious and highly functional. I’m so lucky!During this time I have, also, worked with realtor Kelly Erin Spinney to help some buyers and sellers make successful transitions from nest to nest. Again, I have to give hard working Kelly all the credit in this effort. (I’d like to say I’m just the pretty face, but she has me beat there, too.) We found a sprawling, mid-century home on a couple of acres in Fairview for some avid dog lovers and recently sold a contemporary Town Mountain view property for a couple who were downsizing to a lower elevation. All on her own, Kelly just sold a very cool, mid-century, commercial building on the far west side and a upscale, modern condo in downtown. From LA Stuntwoman to Modern Realtress she’s tearing up the town in her superhero boots. (Kapow!) Seriously, I’m hearing the long forgotten words – multiple offers – out there. It’s time to get in while money is cheap! If you need a dynamic professional who stays on top of things and keeps you well informed - call Kelly. I’ve got to wrap this up before they announce, “Please turn off your electronic devices” and remove my glass of substandard red. I just wanted to let you know I am here…there… and everywhere, but keeping tabs on all my modern connections in the Blue Ridge. Feel free to reach out to Kelly, Roger or myself for a free consultation or kitten-like kick in the pants to get yourself moving in the right direction.Enjoy the rest of your summer and we hope to see you all in the fall when the weather cools, but the autumn market heats up even further in the land of earthly, delightful modernism.Thank you,Troy
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MLS# 506650Size: 3300 sqft 3 Bedrooms 2.5 Baths Price $597,000 Kelly and I recently sold this clean and relaxing contemporary home that is super private. It has a true "zen" quality to it for a wonderful escape and relaxed lifestyle.Handsome, peaceful contemporary with distant views of the Mountains, Beaverlake & beyond. Custom kitchen with stainless steel Bosch appliances, granite counter tops & glass backsplash. Master on main with wood burning fireplace, master bath & office. 2nd level – Family room with wood stove, craft/library & 2 bedrooms with jack & jill baths. Level drive and easy access to Town Mountain and Parkway. Quiet, clean and care-free.
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A Learning Center made of Recycled Materials I wanted to take a moment to give my kudos to all those involved in this project. A wonderful grass roots local project worth highlighting. See this article by Bridgette Meinhold of Inhabitat. Enjoy!
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The North Carolina Arboretum and our Community Partner and Mosaic are pleased to offer the following tours in conjunction with the “Sustainable Shelter” exhibit. See below for tour descriptions, dates and times. Tour space is limited, so please pre-register for your tour(s) of choice. You may register by calling (828) 665-2492 and speaking with Peggy Eavenson or Kelly Ball or through email by contacting membership@ncarboretum.org. If registering by email, please include the name(s), date(s) and time(s) of the tour(s) you would like to attend as well as your name, address, phone number and names of any guests attending with you.A cash donation of $5.00 to $10.00 to The N.C. Arboretum Society is suggested at the time of the tour. All tours begin off-site and attendees are responsible for their own transportation.
OTHER TOURS
Sunday, November 6th– Green Home Driving Tour
Caravan in your own vehicle (carpooling with family and friends is preferred) and visit new green homes and green construction sites throughout Central and West Asheville.Tour starts at 2:00 p.m. and lasts approximately 3 hours.Meets at 1 Perdue Place, Asheville, NC 28806
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Healthy Paints and Finishes of the Earth and for your Home Recently, I was browsing Yolo:Colorhouse's website from our sister city and my old stomping grounds, Portland, Oregon. Yolo is a cool company started by artists producing healthy paints. I especially enjoy their marketing style. It occurred to me that we should have a healthy paint company here in Asheville. Doing a quick search I discovered Earth Paints. Rather than trying to pretend I know much about them I have borrowed some of their thoughts from the website. Also, while browsing I found this great video from Healthy Child Healthy World. The message and marketing style work well together. Finally! Beautiful Paint & Wood Finish without the Poisons!! Earthpaint produces only Healthy Sustainable Finish! Earthpaint was founded by Tom Rioux, a professional painter for 25 years. Tom was poisoned by the paints and wood finish he was told were safe. He narrowly survived. This is the basis for Earthpaint’s deep, life affirming commitment to make strong, safe paint and wood finish. Earthpaint now offers beautiful floor finish, deck stain, wood finish and non-toxic paint products that are as good or better than conventional paint and wood finish. Earthpaint was the first, and may still be the only, USA based Healthy Sustainable Finish manufacturer. Earthpaint is proving that there are better, kinder alternatives. We do not use toxic petrochemical solvents in deck stain. We do not use mineral spirits in our oil wood finish. No naphtha, toluene, xylene, vinyl or benzene in our wood finish. No Poison! We are confident that Earthpaint is providing the safest alternative on the planet!Our biodegradable paint and wood finish contain non-toxic and natural ingredients derived from plants, vegetables, trees, minerals and elements. Nearly all of these finishing components are gathered locally (within a day’s drive of Asheville, NC) and are domestically produced and harvested. We avoid using anything in our paint and wood finish that gets shipped in from overseas. Embodied energy and the entire ecological footprint is examined throughout the paint and wood finish formulation process. It is then reexamined on a yearly basis because things change and we need to be responsive to that.For more information on Earth Paints click here.Watch this great video from our friends at Healthy Child Healthy World.[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/9071036 w=413&h=232]
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Local Art Becomes WearableHaving worked in product development with international aritsts I love it when I witness artists taking it upon themselves to repurpose their art for unique applications. Painter Barbara Fisher has recently done this by launching her new design website. She has taken digital images of her paintings to create mirror-image patterns, which are printed onto silk crepe de chine. Backed with solid colored silk habotai the fabric is sewn into luxurious and contemporary, 10" x 60" scarves. All are hand made right here in North Carolina. To view these products and others go to "FishcakeDesign.net. I particularly love her use of stories. Very smart Barbara!Need I mention that Christmas is coming.
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Game-Changing Green Advancements You Should Know About I just read an article from the Huffington Post and had to share a portion of it. They showcased 7 items in the works for Green Advancement worldwide. Here are four that particularly caught my attention. I am especially excited about the green concrete.Concrete might not seem un-green at first, but it's actually the third largest source of man-made carbon dioxide! However, several companies are working on changing that. Enter "green concrete," which not only makes concrete carbon-neutral but even turns it carbon-negative. CO2 absorbing concrete is nothing short of a game-changer.This isn't a ferris wheel, it's the LO2P: Delhi Recycling Center, a concept by firm Atelier CMJN. Built from parts of recycled cars from local junk piles, this novel greenhouse has wind turbines that serve as bio-lungs. While it's still just a concept, it won first place in this year's eVolo Skyscraper competition, which means that the greenest buildings of the future will be of an entirely different ilk than we're used to.When it comes to green, bigger is almost never better. In that spirit, a new generation of homeowners and homebuilders are focusing on living in tiny eco-friendly homes. Gone are expansive kitchens and bedrooms; instead the focus is on integrating your life as much as possible with the outdoors, and winnowing down your lifestyle in size but not in style. Indeed, many of these tiny homes are very design-focused.Forget green building--consider entirely green cities. Tianjin Eco-City in China, slated for completion in 2020, will span 30 square kilometers and will include "an advanced light rail transit system and varied eco-landscapes ranging from a sun-powered solarscape to a greenery-clad earthscape for its estimated 350,000 residents to enjoy."
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Affordable Remodeling that is not Black and White If you've been with me over years of remodeling homes and retail spaces you would have heard me say, during my efforts to be creative and economic, “It’s all about the paint and lighting.” It was over this philosophy that I bonded with Scott Courtenay-Smith last Tuesday night sharing glasses of Spanish red at the Battery Park Book Exchange. Scott is owner and resident artist of “Renovate with Color.” We all know about Design-Build companies. Scott refers to his company as a Design-Paint company. Get it? I first heard about Scott on the weekend pages of the Citizen Times. His work was featured in the “Home of the Week” section where he transferred a North Asheville, mid-century ranch into a creative retreat for a couple of IBM Executives who moonlight as potters. How perfectly Asheville! He combined a bold color palette mixed with vintage Asian illustrations from the couple’s travels. Scott's inspiration ignites directly from the home or business owner using what they have as the nexus to begin the transformative and aesthetic dialogue. The clients were comforted in the way Scott included them throughout his process, so they felt even closer to the final result.For a business client, understanding their branding is important to Scott and he likes to illustrate their story with his color and graphic choices. Recently, he noticed how the local Benjamin Moore store missed an opportunity by painting the outside of their store a muddy brown. Given the richness and history of the paint company, Scott approached them with his own vision that captured their branding at a billboard scale to grab the attention of the driving audience on busy Merrimon Ave. The result reflects the story of the business itself.Another component that Scott feels is important to his work is the green aspect. He is able to bypass extensive remodeling and waste while transforming a space completely with paint. Once, he convinced a residential client to keep their kitchen cabinets and let him rework them. They were thrilled with the dramatic change, the expert paint treatment he provided and the money they saved in the process. No cabinets and hardware were harmed in the process and, more importantly, they did not end up in the landfill.For merely $125, Scott will come to your business or residence for a one-hour consultation. He follows that up with a summary report and a master color palette tailored for your project. Given the nature of today's economy and home values it sounds like an appropriate alternative for your investment dollars. More with less. I get it. Article by Troy Winterrowd
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I wanted to share this article from Architizer News called "Life Edited". It does a great job of exemplifying a trend of designing your living spaces utilizing smaller footprints and ecological materials. To view Click Here. Enjoy!
