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Roger and I were on a mission this past Saturday to find a craftsman to fabricate a modern daybed for our office. Chris McMillan's latest adaptation of his showroom, Dwellings, offers a variety of home furnishing vendors within one store that specialize in eclectic, modern and industrial style furnishings. Not expecting to walk in and find exactly what we wanted, we stopped by to see if there was someone who could make us something custom to fit our specific needs. Two hours later a rental truck was following us home with our new industrial daybed. Cool!As always, I was impressed with the well curated collection assembled by Chris and others. Its a shopping experience that offers a sense of discovery, an inspiration for good design and great values. (Don't miss the lamp shades!) If I don't leave having purchased something I always leave with a smile on my face given my experience as a customer. Haven't been? Click here for details.

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Fox Chase

Price: $429,0000Size: 3048 SQFT Features: 4 Beds + 3 Baths Here is your chance to own a Bert King designed home in the lake neighborhood of Woodland Hills. This mid-century home has great lines, floor to ceiling windows and a great flowing floor plan with vaulted ceilings. Lower level has a complete apartment or entertainment space with kitchen that opens up to a garden level stone terrace.This home is on the market through the owner. Buyer's agents welcome. Please email seller here. Or call directly at (828) 273-1101.

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Rediscovering the Shed Style If you’re my age and you have young nieces or nephews you know that the 80's are back again, and have been for a while. All things return, good or bad, given enough time. If you follow the waves of home fashion styles you know that in the 60's, nationally, we rediscovered the Victorian. Locally, we reclaimed and revived the Montford neighborhood. Since, it has been Bungalow-Mania for over two decades in all areas of North, West and East Asheville. New artsy crafty constructions are still popping up in all areas of town and beyond. Is that all we know how to build these days? Now - we are in a well established trend of modernist styling and romancing the few atomic ranches we have here. Neighborhoods such as Beverly Hills to the East, Malvern Hills to the West and Lakeview Park to the North provide an assortment of ranch style homes, both adaptable & plain and some swanky & sophisticated.So, that leads us to the 70's and 80's. Huh?  Yes, there are some period developments, including a wave of condos, in all directions with a reasonable proximity to downtown, but still nestled in the woods. How many times do we hear clients say that is what they want? These places offer established open floor plans, vaulted ceilings, larger bathrooms than decades past and great indoor/outdoor living relationships. Sure - you have to scrape off some popcorn ceilings, lay down some hardwoods in place of carpet, replace large track lighting, but there are some good bones for today's clean and open modern living. Given what we have in Asheville you more than often have to work a little to make your modern nest within this rustic environment and housing stock. If you search you will find Cedar Wood to the East, the Timbers to the North and Laurelwood to the West. All are simplified versions of the Shed Style of Sea Ranch, but easy enough to strip down and create something chic. According to the Washington State Department of Historic Preservation, "The Shed Style is easily identified by a juxtaposition of boxlike forms capped with single-sloped shed roofs facing a variety of directions. The style spread quickly through the United States after the construction of the Sea Ranch Lodge condominium complex in Sonoma County, California in 1965. The use of the style in the 1970s coincided with the energy crisis and some of the better examples employ passive-solar design elements.  Features such as south facing windows at the roofline (clearstory windows) paired with interior elements such as brick floors or rock walls which could collect and store heat, saved energy costs.""Exterior walls are usually covered with flush board siding, applied horizontally, vertically, or even diagonally to follow the lines of the shed roof.  Builder examples often used T1-11 siding, while high style examples are clad with cedar shingles. The junctions of the roofs and walls are smooth and simple, with little or no overhang.  Most Shed Style buildings are 1 to 1½ stories tall.  Entrances are often recessed and obscured from the street and windows tend to be a variety of sizes and shapes.  Long narrow windows installed vertically or horizontally are common, as well as windows that are angled to follow the slope of the roof line.""The style’s popularity peaked in the 1970s, when it was commonly used for houses, apartment complexes, vacation cottages, schools and small office buildings.  By the mid 1980s, the use of the style in urban areas dwindled, mainly due to the high maintenance requirements of the wooden exteriors."It takes over 30 years for styles to circle back around. In the 80's I was dressing like the 1950's. Now I'm venturing into the next era of home remodeling. I'll be offering more on this unexplored territory on Modern Asheville in the next few months. Play some Cure. Pencil in some eye liner. Follow along.

Bill and Michael's 03

As I previously mentioned this summer, Bill and Michael's new home was published in the Summer Edition of Western North Carolina Home and Garden magazine. They've been sharing photos of their home construction with me over the year. An Asheville styled contemporary grew out of a mountain side ranch home by stacking a soaring living space on top with a new street level entry. (How many times have you heard me tell you and my modern seeking clients there is a lot of potential in our ranch homes here?) Bill and Michael took this idea to new heights - literally. Take a look at the finished construction for yourself courtesy of Western North Carolina Home and Garden magazine.

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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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Kelly's

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

Contemporary Sold

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The Skinny on Modern to Contemporary Home Sales 2011 started out similar to the previous few years, but quietly came roaring to life as it nudged into 2012. A few realtor friends said it was one of their better years, but they had to work  extra, extra, extra hard for it. As far as contemporary homes are concerned we had a few special ones swap owners this year. Here is a brief look at some notable ones.In general, all shapes and sizes of homes found new owners in 2011 while some still remain on the market or have been pulled. The issue for the modern to contemporary home buyer in Asheville is lack of inventory. A good, open, one-level contemporary home of modest size with a view isn't around every corner as seen in my version of heaven. Kelly Erin-Spinney, realtor for Real Living, knows having previously worked real estate in both Florida and California that today's homebuyer is looking for less - not more. She states, "They are looking for their open and zen mountain retreat which opposes what builders were building in the past ten years. Times have changed." I know from my own clients that if I could find spaces that live like an urban loft, but exist privately in nature I might have a chance of retiring.This January seems to be one of the most active on record in our own office. Kelly and I have witnessed a few contemporary's being snatched up just before showings. Specializing in Modern, we have a back order of simple and clean buyers looking for the same polished diamond among the rustic.This vintage gem near Biltmore Lake was on the market for five months and just went under contract to the disappointment of our buyers. A 1972 contemporary with 3 Beds + 2.5 Baths listed for $349,000. Sweet! Buyers- you may have to be patient or creative (ranch remodel?) to find or create the one, but don't expect bargains. The interesting tidbit for all bargain hunters out there waiting to make half price offers: on average these homes sold for 94.7% of listing price. Yes, you heard me! I did the math myself and admit it put a crack in my jaded shell. Which means - it is time to make that deal and get on with your life here in Asheville. Here is a sweet, little mid-century built in 1965 on 2 acres in Fairview. Currently, listed for $295,000 it has 3 Beds + 2.5 Baths in over 2600 sqft with an extra workshop building. Sellers - get your homes to 2012 standards. Even with little inventory buyers still want something up-to-date or a clear understanding of what it will take to get there. Make it easy for them. We all know buyers have been nervous about the unknown future which means they don't care to add on the unknown expenses of bringing a home up to date at this stage in life. Sure - buyers like charm. But you can sit there on your charm as it often comes via Home Depot into inadequate spaces with lots of fresh air (drafts). Do something. Bring in an expert, listen and follow through. [ I often bring in Katie Rice from Bellwether Builders for both my buyer and seller clients. Having built contemporary homes, remodeled ranches she can provide some consulting from a range of $85 to $250 to look at a home and give you some ideas and costs. I know many architects, including Mark Allison offer consultations. ]Yes, it's been a rough few years. But as predicted by the Mayans, 2012 is shaking and speeding things up. So, let's all soften into our yoga matts (insert uji breath), ease our resistance and drive one-handed into our Subaru future. Isn't that why we are here -- in Asheville?

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Lustron Interior Comp

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OMG! I am thrilled to know there is a Lustron home in Asheville and it just came on the market today.  According to Sandra Brooks, it is one of two existing here.  What is a Lustron home? After World War II, The US Government had an interest in creating new housing for returning servicemen. Carl Strandlund obtained a government loan to produce homes of steel with porcelain coated exterior panels, steel framing and steel interior walls and ceiling. He founded the Lustron Corporation and built approximately 2,498 Lustron Homes in a former  aircraft plant in Columbus OHIO. The Lustron homes were designed to be maintenance free, cost approximately $7,000, and were produced in 1949 and 1950.  These homes were considered to be three times stronger than a traditional stick built home and were advertised as being rodent proof, fire proof , lightening proof, and rustproof. Tomorrow, I am touring this charming home. It is located in one of my favorite neighborhoods, Beverly Hills, and listed for $150,000. I hope to encourage a fan to buy and preserve this unique home.Here is how the listing agent describes it. "Retro fans - this is the one for you! RARE Lustron home, only two in Asheville. This is a post WW II cottage, steel construction with porcelain enamel covering steel tiles. Talk about sustainable! No air ducts so it's perfect for those with allergies; heated by radiant ceiling. Lustron homes are fading from American neighborhoods and it's hard to find one in the original condition, but this one has original builtins and floorplan!" Want to know more about Lustron homes go to www.lustronconnection.org Just a quick follow up to say that the tour was great. The house is 99% intact. Thanks to Sandra for bringing to the publics attention and hosting people from the Historic Preservationists. I so wish I could live here and write more on Modern Asheville.

Last, I found out that local interior designer, Leslie Ann Huntley, has remodeled a kitchen in a Lustron home in North Carolina. 

Check it out!

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I was online today in search of some retro style countertops for my distinctly mid-century kitchen. I came across this fun and informative site. Enjoy! RetroRenovation

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“The only place on earth where all places are --- seen from every angle, each standing clear, without any confusion or blending”The above quote was written by Jorge Luis Borges regarding the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet and is our starting point in viewing the development of this thoughtful new home resting just below Town Mountain Road co-created by SAI Design and the adventurous owners. While there are many grounded realities that go into a sophisticated construction as this, equally, there are abstract notions that layer in meaning and spirit that give this home a rich, rooted history long before moving day arrives.The Aleph is a silent letter quietly representing strength, humility, creation and the first breath. Placed on the site it represents where the topographical elevations of the earth meets the air coming up the hill. It is the point where the two distinctly marry.The owners, a married couple, also bring together the two distinct elements of wood and clay. Both craftsmen, one is a woodworker while the other a potter. Wood and earth are mixed in and help shape the spatial organization of this home. The upper volume contains the more public “living” spaces is light, clad in wood and adjusts its angles to the views and to embrace the energy of the sun. Dramatically, it cantilevers out into space supported by the lower volume that hugs tightly to the earth. This volume clad in stucco and cement board houses the “private” spaces including studios and bedrooms. As you walk around the house, Jorge’s notion of the Aleph becomes clear. This was a place on earth where all places are represented, seen from every angle and remain clear of confusion.This artful, architectural stew was expertly guided and stirred over a period of two years by Michael Silverman and Elihu Siegman of SAI Design. Given plenty of simmer time, the rich design evolved organically working back and forth from client to architect and from careful thought and functionality to artistic intuition. While your average builder might look at the specific site, common to Asheville, and see its limitations and standard outcome this team saw it as a creative springboard for achieving something unique. The home is a balance of being nestled into the hillside to minimize the visual impact while cantilevered to minimize the impact on the ground. Trees from the site were recycled into the house mill work and floors, not uncommon to resource minded mountain dwellers of Asheville. For me, part of the strength of the home lies in its founding design principles of being site specific in both layout and materials. The notion is explained above, however you simply have to experience the house to know that it just feels right. Take a look.The home is 3100 sq.ft with three bedrooms (one bunk room for multiple guests) and three baths. Both the private and public entry is on the main level anchored by a generous storage, utility and laundry area. Beyond is the great room which is dramatic and simple featuring custom crafted details in wood and concrete. My favorite spot is standing at the top of the stairs where you can view the entire restful and rhythmic living space while at the same time uncover clues about the rest of the house thru inviting views down corridors in two directions  and down the Escher-like stairs to the lower level. The generous landing area on the lower level neighbors a media room with built-ins flanked by the owners studios with indoor-outdoor work spaces at either end. Overall, the Aleph House makes sense with its carefully crafted and functional layout. Like the Aleph, it has a humility in its simple, shaker-like utility. Yet, it is layered with quiet sophistication  that makes it rich without ever having to know why. The quality home will undoubtedly endure generations of both well grounded and inspired inhabitants and Asheville will benefit from a richer compost of thoughtful modern design. Great job guys!Happy New Year to all!Article by Troy Winterrowd, most photos by David Dietrich