What makes Asheville and Western North Carolina so appealing to retirees? Asheville, as well as other Western North Carolina towns, has constantly topped the “Best of” lists, including one of the best places to retire. Our area is ideal for retirees, providing a great atmosphere and community, as well as offering favorable year-round weather, good air quality, low crime rates, easy accessibility to...
Home Design Centered Around Aging in Place and Universal Design Guidelines For years, the topics of aging in place and universal design have become common terminology and best practice when designing homes. These design considerations apply not only for those with disabilities and older generations, but also for a larger slice of the population, the baby boomers, who plan to stay in their homes as...
Asheville is constantly ranked as one of the best cities in which to live. If you are looking for a gated or other upscale community to call home in the Asheville area, the pros at ACM Design can help guide you every step of the way from the initial stages of planning, property evaluation and selection, to custom home design....
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) recently released 3rd and 4th Quarter results for their 2015 Home Design Trends Survey (HDTS) which focused primarily on the popularity of several bathroom and kitchen products and features, home design trends and market conditions compared to 2014. The surveys found that many of the most popular trends from a few years ago have...
[caption id="attachment_6728" align="aligncenter" width="1800"] New Kitchen in Historic Grove Park Home[/caption] Fairy Tale Cottage WRITER: Melissa Reardon PHOTOGRAPHER: Heather Radford ILLUSTRATOR: WNC Staff When architect Amy Conner-Murphy and her team from ACM Design took up the task of renovating the adorable North Asheville cottage of Doug and Wendy Banks, they gave it a fitting nickname: The Sleeping Beauty Project. “It was a diamond in the...
Once you’ve made the decision to hire an architect, the task of finding the right architect follows. Many homeowners search online for an architect, either with search engines or through resources like Houzz.com. This is a great place to start, but what happens when you find an architect that’s not local to the area you’d like to build or remodel?...
When venturing out to your local hardware store or retailer in search for lighting, it’s easy to become overwhelmed with all the different types of light bulbs available for your home. From the traditional incandescent light bulbs to the newer LED options, there are a lot of choices when it comes to lighting your home. Light bulb packaging advertises a lot...
When you hear the term “Dream Home,” what comes to mind? Do you see a 10,000 square foot home? An extravagantly landscaped yard and gardens? A pool? For many years the “American Dream Home” increased in size, but for the past few years, trends show that more Americans are opting for smaller, eco-friendly “Dream Homes.” For a variety of reasons, downsizing...
If you’ve ever driven the Blue Ridge Parkway and dreamt of living in the Smoky Mountains or the Southern Appalachians, we’ve compiled a series of complimentary guides rich with information about designing a mountain home. Informed by our decades of experience as mountain home architects, we share expert advice about topics like building on steep slopes, terrain-specific building costs, and materials suited for withstanding the mountain weather. Our passion for creating personalized and heartfelt homes is apparent in all of our work and it is our pleasure to share our expertise with you in these free and informative guides.
