Stately home on the green gets a youthful upgrade
Photo by Kevin Meechan
While it may appear lofty and distinguished, this home in South Asheville is really all about the kids. The residence recently got a new playroom and flex space for craft making at the behest of the homeowner, who spends large parts of the year in Asheville with her retired husband.
“We have four grandchildren, ages 5, 6, 7, and 8.” She adds to that count “the grandbabies of our friends who also have a second house in Asheville, and with whom we often travel. … All the children share my love of crafting, so the craft room was a must.”
The original home and the custom additions were engineered by Tyner Construction, a luxury builder with offices in Arden and Burnsville. (PLATT of Brevard was the architect.)
Jennifer Scott, Tyner’s company’s interior designer whose focus is architectural finishes, describes the home as “refined rustic with many textural elements inside and out.” She sees the main interior theme as the “transitioning from cozy spaces with flat ceilings such as the dining room, lower-level family room, and mudroom into the voluminous and textural areas.” The latter spaces include the primary bedroom, kitchen, and, perhaps most dramatically, the great room, where a barrel-vaulted ceiling bestows high grandeur on the scheme.
“Using wood on the ceilings of the vaulted rooms adds a layer of warmth, and the beams embrace the structural elements as a focal design feature,” notes Scott. In the great room and in the kids’ playroom, the ceiling wood is reclaimed hemlock sourced from Appalachian Antique Hardwoods, a company in Waynesville that repurposes history-thick lumber from old barns and other structures. In the kitchen, the elevated ceiling is trimmed in stained Southern yellow pine. Gregory Paolini Design of Canton crafted the inset-style cabinetry of sustainable poplar, with a combination of customized door sizes and glassed cupboard faces. The handsome installation is hand-glazed an antique green (Paolini notes that his shop uses “environmentally friendly waterborne finishes”).
To make the addition cohesive, “we met with [General Contractor] Marc [Tyner] and Jennifer to explain what I was trying to accomplish,” says the homeowner. “We wanted the two rooms to complement the house.”
But as with any mountain home, what happens outside is almost as important as interior concerns. A major part of the property’s upgrade was the addition of three niche patio spaces, designed and implemented by Steve Shillinglaw, owner of Red Mountain Landscapes in Hendersonville.
“Steve and his team did an outstanding job of enhancing an already great starting point,” says the homeowner, referring to an existing water feature. Red Mountain added stone steps, multiple seating areas with contoured retaining walls, and indigenous landscaping.
Shillinglaw numbers dozens of species of native ornamental grasses and “a good array of Catawba Rhododendron” that will bloom out this spring and summer to fulfill the vision. Behind all the beauty, he did some serious engineering to open up a sweeping view of the golf green from the back while making other portions of the outdoor environs more intimate. Working with the lot’s multiple hilly grades, Shillinglaw positioned one patio as a natural outflow of the children’s wing and, for the big folks, a coffee-klatch area segueing from the kitchen.
“The folding glass door in the playroom that Marc and Jennifer picked out now opens seamlessly onto the western-facing patio area. Jennifer chose some great wood-emulation tile flooring that allows the kids to come in from playing with no worries,” says the homeowner.
She and her husband also speak fondly of Abby and Gibbs, two mini-Aussies “who love watching golfers from the patio and veranda.” Further outdoor enhancements will include a pergola and other shade structures. “Red Mountain has turned the property into a sanctuary,” she enthuses. “We now have fun locations to gather outside at any time of day and in almost any kind of weather.”
Earthly Delights
A full wall of heritage Doggett fieldstone (via Steep Creek Stoneworks of Brevard) and sky-high windows (a PLATT signature) are balanced by modern-ish, abstract-patterned textiles. This stylish mountain mix is seen again in the maple built-in cabinetry — stained in-shop by Gregory Paolini’s crew to match the dining-room table — that’s set against trim shiplap walls (Tyner Construction).
Heritage Recipe
In the kitchen, a slab of polished “Taj-Mahal” quartzite, sourced from Mountain Marble, encourages the general elegance of the scheme. Subway tile is from Crossville Studios, also local. The steep-pitched ceiling, dramatic as a chapel, adds timeless dignity and solidity. Extensive antique-green-stained handcrafted cabinetry, customized in height and storage size to the homeowners’ specifications, was made by Gregory Paolini Cabinetry in Haywood County. The species, poplar, “is the wood of choice by premier craftsmen for painted finishes and millwork,” notes Paolini. Fixtures from Ferguson.
Imagination Station
Jennifer Scott, interior designer with Tyner Construction, helped the homeowners built a fun and functional new suite to enhance the flow of this stately traditional home for future generations. The kids’ playroom, which opens onto a free-range patio space (one of several engineered by Red House Landscapes of Hendersonville) is intended for four visiting grandchildren and the grandchildren of nearby friends. The reclaimed hemlock on the ceiling, sourced from Appalachian Antique Hardwoods, maintains the upscale-rustic vibe of the rest of the house.
Of the Mountain
A rustic sweep of driveway pavers (Water Dance Outdoor Creations of Fletcher) and a striking exterior of Doggett Fieldstone, sourced and installed by Steep Creek Stoneworks, makes a statement for the ages. Tyner Construction built the original home and also implemented a timely upgrade by enhancing patio areas accessible from all levels of the home.
The Boulder and The Beautiful
Red Mountain Landscapes of Hendersonville, with Tyner Construction, designed and implemented several patio areas so the homeowners and their guests could make the most of a dynamic lot that includes long-range mountain views and a scenic view of the golf green.
Resources
Builder: Tyner Construction
Architect: PLATT (Brevard)
Interior Designer: Jennifer Scott (Tyner Construction, Arden and Burnsville)
Cabinetry: Gregory Paolini Design (Canton)
Countertops: Mountain Marble (Asheville)
Tile: Crossville Studios (Fletcher)
Stonework: Steep Creek Stoneworks (Brevard)
Windows (Weathershield) and Doors (Trustile): Morrison Millwork (Fletcher)
Custom Interior Wood Installation: Appalachian Antique Hardwoods (Waynesville)
Landscaping and Hardscaping: Red Mountain Landscapes (Hendersonville)
Water Feature and Driveway Pavers: Water Dance Outdoor Creations (Fletcher)