Focal Point- Arbor Construction Group in Charlotte, NC

Written By Dana W. Todd

Pick something you love and design your room around it. It’s advice Brian Macuga of Arbor Construction Group gives his clients. When working on something like a kitchen or bathroom, Macuga says, “Choose a focal point – something you can’t live without – and redesign your dream bathroom or kitchen around that object.” “And,” Macuga says, “it will be different for every client.”

Launa and Allen Kendle loved the cantilevered space that Arbor Construction created to hold a bathtub and its marble surround in their renovated master bathroom. Since the marble was the most expensive part of the project, choosing that first and the coordinating tile second made the most sense.  “I drove to the marble warehouse and found a slab that I wanted as the focal point,” explains Launa.  Macuga sent an interior designer with Launa when she shopped the tile store, which helped Launa quickly winnow the overwhelming tile choices down to four options. With just those four, she was able to make a final decision, matching the marble and completing her dream bathroom around what she felt was the highlight.

In their gutted and renovated kitchen, Christa and Ben Rogers decided color needed to play the star. “Creamy, off-white cabinetry with a light glaze overtop really popped out against details like crackle textured subway tile on the backsplash and a custom-built stove hood,” says Christa. The couple also used color as a priority on the newly designed hutch in the same room. A specialty painter applied seven layers of grayish-blue glaze to emphasize this beautiful and functional piece of furniture. Rogers says the details in color give her new kitchen a timeless feel. “It was exactly what I envisioned,” says Christa. “Arbor Construction was very efficient and stayed on schedule.”

Deborah and John Ritter, another Arbor Construction Group client, experienced similar results when working with Arbor to choose the accent in their redesigned bathrooms. “We chose Carrara marble as the spotlight for both bathroom renovations – our master bathroom and an adjacent kids’ bathroom,” says Deborah Ritter. “I grew up in England and Carrara marble is very European. It’s cold to the touch and has a clean look.” With the attention centered on the countertops, the Ritters added coordinating marble subway tile, also Carrara, to the shower walls to tie it all together. “What stuck out most to me about Arbor is that they assigned a project manager to be there every day,” Ritter adds. “The attention to detail was unbelievable.”

If you’re thinking of renovating your kitchen or bathroom, contact Arbor Construction Group at 704-542-5833 or www.arborconstructiongroup.com.

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Home is Where the Heart is – Advanced Renovations in Charlotte,NC

Written By Dana W. Todd

When Dee and Christina O’Dell bought their traditional red brick Georgian home in Charlotte, they were planning to stay there a for few years, but found no other property as good a fit for their family’s needs. Then the back deck started falling off the house. And that changed everything.

“The house has good bones but when the deck started falling off the house last summer, it pushed us to make the decision about what we were going to do,” says Christina O’Dell. The family decided to stay and invest in creating an outdoor entertainment area more ideal for year-round enjoyment.

The O’Dells hired Advanced Renovations to design and build a multi-level, 800-900-square-foot space off the back of the house. “My husband and I are both ‘Type A’ people who like to have all the details in front of us,” O’Dell says. “We chose Advanced Renovations because we liked their in-house design/build option. It was a good fit for us.”

“Design/build projects tend to flow smoother,” says Duane Johns of Advanced Renovations. “There’s no need to worry about meshing different ideas and personalities and the communication process is easier from the beginning. The design/build process eliminates finger pointing. ”

The O’Dell’s new backyard retreat includes an L-shaped covered porch that connects to the house off the kitchen and living room. The space includes a fireplace with a wall-mounted TV above, vaulted ceiling complete with ceiling fan, honey-stained tongue and groove boards and cove lighting around the perimeter. The defining element is a built-in brick planter with fragrant gardenias, which separates it from the stepped-down, uncovered patio created with large pieces of bluestone edged with a rowlock brick border.  The project took three months to complete and the O’Dell family is enjoying the area for the first time this spring.

“The look is classic, clean and timeless,” says O’Dell, who adds that the only challenge was matching the original red brick from 1987. Luckily, Advanced Renovations was able to do it.

“The rest of the house really fits our family’s lifestyle, so we made the investment to turn this into our ‘next stage’ home,” explains O’Dell. “While we contemplated a move before the deck fell off, we discovered how much the house worked for us.”

Advanced Renovations made the process easy and the results beautiful. “From the beginning, Advanced Renovations provided us with a project plan, complete with a three-month calendar,” O’Dell says. “No other contractor provided that and they were as committed to following the timeline as we were.” She adds that the collaborative working relationship they had was very unique and successful.

To discuss your next home renovation project, contact Advanced Renovations at 704-799-3999 or www.advancedrenovations.com.

To read more about Advanced Renovations click here or to view more articles visit www.urbanhomemagazine.com or click here.

Bryan J. Pulte, Contributing Editor – Interior Designer – Denver, CO – Controlling the Details

Bryan J. Pulte. Contributing Editor - Interior Investments

A qualified interior designer should provide scaled drawings or sketches when proposing a custom built-in or hand crafted piece of furniture. To read the entire story please click HERE. Contact Bryan J. Pulte at 303-399-8866 or find him at www.BPutleInteriors.com

Showcase Home- Minimalism Finds Home in the South (Charlotte,NC)



Written By Anne Marie Ashley

When interior designer Steven Rasnick and his partner moved to Charlotte from San Francisco, he suspected they’d end up in a modern Uptown apartment in the heart of the city.

What they discovered, as many do when they move to the South, is that the charm some of Charlotte’s neighborhoods provide can be irresistible. Finding minimalist style in an old charming area however, can present a challenge.

Thankfully, the couple found the perfect Georgian style home in Myers Park that just begged for Rasnick’s creative eye and the result is nothing short of an impeccable use of minimalist style. We just had to explore this house, and this designer, further.

UH: You come from progressive San Francisco – what drew you to this traditional home and neighborhood in Charlotte?
Homeowners: Originally, we thought about a center city apartment close to work, but nothing was meeting our needs in a home. We fell in love with Myers Park – great location, enchanting streets, beautifully maintained yards and homes, and its magnificent tree canopy. We wanted an older home with character that we could renovate.

UH: Tell us about your San Francisco (SF) residence and how it influenced the design of your home in Charlotte.
Homeowners: Our home in SF was a large urban industrial loft with 20-foot ceilings. We loved our wide-open floor plan and wanted to create that same sense of openness in our Charlotte home.

UH: What did the house look like when you found it?
Homeowners: The house was really lovely; great curb appeal with perfect proportions typical of 1920s Georgian architecture. It was simple, symmetrical and unadorned with all brick construction, a screened porch and the original detached two-car garage. Interiors were period appropriate with intimate rooms, great moldings and
panel detail.

UH: Tells us about the renovation process.
Homeowners: We knew we wanted to open up the downstairs and fortunately there were no structural barriers to prevent that. We widened and heightened all existing doorways to give a more soaring quality to all the rooms. We converted the side porch to a sunroom, took out a full bath off the family room and added a wall of French doors that opened onto a new colonnaded back porch. We added a mudroom off of the new kitchen and created a powder room under the staircase by combining a closet with the back of the butler’s pantry. We also added a second master suite.

UH: How long did the remodel take place?
Homeowners: It took just over a year to complete and we couldn’t live in it for the first 10 months. We replaced all the wood floors on the first floor, built interior closet systems and reconfigured the center hall staircase. We balanced and re-hung all the old doors and replaced all the brass hardware.

UH: How do you create minimalist style without the house looking cold?
Homeowners: Most of our furniture and lighting is contemporary and the minimal styling of it is a perfect counterweight to the more substantial period details of the house – tall baseboards, crown moldings, panel doors and ornate staircase accents. Warmth is added with rich stained floors, vibrant art and textured rugs.

UH: How have you used art to decorate?
Homeowners: All the art is original. For us, art is a preeminent consideration when looking for a new home. I think art is what anchors your home – no matter where you move to – it remains the one true constant. It makes your house comfortable in the most important way.

Homeowners:Tell us about the master bath.
UH: We designed the new master suite at the top of the stairs around a double-sided gas fireplace. The fireplace was built in Canada and is distinguished by a 36-inch narrow ribbon of fire. I wanted to enjoy the fire both from the bathroom and the bedroom, so I designed a deep, Japanese soaking tub with a wide deck and angled back for comfort that faces the fireplace cabinet. I also designed the bedroomside maple fireplace cabinet.

UH: What are your favorite local design resources?
Homeowners: My local go-to stores are places like Mrs. Howard, Luxe, BD Jeffries, Metro, Design Within Reach, Stark Carpet, Cotswold Marketplace and the DOMA Gallery.

Resources
www.bdjeffries.com
www.cotswoldmarketplace.com
www.dwr.com
www.luxehomecouture.com
www.mrshowardpersonalshopper.com
www.starkcarpet.com
Steven Rasnick Interior Design

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