Stars Awards Gala in Charlotte, celebrating the best in the state in the Home Building Industry – Living Stone Construction Inc. and ID.ology Interior Design teams!
Living Stone won Best Advertisement, Best Logo and Best Single Family Home with a Price point of $250k-$500k.
By Mike Carpenter, NCHBA Executive Vice President & General Counsel
Sean Sullivan’s theme was “iron sharpens iron”. He carried this message in his travels to every corner of the state during his tenure as 2015 President of the North Carolina Home Builders Association (NCHBA). Like iron sharpening iron, Sean strongly believes in the value that NCHBA imparts to its members, both professionally and personally, arises from active participation in the multitude of opportunities that the association offers. This belief is firmly grounded in his personal experience as a member and he freely shares his story both to educate and motivate others.
Sean first became exposed to NCHBA during his tenure on the leadership ladder of his local association in Asheville. He quickly recognized the value that NCHBA brought to his business not only from formal educational opportunities but also from informal networking with other builders who weren’t directly competing with his business. Sean recounted on many occasions how his business volume dramatically increased, and continues to do so, as he put into practice those things he learned by and through his NCHBA involvement. By utilizing his own story as an example, he urged others to become involved—and many have followed his lead.
During 2015, Sean expertly juggled the responsibilities of his rapidly growing business with the duties of NCHBA President and made both a success. He was significantly aided in achieving this result by his delightful wife, Laura, who is a talented design professional in her own right. In addition to Laura’s support, he has a great employee team which he nurtures by exposing them to NCHBA events like the 21st Century Building Expo and Conference. He also received solid support from his excellent Senior Officer team which Sean would be the first to credit with helping him cover the bases.
Living Stone is thrilled to present 2 recently finished homes in this year’s Asheville Parade of Homes!
Geothermal systems are put in about 80% of Living Stone homes!
Insulating Concrete Form (ICF) is a system of formwork for concrete that stays in place as permanent building insulation for energy-efficient, cast-in-place, reinforced concrete walls, floors, and roofs. The forms are interlocking modular units that are dry-stacked (without mortar) and filled with concrete.
Here was the challenge: how to turn a family home into one that would keep its owner happy – and in place – for the rest of her life. It was the challenge that interior designer Betsy Edwards met with the help of Living Stone Construction. And it was posed by Annette Pace, who loved her farmhouse‐like home in north Asheville’s historic Beaverdam community but hadn’t lived in it for years.
Annette, who raised her sons in the house, didn’t want to give it up. But being a planner, she was planning ahead and wanted to see if Betsy could turn the house into a pretty home that would shelter and nurture Annette as she grew older.
“She had a real sense of commitment to the property,” Betsy says. “There was a sense of family and tradition there that was hard to give up.”
Betsy, whose business (Betsy Edwards Design) has reconfigured houses, hotels and restaurants all over the world, felt the home’s magic the moment she first saw it. “You could just feel the energy and beauty of it,” she says.
Annette, living elsewhere at the time, had expressed that she wanted to live in the house for the rest of her life. So as Betsy walked through its rooms, she envisioned how they could be changed to accommodate her client’s later years.
Some updating needed to be done, certainly, but cosmetic changes alone wouldn’t achieve the longevity that many homeowners want these days. Aging in place ‐ a term used to describe construction details that allow a resident to enjoy an independent life for years ‐ often means wider doorways and no‐threshold showers. In Annette’s case, it meant a master bedroom suite on the main floor – a space she suggested might be made out of the large room that held the family pool table.
To look at Peggy and Bill Scheu’s house, you’d think it was brand new. But it’s not, and the Scheus credit its handsomeness to the skill and materials that Living Stone Construction used when it built their Montreat residence over nine years ago. Today, the house is as durable as it is beautiful.
“We designed it with that in mind,” Peggy said at home recently. “The planning was carefully done.”
“The quality of the work is just superb,” Bill said.
With seven grandchildren and a growing family, Bill and Peggy Scheu (pronounced “Shy”) built the home with elegant endurance in mind. Working with Living Stone President Sean Sullivan, Peggy and Bill chose finish materials and a style of home that could stand up to the rambunctious family gatherings that happen especially during summer, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Published by NC Design Online, July 2015
To live in the Asheville area is to love the beauty of nature and to be taken in by quiet strength of the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains. In our previous feature, we talked to Asheville builder Sean Sullivan, owner of Living Stone Construction, and his wife, Laura Sullivan of ID.ology Interior Design about the couple’s unique “design green, build green, live green” concept. The concept has earned them success and a reputation as one of Asheville’s leading green building teams. Today, we’re focusing on the products and techniques that help them give their clients the homes they’ve always dreamed of, while encouraging them to live greener, fuller, and happier lives in their new spaces.
David Gramley especially likes the mornings at his Living Stone Construction-built home in The Settings of Black Mountain. The first one awake, he makes a cup of coffee and turns to the large windows in the living room. Cradling the steaming cup of joe, he marvels at the clarity of the mountain framed within the view. Sometimes he sees deer emerge from the woods. Wild turkeys strut among the trees.
Shifting his eyes to the mountain range in the far distance, he’s prone to contemplate he and his wife’s move into this house in the winter of 2015. The house suits them perfectly, David said.
“We found that since we moved here, we hardly turn on the TV,” he said. “I’d rather look outside.”
And to find beauty inside, he has only to scan the interior space of his Craftsman-style home. Its large common area flows seamlessly from the living room into the kitchen and dining area. Its spaciousness is graciously proportioned. The airy, open space seems to breath in the mountain air that David enjoys when he steps out with his coffee onto the porch to see what kind of weather the day has brought.
Asheville’s lush, green forests and stunning mountain landscapes have long been a draw for nature lovers seeking to build a home in an unspoiled natural paradise. Sean Sullivan, owner of Living Stone Construction and his wife, Laura Sullivan, owner of ID.ology Interior Design team up to not only help their clients build their dream home, but to ensure that Asheville stays unspoiled for future generations through their green building and design process. North Carolina Design talked to them to hear more about what true green building really entails, and the surprising ways it enriches and enhances the lives of their clients.
Whether you’re raising a young family or beginning to enjoy an empty nest, the design of your home should meet your changing needs. Families looking to customize their homes to suit their lifestyles both now and in the future can easily implement universal design techniques.
Universal design is the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design at a later point in time. Universal design enhances traditional design by incorporating elements that offer comfort, convenience and ease of use.
Multigenerational families and first-time homeowners alike will appreciate the often simple and inexpensive changes that make homes livable for all household members, regardless of age or ability. Homes with universal design are more user-friendly, require lower maintenance and complement an easy-living lifestyle.
Here are five ways to implement universal design in your home:
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
This custom design-build home is located in the mountainous setting of western North Carolina. One challenge with the home was incorporating a blend of arts-and-crafts style with a dash of contemporary to maximize and capture not only the view, but illuminate the interior with natural light. Interior designer Laura Kirkpatrick Sullivan, with ID.ology Interior Design, understood these needs and made sure the space was tailored to this desired feel and flow. Laura and her team were awarded the Best Interior Merchandising Award by NCHBA for their work on this project.
Another challenge this project faced was the steep grade of the site itself, which is typical of the region. Sean Sullivan, builder-president of Living Stone, was able to overcome this obstacle with great success.
This bathroom takes into consideration aging in place with the lighting design. We used built-in mirror lighting to be able to see the reflection
better and cabinet toe kick lighting which is especially helpful when using the bathroom at night.
We love the Houzz website which is geared for people looking to build a new construction home, remodel an existing home, or for decorating inspiration for their current home. We introduce all of our clients to Houzz so they can begin building an “ideabook” for their project. “Ideabooks” help us as we work in design and throughout the project to get a feel of the clients’ tastes and preferences.
Living Stone has been awarded “Best in Houzz for design AND service for the last 3 years.
Geothermal heat pumps (GHPs), sometimes referred to as GeoExchange, earth-coupled, ground-source, or water-source heat pumps, have been in use since the late 1940s. They use the constant temperature of the earth as the exchange medium instead of the outside air temperature. This allows the system to reach fairly high efficiencies (300% to 600%) on the coldest winter nights, compared to 175% to 250% for air-source heat pumps on cool days.
Although many parts of the country experience seasonal temperature extremes — from scorching heat in the summer to sub-zero cold in the winter—a few feet below the earth’s surface the ground remains at a relatively constant temperature. Depending on latitude, ground temperatures range from 45°F (7°C) to 75°F (21°C). Like a cave, this ground temperature is warmer than the air above it during the winter and cooler than the air in the summer. The GHP takes advantage of this by exchanging heat with the earth through a ground heat exchanger.
