Jamie Khan, Home on the French Broad River
A Custom Rockcliff for the Parks in Southcliff
Joe and Shari Parks had the good fortune to be able to retire wherever they wanted. But they were very particular about the company they chose to build their house.
They picked Living Stone Construction, largely on its reputation in Southcliff, the gated community in which they chose to build.
Custom Alexandra for Christine Dowd
Christine Dowd knew what she didn’t want in a house. She didn’t want what she had, which was a house she’d built whose finishes were so rough she ripped a sweater on a door frame.
What she wanted was a beautiful new house in Thoms Estate, a north Asheville enclave of good taste and friendliness that had a couple of lots she liked. She was out there looking at them one day when a couple who lived beside one of the lots invited her in to look at the home that Living Stone Construction had built for them. Christine loved it (and she loved the couple).
“They graciously showed me around their home,” she said. “They loved their house. It was so well designed. You could tell that someone had taken a lot of time to get all the details right. When I walked out of their beautiful home, even though I’d contemplated other builders, I’d made up my mind to go with Living Stone.”
And so Christine, recently retired as a presenter for Apple, went to see Sean Sullivan at Living Stone Construction, a builder of green and energy-efficient homes whose work continues to win awards for design, function and price points.
Mountain Modern in WNC
Sarah Watkins knew what kind of house she wanted to build. She just had to find the kind of builder who would love the challenge of creating it as much as she did.
She and husband Casey found the builder they wanted in Living Stone Construction and its president, Sean Sullivan.
“The thing about Sean was that when I presented what I wanted in our home, he loved it,” Sarah said. “It was a bit different from some other projects he had done.”
Sarah had spent a year and a half putting her family home near Asheville together in her mind. Picking up just about every architectural magazine available, she knew enough about what she wanted that she sketched it all out. She knew the textures, finishes and ambience she wanted in the home.
She and Casey visited several builders in the Asheville area. Living Stone was among the last they visited, and they were immediately impressed by the company’s approach, plan and thoughtfulness. They liked that Sean took them to Living Stone job sites to see not only the houses under construction but also the process by which Living Stone built them. They liked that the owners loved the homes Living Stone had built for them.
Mountain Rustic Modern Home – Award Winner!
Ten years in a Living Stone home and still thrilled
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.
Ava Simon for the Sefcik’s!
“I don’t know why someone would not choose Living Stone to build their home. It is such a polished production that gives you a polished complete finish. You have no doubt that the product you have is the house you dreamed of!” Rich Sefcik
Custom Rockcliff for the Heartz
Bill and Rebecca Heartz got everything they wanted in the house that Living Stone Construction built for them. They live in a 4,200-square-foot, three-bedroom house in Southcliff, a luxury community in Fairview that is a 10-minute drive from downtown Asheville. “We wanted a casual house with an elegance to it, sort of a mountain retreat. We feel that we really achieved that,” Rebecca said. “Our home is a very calming place. We’re up in the trees. We get up in the morning and hear the birds sing and look out at the mountains.”
The Transitional Craftsman for George and Stanlee
It’s special, it’s wonderful and I keep pinching myself because I cannot believe that this is our home. Living Stone Construction, headed by Sean Sullivan more than met our expectations. They hit a grand slam out of the ball park. This house is amazing!
The Jones’ Story – The Japalachian
Living Stone Construction homeowners Jim and Susan Jones fell in love with Asheville years ago while visiting their daughter, a student at UNC Asheville. The Joneses were living in Greensboro at the time, where Jim had a Chevrolet dealership. He was developing a luxury apartment community there when he and Susan decided to move to the mountains in 2010.
They found a steep lot in The Settlings of Black Mountain, and then found Living Stone Construction. The Joneses asked company president Sean Sullivan to advise them about building on the slope, “and we got to know him and we became friends,” Jim said. “We saw everything Sean built, and that gave us confidence. This is the second custom home we’ve built, so we know how hard it is to find a good builder.”
A Custom Alexis for the Marecki’s
“We built this home from a remote location so we had to put a lot of faith in Frank the Superintendent, Sean of Living Stone, and Laura the designer, to make sure they were building this home to our specifications and to meet our needs. Frankly I have to admit I was extremely impressed. I don’t think they missed anything and they exceeded our expectations.” – Mitch Marecki
The Levine’s Custom Petite Alexandra
“The process of design/build and creating something that is so energy efficient is a miracle to me. Sean has a way of putting things together so that we get the product that we want and then he puts together the quality product that he knows he can build.” Dr Steve Levine. “We found Sean to be a man of his word, honorable and he takes such pride in his work.” Cheryl Levine
Custom design/build for the Ackerman/Stahls
“Design/build is an outstanding approach and the implementation of it was just amazing. We had very high expectations based on Sean’s reputation and what we had seen. And they were exceeded.” George Ackerman
Dr and Mrs Chu
We needed a top notch team to do this renovation smoothly from long distance and Living Stone delivered in spades. We are thrilled with our results and glad we trusted Living Stone with our home. Many thanks to Sean, Frank and the Living Stone Team. Luis and Nikki Chu
Jim and Susan Jones
We chose Living Stone because of Sean but we love Living Stone because of their team. Molly, Matt, Pam, John, Frank, Laura and our main man Mike! Mike drives our home’s construction, can answer any question at a level you can understand and is a pleasure to work with. Mike Bates who is, as far as Susan and I are concerned, is a national treasure! Mike has been a rockstar throughout the construction of our home with Living Stone. He is that rare individual who combines awesome technical skill (he knows every sub’s job as well as they do) with great communication skills, an immense passion for each of his projects and unflappable calm. If this description sounds over the top I was just thinking it doesn’t come close to praising him enough. Laura, with ID.ology, organizes and improves all of our design decisions, gives us inspiration and keeps everything on track. Sean, it is a credit to you that you have surrounded yourself with so many truly good people. We are having a ball! Jim and Susan Jones
The Bonesteel Family
In the midst of a very painful and stressful loss of our home from a fire, the Living Stone team efficiently and creatively crafted a new home for us that we love. From demolition to design to construction Sean, Jason, Frank, Laura with ID.ology and all the sub contractors went above and beyond to build a home that is both imaginative and practical for our family. We are grateful. The Bonesteels
The Pinkerton Family
It has been a pleasure working with LSC. They have been a wonderful team to work with and our new house is amazing! Mike Bates was an excellent leader on our project. We were pleased with everyone who helped us throughout the process from Laura with IDology to all the subs who did great work. We are happy to be enjoying our new porch for the first time as we write this! Lori Pinkerton
Dr. Thiemkey
“In working with Living Stone we witnessed an excellent and thorough estimate, honesty and reliability, superb workmanship, fantastic communication and an all around great job! We would build with Living Stone again as well as refer them.” Dr. Bill Thiemkey. Dr. Thiemkey’s addition won Best Addition for the NCHBA Stars Awards for the entire state!
Designer Review
Living Stone has become a cutting edge institution in design and construction excellence that inspires many others to likewise emulate your example. But examples of excellence to aspire to may best be absorbed and appreciated in smaller doses. Living Stone has always set the tone of excellence combined with sincere humbleness and humility which is highly regarded in the community and among competitors who continue to applaud Living Stone’s achievements. Sue Lamm, Interior Designer