Project: Downtown Asheville Apartment
Architects: Samsel Architects (now Altura Architects )
Location: Asheville, North Carolina, United States
Year 2015
Area: 1160 ft2
Photography: Todd Crawford
This downtown apartment is a modern renovation in a historic Asheville building from 1905. Our design delivers a welcoming new home for the client, as well as for his extensive art collection. As both an artist and collector, the homeowner wanted a space that was not only comfortable to live and create in, but also one that provided the ideal setting for his diverse art collection. We met this challenge by incorporating thoughtful illumination and a sensible color palette.
The original, cramped apartment floor plan was opened up and expanded to give the space a gallery-like atmosphere. The new space allowed for an added bathroom and bedroom. One of the bedrooms will be used as a painting studio. Modern lighting, primarily LED, was introduced to effectively light the art and the overall space. In the kitchen are custom suspended stainless steel shelves designed to provide uplighting for art objects as well as down lighting for the countertops.
The color palette was selected to be subtle with punches of color. The walls, trim and interior doors are all off-white as a neutral backdrop for art. The exterior door, a bright modern hue of red, is surrounding by the historic granite exterior walls. The bright blue base cabinets delineate the hierarchy of the kitchen space, and provide a “pop” in the center of the neutral surroundings.
