Asheville Interior Design: A Glamorous Gilded Age Home Transformation
Before & After: Town Mountain Home Redesigned with Art Deco Flair
An elegant home perched on the side Town Mountain with gorgeous sunset views of downtown Asheville needed a major design overhaul. Rooms were sectioned off, making the house feel cramped despite the over 6,000 square feet of living space. The homeowners wanted the inside to feel both luxurious and comfortable, a place they could entertain guests, with interior spaces that would stand up to the jaw-dropping city views.
Style boards were created that leaned heavily on the gilded age of the 1920s with luxurious stone materials, rich colors, drippy glass and gold accents. It was the perfect inspiration for a home overlooking the Asheville skyline, a town whose heyday centered around that same pre-Depression time period. The elegance of that golden era was offset with functional furniture that beckon guests to lounge with a good book sipping a Hemingway Dacquiri.
Entry and Sitting Room
A crammed front entrance and formal sitting room were transformed by removing the wall that blocked the front door to the rest of the open living area. The ceiling was opened to the upstairs sitting room, allowing dramatic light from an art-deco-inspired chandelier to filter between both floors. The resulting open and airy environment encourages conversation and engagement.
Sitting & Dining View
The dated open-concept dining and living room were updated by clearly defining the two spaces. Elegant barrel-shaped swivel chairs were grouped around a marble and gold table to flank the original fireplace. A metal and marble etagere divided the living from the dining which was framed by gilded wallpaper on the ceiling, trimmed in stained wood that mirrors the radial herringbone of the table underneath.
Guest Room
Personality was infused into this blah guest room making it seem like it was part of the original home design. Framed art deco wallpaper was trimmed in walnut stained wood to create a dramatic backdrop to this gilded guest room. Luxurious bedding, inlayed wood side tables and multiple seating areas invite guests to work and lounge in their own private space with views of the downtown skyline.
Primary Bath
The existing primary bathroom suite was gutted and started from scratch. From the herringbone tile floors to the 1920s crystal and gold chandelier, this space was designed with luxury in mind. The oversized floating vanity was painted a serene blue and then finished with rich marble countertops and formed the frame to built in smart mirrors complete with lighting, iPad integration and inset magnification. A soaking tub with a view of the back yard and a two-person steam shower complete this elegant bathroom.
Office
This bare-bone room previously lacked warmth and character. We layered textures to create a cozy nook in which even the family pet wants to hide away. The thick blue and cream rug grounds the room while a soft velvet sofa, wood stump side tables and tonal drapery add a refined contrast to the client’s modern sculptural art.
TV Room Sitting area
A family sitting room was converted into an elegant TV room by washing the walls in deep gray and adding a custom black and white marble checkboard tile floor. A functional glass coffee table allows the floor to take center stage in this dramatic room with views of downtown Asheville out the French doors.
Rec Room Pool Table
What a difference a coat of paint can create in a room! From bland to dramatic by drenching the walls in a deep teal paint color. Update the stools to a custom art-deco print, add a statement chandelier and viola, a game room everyone wants to hang out in.
Rec Room Entertainment Center
We kept the same deep teal paint on the walls on this side of the Rec Room and created a wood feature wall behind the TV. Some of the client’s existing furniture was mixed with new custom pieces to create a stylish lounge that could withstand a crowd without worrying about feet on the furniture.
Living Room redesign
The original layout of this upstairs den was confusing. A large, elevated stage was in one corner, a forgotten cabinet in another, with a free-standing fireplace in the middle. The result was a chaotic room that distracted from the view of the mountains and downtown Asheville out the large window.
The first order of business was to remove the stage and open up the floor to the foyer below. The new opening was surrounded by art deco wrought iron and now overlooks a jaw-dropping crystal chandelier and the dramatic dark wood front entrance. The opposite side of the room was then used to create a speakeasy-style bar backlit with gilded tile and a built-in gas fireplace, complete with two layers of tile framing the inset TV. A game table with comfortable swivel chairs frames the window views, and a curved leather couch invites guests to sit in front of the fire with a drink from the bar.
From chaotic to cohesive, we took a confused space and made it both useful and stylish.
