DREAMING LITTLE

Before you reach out to a builder, architect, or realtors, it’s imporatnt to spend some time thinking about and researching the following topics to form a rough idea of what and where you’re looking to build.

Location

Western North Carolina is a vast geographic region offering a variety of options, including remote mountain areas, small town communities, suburban neighborhoods, and city living. To help narrow down your search, you might consider factors such as proximity to schools, shopping, and entertainment, as well as access to outdoor recreational activities. Elevation is an especially important factor to consider, that may help you in ruling large areas in or out of consideration. Communities above 4,000 feet in elevation typically experience vastly different winter weather than those below 3,500. This article and this map may be helpful in providing an overview of the WNC area. A relocation guide from Explore Asheville may also be a helpful tool – request a guide here.

While Asheville is the most widely known city in Western North Carolina, there are dozens of unique and beautiful towns and communities across WNC.

This home is located at the Farm at Mills River, a gated community near the Asheville Airport. With a pool and expansive outdoor living space, this home was situated to take in the mountain view.

The “Rocky Branch RIGHT Cottage” was built near downtown Asheville, and designed to look as though it had been there as long as the historic neighboring properties.

Located on historic OPPOSITE Kimberly Avenue, this whole-home remodel allowed for a complete re-imagining of the kitchen into a bright and spacious gathering area.

Home Size

A rough idea of the size of home you’re looking to build (within 500 square feet or so), makes a huge difference in a builder’s ability to provide insight and feedback when you reach out regarding building. Think about the amount of heated square footage you would like, but also how much outdoor or unheated square footage you would like (covered porches, three-season rooms, etc). Also consider the number of bedrooms and bathrooms you might need. It’s okay if you’re not sure, or if you might like to have an area of the home (like the basement or a bonus room) that could be finished to add more living space later. Just a rough idea of your needs helps your potential builder see the

Located just beyond the living room at the Southern ABOVE

Living Idea House is this cozy and light-filled seating area.

Balancing open-concept spaces with OPPOSITE cozy, quiet areas was achieved in this home with spaces like this, the living room, adjoining spaces like the above, and the nearby library.

Built for a large family, this laundry room needed space for two washers and dryers.