We read a really interesting article a few days ago about a man named Mark Ellison. In the first paragraph, he was staring at a ceiling, trying to figure out how to marry a barrel vault to a groin vault. This sounds technical, and they are certainly specific architectural terms, but it meant that he was trying to make a patch of ceiling with a very specific sort of curve with another patch of ceiling with a very different sort of curve. Ellison, you see, is a master carpenter, and one reason that he stays busy is his ability to hear an idea or see something on paper and turn it into something completely unique with some wood and nails.
What struck us about Ellison’s story was the breadth of his creativity and the fact that most of his work is in New York City. His blank slate was often a 100-year-old brownstone. From the outside, they looked like most everything else residential in the Big Apple. When he let loose inside, the homes became a showcase for his craft and a true expression of the personality of the owners.
We love projects like that.
Many of the custom homes that we build are located in rising or established neighborhoods. We sometimes work with a client whose dreams are restricted by a covenant or homeowners association.
None of these things mean, however, that your custom home cannot have a unique and eye-catching curb appeal. Your home can stand out while fitting the aesthetic of the surrounding properties.
And sometimes, like with this house, opening the front door reveals what the owner has dreamed of.
