Featured Architectural Projects

Ava Carr's Portfolio

Below are a few examples of my projects. Every house, client, and site is different, so every solution is different. My goal is to use my experience to combine your needs and desires with the constraints of your property, budget, and building codes to help you get your dream project started.

Additions

Second Floor Addition:

This project added 2 large bedrooms, a large closet and bath upstairs with a new stairway & laundry room downstairs. Very little of the existing house was impacted during the renovation and the client lived in the house for all but one month of the process.

Before: The clients needed to add space but did not want to sacrifice what little yard they had so the solution was to add a second story.

After: The clients park behind their house so this side of the house serves as their main entry.

After Construction. The front of the house remained unchanged, and the addition is only seen from the street if paying close attention, which was what the clients wanted.

The expanded porch, construction was still in process and insect screen was installed.

Obscure glass was used in the stair windows to provide privacy and soften the view of the neighbor’s house while still admitting the southern light.

The stair opens into an existing 8′ wide room that was never very usable and will now serve as a mud room.

Small Space Addition:

Sometimes just adding a small space can change how your home feels and functions!

On this project the client wanted to enclose the existing small porch and remove the existing sliding glass doors. I suggested that they take advantage of an exception in zoning setback rules and cantilever 2’ past the existing porch framing to create a 10’ deep room. This extra space allowed for more furnishing options and the addition of more windows.

The new space is so nice the clients decided to place the office in an upstairs bedroom and use this space to relax. The sunny alcove transforms the entire main floor of the house!

Sun Room Addition:

Cozy Sun Room Addition in East Asheville.

The existing porch roof was extended and the existing porch floor structure was modified to keep the cost of the addition down.

Sunroom was created to replace existing porch.

Renovations

Kitchen Renovation:

I am not an interior designer and rely on you or your designer to pick finishes and colors. What I am good at is thinking outside the box and making the most out of the space you have. For this project I suggested removing the pantry on the left side of this tiny galley kitchen with cabinets, almost doubling the counter space in the kitchen. I also suggested that they add a row of cabinets below the wall opening to make a serving bar. This was done with standard wall cabinets set on a wood base. This serving counter is great for hospitality and is used daily.

New Homes

3 Level House With Workshop:

This project is a great example of one of the ways I can work with clients to help them make their dreams reality.

This client brought me his ideas for a home he planned to build for himself. I refined his ideas, suggested he cantilever the structure on the upper floors to create adequate space for the stair and rooms without increasing the building foundation size.

The client wanted a passive solar house and sent me the pictures shown, which demonstrate how the windows allow winter sun into the house and are shaded on the summer solstice.

The hours were low because the client came to me with a simple plan that was coordinated with the site. Images shown are the sketches the client created and the final floor plans.

My total time billed for this project was 23 hours.

Vacation Home Design:

I can now share 3D models with my clients in a cost effective way. Below is a 2 Bedroom 2 bath vacation home with a small office. I kept the structure and roof forms as simple as possible to keep cost low while still creating exciting living spaces that take advantage of the view to the south.

Current Work

Various Projects:

Description on the way…

"I needed an architect to convert my hand drawn house plans into a legal working set for permitting and building in Buncombe County. Although my drawings were extensively developed, Ava helped with some technical aspects of the design that I had not thought of. She suggested a cantilevered design that added extra interior floor space at very little extra cost. She helped me improve the circulation at the main set of stairs where my design was challenging due to spatial limitations. Ava has been available to answer questions and provide quick revisions when needed. In the end, I ended up with a wonderful home that is light filled, energy efficient, and site appropriate. Ava was an important part of our team during the construction process and I would not hesitate to bring her on for future projects."

Stacy Moore