You’ll enjoy viewing  our new Slide Show, prepared for the Home, Garden and Lifestyle exhibit. Click here: Acheson Builders

Acheson Builders display 3-2010

Acheson Builders displayed a booth for the first time this past weekend, in the Home Garden and Lifestyle trade show at the Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds, sponsored by the Builders & Remodelers Association of Greater Ann Arbor .  Over 5000 people attended, and Jim Acheson and I (Marilyn Acheson) thoroughly enjoyed meeting many new friends, as well as greeting some of our loyal past clients and associates who came to visit our booth.  It really was fun and exciting – and I loved showing off Jim’s handiwork and design ability.

Jim Acheson designed and created (with the help of our fine craftsmen) a beautiful maple and walnut paneled wall to display photo enlargements from some of our projects.  In addition, we designed and built a custom desk with granite top, attaching to a short paneled wall to match the tall one.  We also built some beautiful triangular matching wood flower stands.  All of this was custom designed by Jim Acheson, with special curved molding, both concave and convex, and unique accents of walnut wood, finished with a clear water-based acrylic to allow the light and dark colors of the wood to shine through.

We also displayed a kiosk with 4 panels, pictorially telling the stories of two before and after case studies, one passive solar home, as well as our unique design-build process. Many people were impressed by our process laid out so clearly in this format.

We’re looking forward to working with some new clients and showing how we  are  a great choice for their remodeling projects: our owner, Jim Acheson, with 37 years of experience, personally oversees and is involved from start to finish in making sure our clients have a remarkable experience in working with us, and we promise to stay on schedule and on budget to the very best of our ability.  Just listen to audio testimonials of prior clients – and you will see!

Jim Acheson, Owner, at the Home & Garden show, March 2010

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I love puzzles.

They always teach me good life lessons.

Like this one, a Van Gogh Starry Night painting, that I got from my son for Christmas. (That I am still working on!!!)

I am learning all kinds of things with this one.

Like perseverance, diligence, self control. (I have to limit myself to a couple of pieces a day. That means I’ll be done with all 1000 pieces by the end of 2010.)  (Well – the self control isn’t working that well.  Occasionally I get 4 or 5 pieces in a day.)

But I am learning.  One thing I have learned is that there can easily be a piece or two out of place, and it can look like it works just fine.  I’m an artist – I could have painted it that way.  However, I am not Van Gogh, Van Gogh was thinking differently than me.  So many times, I find I have put two or more pieces in the wrong place.  In this puzzle, there are very few variations in shape, so many can “fit” in the wrong place.  You find out down the road that the rest of pieces aren’t going together that well.  Two pieces out of place can make a big difference.

It’s like life:  if there are a few pieces out of place, you don’t always find out until down the road a bit.  Like eating and exercise:  if you don’t have those pieces in the right place in your life, you may find yourself getting unhealthy and overweight.  Or like buying and charging things on credit cards:  you may find down the road that you really can’t afford to pay for all those things you purchased.    Scripture reading and prayer are two very important pieces in life – if you don’t have those in place, you will find your strength waning and your heart unfulfilled.  You may even find yourself in the WRONG place at the end of this life.

It’s true for construction too.  You want everything built on a solid foundation.  You want every piece to fit together properly – not only to fit tightly and look good now, but also to be done totally correctly so they the pieces look good together and last longer and hold up  beautifully over the long run.  That’s why hiring a really good and really experienced builder is so important.  For Acheson Builder experience is one of our great fortes. We specialize in  putting it all together in the right way, to provide the best looking and best possible outcome for your home.

Like pieces of a beautiful puzzle masterpiece.

We build relationships!  At Acheson Builders,  it’s not just about quality of construction or great design, although those are certainly of high priority. It’s about building a relationship with you – earning your trust – getting to know you and your needs, so that we can meet them with the best possible service and performance. Our clients become part of our “family” and we treat them with respect and genuine personal concern. We build long term relationships with our clients, so we can take care of their needs, as they come up. It’s not surprising then, that many of our clients call us for subsequent home improvement projects over the years. We love our clients!

Thinking about Valentine’s Day, besides thinking about all the family that I love, I think about how much we love and appreciate our clients.  I’d love to give each of you flowers!

Marilyn Acheson

Vice President