This event typically draws over 10,000 visitors from Greater Ann Arbor — including Chelsea, Dexter, Grass Lake, Manchester, Milan, Saline, Ypsilanti and beyond. The show is a unique opportunity to discover local remodeling and home & garden resources. Bring your questions and meet contractors and service owners personally to help advance your home and garden dreams. Builders, landscapers, garden suppliers and lifestyle enhancement providers await you.
Admission is $5 at the door for attendees who do not have a free ticket or admission pass. All we ask is that you stop by the Acheson Builders booth and introduce yourself. (You’ll find us in the main building, right side. We’ll be the ones with the custom cabinetry and wall panel of featured projects! )
Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds is at 5055 Ann Arbor-Saline Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48103 — Directions/Map (opens in new window) — Located between Ellsworth and Textile Rd. about 2.5 miles southwest of I-94.
This event typically draws over 8,000 visitors from Greater Ann Arbor — including Chelsea, Dexter, Grass Lake, Manchester, Milan, Saline, Ypsilanti and beyond. It features examples of local remodeling and home & garden resources — plus a chance to meet remodelers in person.
Get your questions ready and stop by the Acheson Builders booth at the next Home, Garden & Lifestyle Show — currently scheduled for March 20-21, 2021!
Dining room’s recessed indirect lighting and many windows reveal Acheson Builders’ attention to detail in wall, ceiling, and floor finishes.
Custom Kitchen Cabinets and Island by Acheson Builders — photo: Detroit Free Press
Construction crane being positioned by Acheson Builders crew for framing and roofing phase of restoration.
This event typically draws over 8,000 visitors from Greater Ann Arbor — including Chelsea, Dexter, Grass Lake, Manchester, Milan, Saline, Ypsilanti and beyond. It features many examples of local remodeling and home & garden resources.
Admission is $5, with kids 12 and under free. As always, Acheson Builders is pleased to offer you gratis admission coupons — get into the show free! All we ask is that you stop by the Acheson Builders booth and introduce yourself. (You’ll find us in the main building, right side. We’ll be the ones with the custom cabinetry and wall panel of featured projects! ) Download this PDF for printing — and we’ll be seeing you at the event!
Dining room’s recessed indirect lighting and many windows reveal Acheson Builders’ attention to detail in wall, ceiling, and floor finishes.
Custom Kitchen Cabinets and Island by Acheson Builders — photo: Detroit Free Press
Construction crane being positioned by Acheson Builders crew for framing and roofing phase of restoration.
This most fascinating older home on Ann Arbor’s “Old West Side” embodied several eras of style:
A Greek Revival settlement-era original from the 1840s, combined with a mid 19th century (1860s or 1870s) practical-but-poorly-built addition, a showy 1890s Victorian era addition, and a 1970’s update on the cheap.
While possessing lots of charm in the details, and a lovely front elevation, the home was awkward and limiting to live in.
CREATIVE, THOUGHTFUL DESIGN SOLUTIONS BY THE ACHESON BUILDERS TEAM
Acheson Builders’ design team (l-r): Kimble Wright, Lauren Schaefers, Jim Acheson
Renovation ideas from two different designers hadn’t met the owner’s goals, before the Acheson design team was called in. Creative problem solving, attentive listening, and abundant experience enabled the Acheson team to meet both the homeowner’s goals and local Historic District requirements, as well as Acheson Builders’ high standards of functionality, refinement, and classical esthetics. Relocating and improving the main stairs (see below) turned out to be one of the keys in re-configuring this home to meet a growing family’s needs, and this stairway became an elegant focal point for the newly created foyer area by the front door.
RENOVATIONS INCLUDED:
Graceful and sophisticated custom staircase
Gorgeous walnut flooring throughout main floor, tying in to original
Addition (partially two story) encompassing new Kitchen, Dining and Family Rooms
Newly created bedroom space on second floor, with enlarged 2nd floor bath
Loads of classy custom cabinetry and custom built-ins and unique storage in Kitchen, Family Room, and bedrooms
Interesting ceiling lines and custom mouldings add great charm
Circular stairway to lower level; wall displays some original 1840’s stonework
Fully finished bright Basement with bedroom
MAIN STAIRWAY: DRAMATIC BEFORE AND AFTER!
DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
The original stairs from the 1840s Greek Revival part of the home went up to a second floor which was formerly a large sleeping loft, with no original partitions and no bathroom (they used outhouses back then).
The stairs were incredibly steep and unsafe — with tall risers, narrow treads. and barely 24” of width so that a broad shouldered man would have to go up the stairs at an angle.
The home’s living room was located right inside the front door. It had no coat closet nor enclosed vestibule to block the winter cold. It was also a major pass‐through room to get to all other points in the home. As you can imagine, it was a very awkward location for a living room. By placing the new stairway in this area, these main stairs became part of a newly created foyer space, and the back three‐quarters of the home was then freed up on both levels to reconfigure for more functionally pleasing living spaces on both floors.
Related: AB in the Houzz: The architecture & home improvement website, Houzz, has featured Acheson Builders!
What’s Houzz . . . ?
[Source: See Wikipedia’s entry for Houzz . . . ] Houzz is a web site and online community about architecture, interior design and decorating, landscape design and home improvement. The Houzz platform and mobile apps feature interior and exterior home photos, articles written by architects, interior designers and home design experts, product recommendations, and a user forum. The company was founded in 2009 and is based in Palo Alto, California.
Acheson Builders recently completed a major kitchen remodeling project for us. They work very hard to avoid surprises (some surprises are inevitable when remodeling an older house) and to stay within budget. The quality of the design and the work itself are exceptional. We are very pleased with the results.
Jim and Marilyn Acheson are great people to work with and the men who worked on our project, Kevin and Ben, are terrific people whom we would welcome into our house any time.
This most recent project is the third time (over a period of about thirty years in three different houses) that we have worked with Jim on a kitchen remodeling project. We have never been less than satisfied.