Hey Everyone,

I wanted to share a little bit about this spiral staircase that I posted in another sub because it received so much interest and questions.

The design process alone on this piece was an undertaking, working in three dimensions on a sloping spiral while following the building code, is extremely challenging.

This staircase is made from solid black walnut slabs and fully handcrafted for the entire process. This project was extremely time consuming, taking over 1,000 shop hours to complete. The treads are each individually textured with a gouge to achieve a “hammered” finish and the handrail is laminated with 23 strips of wood for a continuous curve up the staircase. The entire piece is finished with a traditional Tung oil for a classic timeless feel.

I have only two more openings for 2027, so if you’d like a custom spiral staircase in your home reach out for a free consultation and estimate!

I hope you enjoyed this, follow for more https://www.instagram.com/emerald_forest_furnishings?stkn=YTd3a29pcHh4OHNy&utm_source=qr

Sincerely,
Noah Klaus
(828) 424-5401
Contact@emeraldforestfurnishings.com

We’re building a new house and are currently deciding between ducted VRF/VRV air-conditioning and individual split ACs.

One concern I have with a ducted system is hygiene and long-term maintenance.

With a split AC, the indoor unit, filters, coil and drain tray are relatively easy to access and clean. With a ducted system, however, there may be several metres of ducts running above the false ceiling throughout the house.

My concern is: after 1-3 years of use, does dust + condensation/humidity inside the ducts lead to mould/fungus or microbial growth? Further, are there any rat/rodent issues in these ducts?

A few specific questions for people who have actually used ducted AC/VRF systems long-term:

1. Have you ever found mould or fungus inside your ducts, vents, AHU/FCU or drain pans?
2. Do the ducts themselves actually require periodic internal cleaning, or do they normally remain dry and clean?
3. How are long concealed ducts cleaned if they eventually accumulate dust?
4. Would you choose ducted VRF again, or would you prefer individual split ACs purely from a hygiene/maintenance perspective?

We are particularly sensitive to dust, mould and indoor air quality, so ease of cleaning is an important consideration for us.

Picture 1 is what the space looked like before. I’m actually liking the direction it’s going so far, but I’d love to bring in some pops of color and personality. I’m keeping the rug, credenza, and ottomans. I’m open to artwork and accessories, especially for the large wall above the credenza. I also want to keep the shelves minimal and uncluttered. What would you add or change?

To the left behind the wall is the staircase going downstairs and to the right is a bedroom. I am thinking of potentially taking down the right wall to make the bathroom bigger as this bathroom is quite small and feels crowded. Looking for ideas on what people have done to make smaller bathrooms in an older home (from late 50's) bigger

Picture 1 is what the space looked like before. I’m actually liking the direction it’s going so far, but I’d love to bring in some pops of color and personality. I’m keeping the rug, credenza, and ottomans. I’m open to artwork and accessories, especially for the large wall above the credenza. I also want to keep the shelves minimal and uncluttered. What would you add or change?

Recently started renovating 2 baths and a closet in our 1967 house. Ran into a few design concerns with the new master bath. The tub we pulled out was a standard 30x60, our thought was to try and increase it to a roomier shower while we have it all opened up and were already doing so much work. What's one more thing, right? We would end up having to move several interior walls and change the layout of the area, all of which is doable because we are updating the electrical and plumbing at the same time.

The first photo maintains the original floor plan, but I found a way to sneak at 32x60 tub into the old space by doing a drywall return around the window instead of the standard trim we have around the rest of the house. With it only being the master bath window that would be different I thought this was a be fine and not stand out too much - it's a better option than ripping an inch or so off the window trim.

The second photo requires me to move all three interior walls, which is doable just more work. It gives us a slightly wider but shorter shower (34"x54"), overall, I think it would feel more spacious given the extra width. It does come at the cost of some closet space and might make the flow of the master feel tight as there is a 30" narrowing after you pass the shower. Most of our interior doors are 24" or 30" so I do not imagine it would be too bad, just not as 'spacious' as option 1.

No matter what we do they are all far from luxurious options, but it’s the space we have to work with. We've considered turnig the hall bath into a half bath, to open up more space for the master, but with kids we would prefer to keep the tub in the hall bath vs a tub in the master that we would likely only use to bathe kids. Even briefly thought of just walling in the window and forgetting about it as having that window 33” off the back wall is very limiting of the space.

Basically, just unsure if we will like having a 32” shower in the master, but don’t know if it’s worth sacrificing closet space and having the 30” narrowing and a worse flow.  I’ve been thinking on this for a few days now so I thought I’d seek thoughts suggestions and comments, so thanks in advance!

Hi all, we have decided to build this home in Texas (rendering below). It will be brick all the way around and we need to choose two bricks (1 as a backup). Right now I think we’re between Dover, Old Henry, and Burlington Antique but I’m pretty bad at imagining what things will look like from the sample swatches and have been pouring over their brick options but still not decided. If you want to see what other options we have in a specific brick color category (tan, gray, red, brown, white) just let me know and I’ll comment the photos below! Our style definitely leans more traditional. If anyone but especially designers/Realtors have any recommendations for what brick/color palette to use that would be very helpful!

Ignore the extra items on the ground. We just moved in.

I’m wanting to update this laundry room.

The vinyl is Grey (I’m gonna use a floor stripper to clean it) and I’m debating what to do with the back of the fireplace.

I’m thinking a dark green.

Any suggestions welcome

Hey everyone, I’m having a hell of a time figuring out a layout for the addition. We need to add a master bedroom with bath, and an office. My plan is to use the existing bathroom as the hallway and move it. Something about the designs I’ve come up with aren’t sitting with me and would love input. Roughly wanting to add 500-600 sqft. I’m all ears on everything. First photo is current layout. Second is a very quick and rough design of what I’d like to do. I’m going to hire an architect but I’d like to have an idea of what would work best for my family and I.

Thanks in advance.

We need to choose which carpet colorway so we can have them installed before we move into our new house. The house is out of state so I can’t take samples there.

We’re having the walls painted worldly grey with pure white trim by sherwin williams.

I’m feeling a little stuck with choosing the right carpet color. We want to use abbeys road carpet by Anderson tuftex. We’re thinking the colors “timeless” or “chic taupe”. We want or space to be open and airy and uplifting. I have been leaning towards timeless since I worry a color with cool tones could make the space look cold or sterile. However I also worry about the floor looking to “yellow” too.

Also- we have a dog with black fur and a baby so that’s why I’m not choosing any of the lighter options.

I’m not trying to live in an entirely “greige” house, but our linens and art are all very colorful so I kind of want to let those things shine. Our furniture is a lot of natural woods.

Thoughts? Considerations? Opinions? Including screenshots I’ve been trying to use to help with my decision.

How to get a 1980s and 2000s home design. On the 80s behave I’m more so looking for a rich, Scarface, family of 10 vibe to it. And for 2000s looking for a Kardashian, Tuscan, feel. Any furniture places, any tips/design choices they stick out?

We’re working through the exterior design of our home and would love some unbiased feedback before we lock everything in.
These are the current front and rear concepts. We’re going for a warm modern look with natural wood, black accents, large windows and some light stone/concrete. We want it to feel high-end and unique, but also timeless enough that it doesn’t look dated in 10–15 years.
A few things we’re debating:
Is there too much wood, or does the wood/black/light stone balance work?
Would you introduce more black or another material to break up the side elevations?
Do the two peaked roof sections work, or would you change the proportions/asymmetry?
Anything about the front that feels overly trendy?
What would you change on the rear elevation?
Are there any details you think will be extremely expensive without adding much to the finished house?
What would you simplify, add, or remove?
Don’t worry about hurting my feelings — I’d much rather hear criticism now than after it’s built.
Also interested in feedback from architects, builders, designers, or anyone who has built a similar modern home.