Inside Bent Creek Studio: board-formed concrete walls under a long roof light, with steel-framed doors open to a gravel garden
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Asheville · 2023 · Renovation

Bent Creek Studio

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The home

a place to make things

A disused workshop turned into a light-filled studio and guest room.

Size
1,400 ft²
Built in
7 months
Delivered
On schedule
Project
Renovation

An illustrative home. Its story shows the kind of work we do.

Before → after

Same walls, new light.

Bent Creek Studio after the renovation: the old workshop as a studio under a long roof lightBefore · 2022After · 2023

Drag to compare the workshop before and after.

A tall studio under a long north-facing roof light
01

The studio

One high room under a north light, steady enough for painting all day.

Ash shelving and a workbench against a board-formed concrete wall
02

The workbench wall

Ash shelving and a long bench, built along the old concrete wall.

The challenges

What made this one hard.

  • Problem

    A concrete roof too weak for a new opening.

    Solution

    A steel ring beam spreads the load, so the roof light could run almost the length of the room.

  • Problem

    A cold, damp shell with no insulation.

    Solution

    We insulated on the inside, behind the shelving, so the board-formed walls could stay bare.

The disused workshop as found, dim and empty
The workshop as found
The roof light frame being craned into place
Roof light going in, month 4
A small guest bedroom behind a sliding ash screen
03

Guest room

A small bedroom and shower room behind a sliding ash screen.

A gravel garden with a bench outside the studio
04

The yard

The old loading yard, now a gravel garden with a bench in the sun.

The renovation · 7 months

The renovation

  1. Fit
  2. Pre-construction
  3. Build
  4. Keys
  • The workshop cleared out
    Month 1
  • The steel ring beam in place
    Month 3
  • Ash shelving being fitted
    Month 5
  • The finished studio in afternoon light
    Month 7

Planned 7 months · Actual 7 months · 2 change orders, each approved within 2 working days

Maya’s easel under the north light
“I can work here from first light to last without switching a lamp on.”
Maya Lindqvist · Painter · moved in 2023
Best part
The north light.
Surprised by
How much of the old workshop stayed.
Would I again?
Yes. The house is next.

Materials

Concrete · Ash · Glass

  • ConcreteBoard-formed walls, left honest.
  • AshBenches, shelving and doors.
  • GlassA new north-facing roof light.

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