Living Stone Construction featured in NC Design

It’s interesting how the most challenging projects also turn out to also be the most rewarding. This two-year labor of love presented Asheville builder Sean Sullivan with numerous challenges, but ultimately Sean’s company, Living Stone Construction, achieved spectacular and award-winning results.


This home won the National Association of Home Builders Gold BALA Award (Best in American Living) for Whole House Renovation. The accolades don’t end there. It also won a North Carolina Home Builders Association STARS award for Best Whole House Renovation in the state. 

The homeowners, MJ Bertsch and Melanie Furimsky, wanted to transform their existing Lake Lure house into a cozy lakeside retreat, and they came to Sean. “The house was really dated and in pretty bad shape,” he said. “We ended up tearing the structure down and building a new house from the existing foundation.”

Sean faced obstacles from the word go. “The home is on a steep slope that leads down to the lake, he explained. “Steep slopes are always a challenge. It’s also very difficult to build in the town of Lake Lure. There are a lot of stringent regulations from county and town municipalities. It took about 6 months just to get approvals.” The next challenge was replacing the sea wall. “We had to time the replacement to coincide with the lowering of the lake’s water level, which the town does periodically during the winter.”

To read more details and view photos of the finished product, visit NC Design