MansionOnTheHill in Fredericton

Our home is situated on a beautiful street in Fredericton, but the 1967 layout had become dated and sad. Rather than a quick touch-up, we had visions of a bold new design. Inspired by a tour of "Miller House" in Columbus, Indiana, we explained various requirements and design thoughts to this cutting-edge firm, owned by partners Stephen Kopp and Monica Adair. What they came back with blew us away: a design that completely opened up the plan, moved the dining room into part of what had been an isolated, plain living room, and created a flow from there, down to the "Conversation Pit" with a custom sofa and wood accents, flowing around the corner from there, to a stunning new kitchen. The entire back of the house was fitted with large windows, providing stunning views for all seasons. The former dining room became the "library," a sort of quiet anteroom that sits outside one of our offices. In addition to the design brilliance, Acre act as project managers, supervising the general contractor and bringing in appropriate craftspeople to address shelving, wood accents, couch, etc. Design detail is also a strength. Acre has in-house design expertise to work with the architects. Along the way, they listen to our wants and needs and design touches, without letting that get in the way of the overall boldness and coherence of the design. Function and flow are huge as well. They study how you live and how you want to live, and create designs in keeping with those human factors -- right down to the built-in outlets in the counter, the awesome breakfast bar with stools, and the improved front foyer. You don't get this outcome by hiring an interior designer and/or a general contractor willy-nilly. This is a unified, beautiful result that our guests invariably gasp at and marvel at when seeing the result for the first time. Cost was high, but not every element had to be dripping with luxury. We opted for high quality, but not lavish tile; practical but not lavish kitchen cabinets. Some of the design touches, like special lighting and table & chairs, could be purchased down the road, in order to defer cost. The cost we have listed here is only approximate. Use your imagination.

Our new dishwasher couldn't be installed because the previous installation had improper plumbing setup. Leachmans executed the changes in a prompt, direct, and friendly manner. We also had a winter shutoff tap installed for the external water tap and got good advice on some related concerns.

OK, we admit it... when it comes to art galleries we are tire kickers. It's a pleasant pastime to walk through, view and consider different artists, new collections, etc. Anyway, this time around we took a bite of a nice piece from a local artist. Ingrid Mueller Art + Concepts is a Fredericton treasure. In a city of 60,000 you can use a little culture, eh? The gallery owner is active in promoting Atlantic Canadian original art, keeping things fresh with events and communications. The gallery is a pleasure to walk through and the owner can always be counted on for friendly and knowledgeable conversation. An oasis of calm and a great place to wander after your shopping at the Boyce Market on a Saturday!

Urban Almanac is not only a quaint general store full of snacks and small accessories, it is a full-service furniture store. Not one of the "big box" stores with a massive selection of unoriginal wares, but rather a design-savvy downtown showroom with knowledgeable and caring staff. Andrew, Susan and the other staff listened patiently as we chose the perfect piece for my home office with custom fabric. We've also purchased small things like bathroom accessories at this store. The tea stand at the exit is a nice touch if you like to linger or if your partner spends more time shopping than you! If you prefer Quality to Quantity, Urban Almanac is for you. But in fact the prices of many of the lines they carry are quite reasonable.