Painting in Montford.
Montford was its own town from 1893 to 1905 before Asheville annexed it. Cumberland Avenue used to be called Sondley Street, and the Queen Annes that line it were built around 1895. Then Richard Sharp Smith, the supervising architect of the Biltmore Estate, moved in and designed seventy-plus Arts and Crafts bungalows here. The result is a National Register Historic District with more than 600 contributing buildings from 1890 to 1920.
Painting in Montford is real prep, not surface work. Most homes have layers of lead paint that need encapsulation, the historic district has a color-approval process that takes paperwork, and the bracket-and-spindle trim on these Queen Annes needs careful detail restoration. Period-correct palette matching is a regular request, and yes, we paint the porch ceilings haint blue when the homeowner asks for it.
What we see on Montford homes.
Common home styles
1890s Queen Annes along Cumberland Avenue, Richard Sharp Smith Arts and Crafts bungalows, 1900s–1920s shingle-style cottages, and the 600-plus contributing buildings of the National Register Historic District.
Popular projects
Historic exterior repaint with district color approval, lead-safe pre-1978 prep, bracket and spindle trim restoration, porch ceiling repaint in haint blue, and interior plaster prep on original walls.
Climate & prep considerations
Spring pollen coats everything in Montford from March through May, so we avoid exterior painting in that window. Blocks affected by Helene need full moisture testing before any primer goes on. Mountain humidity means premium mildew-resistant primers on every exterior job.