05/19/2026
For most people, an old building is just that: an old building. For Sean Perry, it’s a conversation across centuries.
Sean has spent decades uncovering what lies beneath the surface of some of the city’s oldest structures — layers of wallpaper, salvaged heart pine, worn stair treads and the stories they carry. His latest featured project, a 1925 bungalow in north Asheville, is only the most recent chapter in a career defined by celebrating, learning from and honoring the work of craftsmen who came before.
“So many people have lived in these homes, so many generations have passed through,” Sean said. “Those are considerations that I have when working on historic properties — a respect for generations of people.”
That perspective was shaped in large part by a project Sean and the team completed in 2015: the renovation of the upper two floors of 37 Biltmore Ave., widely regarded as one of downtown Asheville’s oldest remaining commercial buildings. Dating to approximately 1845, the building has housed a grocery, a furniture company and, at the time, was the home of Doc Chey’s Noodle House prior to its closure in 2016.
The firm’s work was extensive: They significantly reframed portions of the roof structure, replaced the building’s historic steel windows with energy-efficient replicas matching the original streetscape appearance, and built out three or four residential units across the two floors. Most crucially, they bolted the building back together structurally — work Sean describes as incredibly satisfying.
👉 Learn more about the history uncovered during the renovation, the salvaged materials and their new purposes, and leaving notes for future generations in this interview with Sean: seanperryinc.com/news/hands-on-history
