BlackRock Construction Wins Prestigious 2019 Home & Garden Awards

BlackRock Construction has been awarded two 2019 Home and Garden Awards, including:

Best Luxury Residential Construction Project (Vermont): BirdsNest, Completed October 25, 2018

Building this home didn’t just start from the ground up, it began by blasting into rock on the side of a mountain to clear the 133 acres of raw land for a 7,200 square foot rustern (rustic-modern) home perched at 300 feet of elevation with 180 degree unobstructed views of the Green Mountains of Vermont. That was just the beginning. The property includes a 1900 foot winding road that leads to the home. The 133 acres includes over 4 miles of professional trails for cross-country skiing, hiking, snowshoeing, ATVing, mountain biking, and more. Two acres of land have been cleared and set aside for an organic crop field, including apple trees.

From the entrance of the home, you move into a great room with floor to ceiling windows with views of the mountains, without another home in site. The classic elegance of wood, with modern touches can be seen throughout, including western red CBG siding, CBG hemlock in the kitchen, to a stone fireplace, vaulted ceilings, rustic knotty cedar, and mortar stone joints. The home also features a interior wood-fire pizza oven, and a 1,000 foot wrap-around deck with a drop-in hot tub, and a gym.

Best Residential Design/Build Company – Vermont

BlackRock Construction is a company within a larger umbrella, Adam Hergenrother Companies. Collectively, Adam Hergenrother Companies is everything real estate. BlackRock Construction has the unique ability to partner with our sister companies to handle all the needs of a client or consumer from the first phone call, indefinitely. We not only create a wonderful experience for our clients during the home-building process, but we can help them sell a home with our sister company, Hergenrother Realty Group at KW Vermont.

We can assist them with a mortgage, years down the road, with a refinance, though another one of our sister company’s, KW Vermont’s in-office partnership with several lenders. We can handle any property management needs and connect our clients with the best resources around, with preferred client discounts. We even are able to help clients or consumers with their next career opportunity (yes, man clients have applied for jobs with our company, and if we don’t have the right opportunity for them, we career visioning them into their next best career move). We believe in developing clients and transforming lives by creating clients for life.

Whether it’s with a residential home or a commercial development project, we believe in capturing the timeless beauty of older homes with modern touches like exposed beams, combining various woods, blue stone accents, stone fireplaces, and wood-burning ovens. Our projects can be summed up in one word – Rustern (rustic-modern).

In addition, to our luxury home builds, BlackRock Construction has commercial projects in the works, including a $30 million senior care facility in Vermont whose campus will ultimately encompass a memory-care facility, townhomes, a 71-bed assisted-living facility and 20+ units of senior living known as Freedom Living Luxury Residences. A similar project is underway in Albany. In addition, BlackRock Construction is in the early stages of redeveloping a main street corridor that will ultimately include micro-apartment, efficiency-type units that allow for more freedom, flexibility, and affordability.

Kitchen backsplashes no longer to simply protect walls from spills and splatters. You now have a wide array of materials in a variety of price points to choose from. What is your kitchen style? Do you prefer a tile, wood or metal backsplash? Check out these five fabulous backsplash ideas that are affordable on any budget.

A popular choice for appliances and sinks is stainless steel. You can match these design details with an eye catching backsplash. Stainless steel is an inexpensive and attractive option for most kitchens. This modern look is heat and moisture resistant and easy to wipe clean.

Choose inexpensive beadboard for an easy DIY choice. It comes as plywood or fiberboard panels that can be easily painted. If you choose a contrasting paint color it will make a great statement and be a winning design detail.

Ceramic tile is a very common choice and for good reason. You can find tile in any style, color, pattern or shape. If you can dream it, they have probably made it. Ceramic tiles stand up to moisture, heat and are easy to wipe clean.

Mirror, mirror. Try a mirrored backsplash to add depth to the room. It is an unusual design that is not TOO out there. Mirrors are great light reflectors so this is a great option in a small or dark space.

Many of us want a bold splash of color. This is an easy care solution to just that. Back-painted glass comes in thousands of custom colors. It is a really beautiful design technique, bringing an artistic element into your space. Not to mention so easy to clean!

Create your own work of art! Hand-paint a mural or design on plain white ceramic tiles. Once the painting is complete, the tiles must be glazed and fired in a kiln to hold the paint. This backsplash may be a little more labor intensive but all in the name of custom interior design.

Whether you are designing your new home or updating your current kitchen get inspired with these clever kitchen backsplash ideas.

To learn more about BlackRock Construction, our team and what we can build for you contact 802.861.1120 or info@blackrockus.com.

BlackRock Construction Wins Four Categories at 39^th Annual Better Homes Awards

The 39^th Better Homes Award ceremony, were hosted this year on November 15^th at the UVM Davis Center in Burlington. The event was extremely well organized and thoughtful. The décor was tasteful, service was great and the food was delicious; I understand the cheesecake dessert was a crowd pleaser. Many small details were taken into consideration including a large screen behind the podium to project the winning project as the attendee accepting the award spoke. The awards themselves, handsome plaques were customized with an image from the winning project. Very classy.

BlackRock Construction proudly won four award for the best construction projects in the following categories: ‘New Kitchen 150 sq. ft. and Under’, ‘New Kitchen 151 sq. ft. and Over’, ‘New Single Family Home $174/sq. ft. and Under ‘and ‘New Single Family Home $175/sq. ft. – $275/sq. ft.’. All of the BlackRock Construction project entries are custom-built, custom-designed family homes. Each project was entered with careful consideration to be a solid representation of the quality of work that BlackRock offers to all its clients.

Tom Hergenrother, co-owner and residential construction manager of BlackRock Construction accepted the awards on behalf of the company. Hergenrother said, “This is a huge moment for BlackRock. There were so many quality builders represented at the Better Homes Awards, and we are thrilled to come out on top and have our team recognized for their hard work, dedication and passion for housing design.”

Hergenrother and the BlackRock leadership team acknowledge all of the subcontractors and suppliers who helped build the recognized homes, along with the photographers Nicolas Gentile and Joey Jones for capturing these projects so beautifully.

The Better Homes Awards is a longstanding tradition of The Home Builders & Remodelers Association of Northern Vermont. The Awards celebrate, recognize, and highlight fine Craftsmanship, excellence in housing design, architecture, interior design, landscaping, and remodeling.

To learn more about BlackRock Construction, our team and what we can build for you contact 802.861.1120 or info@blackrockus.com.

A key element to decorating a home is a mix of pattern, texture and color. For those of us that do not buy all our furniture at once but rather gather our furniture and décor as we go along. Furniture can be inherited, found and purchased in variety of styles and with a variety of wood finishes. Keep things interesting, allow your décor to steer away from the rather flat vision of matching wood floors and furniture finishes. Here are 5 great tips to making it work …

Consider the grain: Do your wood pieces have a grain? Pair pieces with similar grain pattern or size to create a pleasing visual in your room. Larger wood grains are more casual while smaller wood grains more elegant. Choose whoever suits you but stick with it.

Be aware of highlights and low-lights! Look carefully at the wood pieces you select for your home. Compare the undertones of movable furniture to your more stationary wood pieces, like the floor, and make sure they match regardless of the finish. Pair a dark wood table with a lighter wood floor, just be sure they share the same undertones. Wood finishes don’t need to match, but they should complement each other.

Embrace white: White paint and room features are a bit of magic when fitting multiple finishes into the same room. White and wood go together like peanut butter and jelly. A perfect pairing! Use white throughout the room to separate the finishes and create balance.

Be reasonable: Do not go crazy with a huge variety of wood finishes in your space, chose two or three types of finish and repeat these throughout the space. You want to live and entertain in a creative but not chaotic space.

Separate your woods: Use a rug or carpet to separate a wood table from a wood floor. This simple separation helps distract the eye from the differences in the wood and creates a great vignette.

There are no concrete rules for decorating, you should go with your gut … or your grain and create a living space that is appealing to you. Love the home you live in.

To learn more about BlackRock Construction, our team and what we can build for you contact 802.861.1120 or info@blackrockus.com.

Every house has a style. Some have two or more; due to renovations and new, eclectic mixes, fitting a home into one specific category can be tricky. “Throughout history, buildings have been pushed, pulled, poured and stretched into all sorts styles.” Architecture is truly a tangible reminder of evolving tastes and interests. Here are just a few of the many styles to choose from.

Townhouse – Mostly found in urban areas, the row house, more commonly known as the townhouse, became popular in the early 19th century due to limited space and the financial benefits for the architect and builder. Homes built in this style can be built quickly and on a smaller area of land. Row-house design is dictated by practicality; typically, they are two stories or more with a traditional layout, and a smaller outside space.

Craftsman – Craftsman style homes came out of the Arts and Crafts Movement. The emphasis is on natural materials such as wood, stone and brick. Expansive front porches and low-pitched roofs are commonly found with this style of home. Within the home an open floor plan often features built-in furniture, large fireplaces and exposed beams.

Contemporary – Contemporary refers to the building styles of today, this can vary in design and appearance. This style tends to connect indoors and outdoors. Contemporary homes emphasize energy efficiency, sustainable materials, lots of natural light and the use of recycled non-toxic materials.

Colonial – Colonial architecture originated in the 1600’s, due to the mix of American settlers the styles varied greatly. Colonial architecture is known for symmetry and characterized by evenly spaced shuttered windows. Evenly proportioned dormers, columns and chimneys also complement this formal style.

Mid-Century Modern – Born in the early 1940’s mid-century modern architecture flourished through to the 1980’s. This style is based on new ideas, mindsets and a forward-thinking style, and characterized by flat planes, large windows and wide open space. Simplistic style and integrating nature are very strong traits of this home design style. World War II brought new materials such as steel and plywood to architecture and design. Post war there was also a focus on building neighborhoods and this style was a very popular one during this evolution.

While these are just a few of the many home design styles you will find throughout the world they are some that we see often in Vermont and find comforting, familiar and beautiful.

To learn more about Architectural Styles visit: https://www.architecture.com/Explore/ArchitecturalStyles/Architecturalstyles.aspx

To learn more about BlackRock Construction, our team and what we can build for you contact 802.861.1120 or info@blackrockus.com.

Join us for wine and cheese as you chat and tour a beautiful BlackRock Construction built property!

Date: 10.27.16

Time: 5pm – 7 pm

Location: 451 Golf Course Road, South Burlington

RSVP: info@blackrockus.com

Building Ignite is a meet and greet with the BlackRock Construction team and open house at BlackRock CEO’s listed home. This home is listed for sale and we will have folks from the building team on site to answer any questions you may have about this home or building a custom home for you. Navigating the world of home buying and new construction can often be daunting – buying land, choosing your home design, colors, custom finishes, selling your current home, financing, etc. Building Ignite is designed to educate the community about the building and design process, financing new construction, getting the most return on home renovations, and more!

451 Golf Course Road home to BlackRock founder and co-owner Tom Hergenrother and boasts many luxury features. This custom designed home features an array of exotic products including, Vermont barn wood, handmade Vermont red maple floors, polished aggregate concrete and custom imported tile that creates a spa like experience in the master bath. The large lot perches above the 16th hole at the prestigious Vermont National Golf Club with exceptional westerly views of the Adirondack Mountains and Lake Champlain. Three decks and a patio provide plenty of outdoor entertaining and enjoyment. Additional features include 9 ft. ceilings, a full basement with 9 ft ceilings, a large mudroom with built-ins, 1st floor office, walk-in pantry, custom back splash, bead board, alarm, and is wired with a smart home technology interface. And along with the 4,046 square feet of finished space above grade, there is also an additional unfinished 1000 sq. ft. bonus room over the garage for easy future finishing! Quality construction, HERS rated, Energy Star Certified Home. Owner is a licensed Realtor.

For more information on this open house contact: info@blackrockus.com

To view this property listing click here: 451 Golf Course Road, South Burlington

The kitchen is the heart of the home and can be dressed in many different cloaks. So what is IN … and what is OUT in kitchen design?

BlackRock Construction co-owner and seasoned real estate agent Adam Hergenrother recently shared his thoughts with News Talk 602 WVMT on this what is trending in the market for kitchen decor.

Granite is OUT. Granite has been a long time staple for counters and kitchen islands particularly when you have easy access to a source, as we do in Vermont. There are quarries all around the state and just north of the border as well. Cabinets painted in bold colors are OUT. Gone is the trend to be bold and colorful with your color palate when it comes to cabinet design. So leave your Mondrian inspiration at the front door and think Oscar Tuazon for your color palate. Dark wood cabinets are also OUT. Kitchen design is leaning toward the contemporary and more traditional looks such as dark wood stain or dark brown paint is taking a backseat to a lighter more ethereal vision in today’s trendy kitchens. Our intention is not to say that if you have these design elements in your home you are out of style it is simply what is trending currently in the market.

Cambria, quartz and marble counters are IN. These mediums are quickly replacing the historically popular granite for detailing your home kitchen. Color contrast cabinets or ‘tuxedo’ cabinets are IN. The style conscious home decorator is all about a mix and match look in both cabinets and kitchen hardware. White kitchens are IN. Kitchens gleaming white cabinets to wall color is a very popular look these days, the simplicity of white allows for a lot of creativity with accent detail, creates a strong sense of cleanliness or sterility and allows natural light to be the star of the show. Barn doors, hidden appliances and dark floors are also IN.

It is hard to say when or where a trend gains traction but every season we are seeing new and interesting changes in the design market. From where we sit it is quite a show!

Listen to Adam’s interview with Charlie, Ernie and Lisa from WVMT here:

For more information on how BlackRock Construction can make your kitchen inspiration come to life contact us at: 802.861.1120 or info@blackrockus.com

“If you love something, it will work. That’s really the only rule.” – Bunny Williams Interior Designer

As part our process at BlackRock Construction we try and get professional photographs of every finished residential project after the homeowner has moved in and spend some time with the home. There is so much value in waiting a few weeks, sometimes months after a closing. The homeowner has had the time to put a personal touch to the home, express their style and most importantly create the vision they had throughout the building process.

Personal style is everything for a home! New home owners pour over design catalogs and follow home trends closely but truly at the end of the day a home is a collection of ideas, trends and accents that suit the occupant’s personal style. Thank you Houzz, Pinterest and Instagram for the easy access to design inspiration. Pulling ideas from a variety of sources to arrive at your personal style is now so accessible and can be a really fun journey.

Equally important is the building process. The homeowner’s personal style and preferences are expressed through the building process from patio to rooftop. We see a huge variety of preferences in the details of each home build and the options are vast. Fireplaces are a favorite of ours, some may say a signature ‘must have’ in a BlackRock home. Fireplaces vary from the very sleek and modern to the very traditional. This central meeting spot and feature enjoyed by all is a great reflection of personal style.

“Success is the sum of details” – Harvey S. Firestone. In home design this holds very true. For BlackRock detailing starts from the moment the foundation is poured and follows us through the building process until the last shingle is hammered. Details such as built in bench seating in a well-lit breakfast nook, coffered ceilings in a master bedroom or a handsome real wood front door set the stage for homeowner to create their space.

Sometimes the simplest details make the most impact. A bouquet of flowers, a candelabra or a well-placed stack of books can become central design details that create your personal style. Tying a home together with simple details creates an environment that speaks of its designers and tells a visual story of the home owner.

Whatever your personal style follow your inspiration!

The style of this room leans more toward the traditional with a large elegant marble and wood fireplace as a central piece in the room design. Natural design elements are prominent, creating a very calming space with the use of sky blue and white hues, natural wood, glass and a simple flower bouquet.

This sleek, modern fireplace is a central design detail for this home. The home owner has incorporated a traditional rug and color accents throughout the room mimicking the hues in the rug.

Tag: home design