The Clever House is where vintage soul meets modern systems — We live in a 1999 home in Asheville, North Carolina, that we’re rebuilding after Hurricane Helene. Our rebuilding story is featured on PBS This Old House Season 47: Carolina Comeback.
Every design choice I make honors the personal pedigree of “art and craft” that’s been pervasive in my personal history for generations. I make design choices weighing craftsmanship while integrating the most efficient building technology available today. I’ve mystified some of my friends, and definitely my contractors, with my design choices and here I hope to answer some of their questions!
I believe that sustainable can be beautiful and the stereotypical “green aesthetic” isn’t the only way to approach sustainable building. I’ve mixed refinished vintage furniture with super modern LEED-certifiable plumbing fixtures. I’m hoping my house can be a work-in-progress example of what green building looks like when you refuse to choose between character and performance. I document the rebuild process through Instagram, Substack essays, and video content, partnering with brands like Kohler, Daltile, and Ferguson to showcase how thoughtful building and product choices create spaces that are both sustainable and soul-filled.
The Clever House Chronicles on Substack dives deep into design decisions, material choices, and the philosophy behind mixing eras — why a 1940s sideboard makes a better vanity than particle board, why digital thermostats belong next to brass cross handles, and how to build for the next sixty years instead of the next six. This isn't aspirational design. It's lived-in, sorta thought-through, and (hopefully) built to last.
Follow along on Instagram @Paula_Ann_Hennon for behind-the-scenes content, design details, and honest conversations about rebuilding after disaster.
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