Category Archives: Magazine Extras

Race for the Ring Event- Channel 96.1 and Windsor Jewelers- Charlotte, NC

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READY TO  RUN FOR A $5K ROCK?

Channel 96-1 and  Windsor Jewelers are turning you loose
on the streets of Uptown in a “Race  for the Ring.”

A $5,000  DIAMOND RING!!

If you  are selected, you’ll be among ten (10) teams of two (2) seeking clues
within  the I-277 Loop in a foot race to the finish
and some serious finger bling.

We’ll give you  hints about the sites you need to see,
while you pose and post the pictures  on Twitter to get closer to the Grand Prize.

Lace  up, stretch out and get ready to Race for the Ring!

*Registration ends Monday, May 6th at 10  AM.*
*If you are chosen to participate you will be notified.*

Read more: http://www.channel961.com/cc-common/contests/?id=228969#ixzz2RaUBt8Vu

Twitt

Santa Baby…Santa Poo!

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Ho Ho Ho—yup, even Santa’s got to go!  A new Poo-Pourri Santa 2oz
bottle and gift sets are now available for all your holiday giving.

We love this stuff at Urban Home Magazine. It works and it looks
cute in your guest bathroom (and we like that our guests get a
little chuckle when they’re nosing around the corporate office
bathroom). Natural essential oils creates a flim on the surface
of the water, trapping odor at its source.  A citrus and holly
fresh blend of lemongrass, grapefruit, evergreen and other natural
essential oils that leave the bathroom smelling clean.  Get some
for the holidays—makes a great gift.

For Urban Home Magazine fans only – we’re offering a 20% discount.
Simply use URBAN20 - valid through the entire month of November.
Readers can either purchase online at www.POOPOURRI.com or by
phone at (972)818.8200 with this code.
Twitt

Why Hire An Interior Designer- Charlotte, NC (Oct/Nov 2012)

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Written by Anne Marie Ashley
Traci Zeller Design /Dustin Peck Photography

Your home is distinctive; it’s a reflection of your personality and your lifestyle and hiring a professional to help you design the perfect space allows you to focus on enjoying it. Hiring an interior designer can take expression of your style to a whole new level while taking the pressure off to get the job done in your free time. We spoke with the experts at the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) for the Carolinas to get some tips on hiring the perfect designer for you.

How do homeowners hire the right designer? Designing the interiors of your home is as
personal as selecting your wardrobe, so choosing a professional that understands your style is key to loving the finished product. Have an idea of what you’d like your space to look like and use inspiration from magazines and design websites to get your message across to the designer.

ASID offers some key considerations when hiring a designer:
• Is the professional accredited as an interior designer? (If required in your state, be sure
the designer is licensed)
• Does the designer have experience in the type of project you are doing?
• Has he/she demonstrated creativity, talent and resourcefulness in their portfolio?
• Is the designer attentive, responsive and do they communicate well with you?
• Be sure the designer has a record of reliability and good work habits.
What can a professional interior designer bring to the table?

As ASID points out, when you hire an interior designer, you get the benefit of an experienced professional who can solve problems, help you avoid costly mistakes and, most importantly, create an attractive, affordable space designed specifically to meet your lifestyle needs. Interior designers offer a trained eye that can help you bring your vision to
life, possibly in ways you never imagined. They also provide specification and purchasing services for materials, furniture, accessories and art, some of which you might not be able to find on your own.

What should homeowners expect to pay for an interior design project? Designers, like other professionals, are different from one another in their combinations of talents, knowledge, experience, and specialties.

What and how they charge will vary accordingly. Here, ASID outlines the common methods or combined methods for residential designers, tailored to fit the client’s needs:
• Fixed fee (or flat fee) — The designer identifies a specific sum to cover costs, exclusive of reimbursement for expenses. One total fee applies to the complete range of services, from conceptual development through layouts, specifications and final installation.

• Hourly fee — Compensation is based on actual time expended by the designer on a project or specific service.
• Cost plus — A designer purchases materials, furnishings and services (e.g., carpentry, drapery workrooms, picture framing, etc.) at cost and sells to the client at the designer’s cost plus a specified percentage agreed to with the client to compensate for the designer’s time and effort.

ASID offers this final word about cost: How you choose to furnish your interior and how you work with your designer will have tremendous impact on the final cost of the project. Items such as antiques or custom-made furniture, and modifications that involve altering or moving load-bearing walls or beams will significantly increase the cost of your project, as will requesting changes mid-project or making excessive demands on the designer’s time. The more research and planning you do before you start, the more you will be able to help keep costs down during the project.

To find an interior designer in Charlotte, please visit www.asidcarolinas.org
or www.interiordesignsociety.org for more information.

Click here to view the article or visit www.urbanhomemagazine.com

Twitt

Sanctuary- Feature Home in Charlotte, NC (Oct/Nov 2012)

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Written by Nancy Atkinson
Photography by Jim Schmid  It was the house everyone in Charlotte was interested in but no one would buy. Until self-proclaimed “serial remodelers” Joy and Michael Palermo walked through its doors.

“We almost didn’t buy it,” said Joy Palermo. She described breaking down after their tenth walk-through of the house with architect Frank Smith and builder Ben Collins of the Salins Group.

Joy explained that the house had a nice exterior but was so quirky on the inside that it turned people off. “The rooms were dark, the flow was bad and one of the bedrooms had no windows,” she said. “The interior walls were 16” thick cement and could not be moved.”
But the biggest design challenge would be adding an upstairs wing with bedrooms for the couple’s four children – within their budget.

Thankfully, at the eleventh hour, the team created a plan to make the Mediterranean style home a perfect fit for the Palermo family. Joy, an interior designer who graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology, and her husband Michael, a banker who shares his wife’s love of remodeling and her sense of style, began working closely with architect Frank Smith on the design of the home.“I have always loved Frank’s style,” she said. “He and I discovered we both love the book Villa by architect John Saladino (known for creating serenely timeless interiors). We decided that’s where we wanted to go with it, and it grew from there.”

“We are so busy all the time,” said Joy. “I wanted to create an environment that made us feel really protected, a space that was cozy and soothing.”

Joy used a very calming color palette to create an overall feeling of symmetry. She mixed furniture and accessories from her other houses with new items selected specifically for this home.

“Antiques bought in Paris sit beside things from IKEA,” she said. “It’s a great eclectic mix of high and low, old and new, pulled together with the neutral tone.”

When asked about her favorite architectural detail Joy is quick to mention the courtyard with its new pool. “I love the courtyard,” she said. Previously unusable space, it was Frank’s idea to put in a pool. Now the family hangs out there all the time.

Joy laughs when she says the questions people ask the most are, ‘How can you live through a renovation like this with four children and how do you stay married?’ But the Palermos have renovated a total of five homes together in their 15-year marriage and they truly love the process.

“This house is unlike any of our other houses,” she said. “We have done the Southern thing and the Georgian thing, but this home is our little cocoon inside Charlotte. When you are here it feels like you could be anywhere in the world, even France or Italy. It is like you are on a vacation at home.”

And though she already has her next dream project in mind (a fisherman’s cottage in the Hamptons – done in all white) she admits this home could be a keeper.

“This house is beyond what I had envisioned,” said Joy. “It truly is one of those houses that is once in a lifetime – the house everybody wanted but nobody wanted. I am just so glad we saw the potential.”

Click here to view the article or visit www.urbanhomemagazine.com.

Twitt