While the ceilings you see in most homes are white, that’s not the only paint color or specialty finish you can use. The following will give you some guidelines to follow when considering what is best.

With eight-foot ceilings, your goal should be to add the illusion of height to the room, which is best achieved with a light, neutral ceiling. Therefore, if all your ceilings are 8 feet in height keep them a very light color because doing otherwise will draw attention to your ceiling height. Read the full story

Like many newer developments, Antiquity Cornelius is governed by a homeowners association, as well as local laws. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

By CHIP DAWSON
DavidsonNews.net

Jim Lane once faced foreclosure on his Huntersville town home, after a dispute with his homeowners association over a flower-bed full of pansies. Now he is on a mission to change North Carolina law and limit the powers of homeowners associations (HOAs).

Mr. Lane manages a website at NCHOAlaws.org for a group called the North Carolina Coalition for Homeowner Rights. The coalition is a loose-knit group representing thousands of homeowners in HOA communities across the state. Their objective: To change what they see as the excess powers of HOA boards and management companies. The website is filled with graphic stories of HOA power run amok. Read the full story

Homeowners and supporters of homeowners associations (HOAs) from around the state went at it in Raleigh Monday at a public hearing called to gather input for possible changes in the state laws governing HOAs. Read the full story

The North Carolina House of Representatives Select Committee on Homeowners’ Associations plans a hearing Monday, Jan. 23, to hear the concerns of homeowners unhappy about the way their homeowners associations operate, make decisions and handle funds. The meeting is scheduled from 1 to 4 p.m. on the third floor of the legislative building in Raleigh. Read the full story

It's worth taking to consider how to hang a grouping of pictures.

Almost every room or space in a home as well as office has some art hanging on the wall, whether it is a decorative picture or a business awards. But often hanging art is at the wrong viewing height, too small or big for the wall, or poorly laid out in groups.

Since I have done many art installations, I wanted to share some tips for hanging just one picture or a grouping of pictures.

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John Marshall Custom Homes is building 518 Walnut St. according to specifications of the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED for Homes program

John Marshall Custom Homes Inc. of Davidson will host an open house Saturday, Jan. 21, from 10 a.m. to noon at a “green” home under construction at 518 Walnut St. It will be the third local that John Marshall Custom Homes Inc. has built to the certification standards of the LEED for Homes program which is administered by the U.S. Green Building Council. Read the full story