Residents and officials cut a ribbon Monday to celebrate the preservation of the 73-unit low-income Oak Hill Apartments. From left: property manager Claudia Elias-Perez, resident Anna Clement, Davidson Housing Coalition director Marcia Webster, Mayor John Woods, resident Gwendolyn Mitchell, and Orlando Artze, an executive with Community Housing Partners. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

Anna Clement stood at the podium under a tent at Oak Hill Apartments Monday and talked about how lucky she feels to be living in the newly renovated complex off Beaty Street in Davidson. “I always wanted to live up here,” she told the crowd of town officials, neighbors and representatives from the property’s owner, Community Housing Partners (CHP).

Over the past couple of years, the Christiansburg, Va., nonprofit has spent about $2 million to rehabilitate the 73-unit complex of low-income apartments, which is just west of North Main Street. On Monday, residents and officials cut a ribbon to celebrate the end of that work, which preserved the town’s largest affordable rental housing property. Read the full story

The Village at South Main. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

Is the real estate market picking up? There are lots of ways to measure it, but the investors who bought the unfinished Village at South Main condo project in Davidson think they’re seeing evidence it is.

Investor Brad Bowman even goes so far as to say it feels “like the old days.”

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Today, Teal Michel talks about where design trends - like this eleborately decorated chair - come from.

Each year brings a new crop of design trends. Some make a brief appearance for a season or two while some stay longer. But where do design trends come from and who chooses them? While we can’t predict future trends, we can look at the past for some indications. I recently attended a presentation by trend-setting design guru Bill Indursky. He shared what he and his firm look at when predicting design trends – from news headlines to movie themes to fashion.

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The chamber project is building this house on Poole Place, off Bailey Road in Cornelius, for the Patterson family.

CORNELIUS – Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce members have hit their goal of raising $71,500 to pay for construction of a Habitat for Humanity House for a family in Cornelius. The group hit the target thanks to a recent fund-raising party and last-minute pledges from local businesses, according to Denis Bilodeau, chair of the chamber board’s community affairs division.

The chamber had been raising money and planning the Business Build project since last fall, according to Mr. Bilodeau, who also is president of Aquesta Insurance Services Inc. Wells Fargo kicked off the effort by committing $50,000, of which $20,000 was set up as a matching challenge: The Chamber had to raise another $20,000 to get the rest. Read the full story

The Davidson Design Review Board will meet Wednesday, May 16, to hear a presentation about a proposed restaurant renovation at the rear of 202 S. Main St., the former pilates studio behind Ben & Jerry’s. The board also will discuss planning ordinance revisions for murals and rules for the board’s responsibilities as the town’s Historic Preservation Commission. Read the full story

Painted lampshades, crystal spheres and a turquoise-themed chandelier were among the lighting designs at High Point Market.

Lighting is so essential in our homes and businesses. Yet for so long the choices in lighting styles, materials and forms were rather limited. Today we have more choices as seen at this spring’s High Point Market.

Jamie Young added a decorative touch to his painted lamp shades as pictured above. The delicately painted Oriental scenes of flora and fauna with birds very much resembled the expensive hand painted murals seen primarily on walls. Placed on silver lamp bases, both short and tall, these painted lamp shades are an effective way to add pattern and interest in a room, especially those that are decorated in neutral colors. Read the full story