It takes a lot of loving care to turn a house into a home.

That task is even more challenging when the house is a group home for boys who are dependents of the county because their parents have abused or neglected them.

But over the course of about nine months, interior designer Carolyn Zainer made it her mission to bring new life to a drab house in Santa Ana where six teenage boys live under the supervision of Olive Crest Homes & Services for Abused Children. Read more…

With some of its competitors fading away because of bankruptcies and closings, furniture retailer Raymour & Flanigan is moving quickly to fill the gap at the Shore.

The company a month ago opened its second Shore-area store in Freehold Township. And it plans to open its first Ocean County store on Route 70 in Brick, possibly in September, a company spokesman said Friday.

“We seem to be thriving,” spokesman Brian Burmeister said. “We know our competitors are having troubles, but we have a plan of action and footprint that continues to grow.”
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It’s hardly a surprise that kids attuned to style and accustomed to choice would expect the same when it comes to furnishing their bedrooms. And manufacturers are giving them what they want - furniture that’s sophisticated and customizable, just like what Mom and Dad demand for themselves.

Robin Campbell, marketing services manager for Young America, Stanley Furniture Co.’s youth furniture brand, attributes the evolution to young people’s increased exposure to design trends.

“I think they’re just more demanding in what they want,” she said. “They know what they want, and they want it now.” Read more…

One sales consultant in Westbury has shown true dedication to her role – by putting her ‘art’ and soul into her work. Angie Cotterill is part of the sales team at Redrow’s popular Lakelands Edge development and has provided a helping hand by adorning the brand new show home with her original artwork.

The budding artist, who lives in Lower Vobster, has combined her working life with her hobby and added her own personal touch to the Malham show home.
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BOB BEITCHER says he and his wife, Carol, want their newly built home in Santa Monica to be a showcase of sustainable practices “without being granola-y, if you know what I mean.”

Their house off San Vicente Boulevard has been carefully designed by architect Warren Wagner to optimize solar energy and the use of recycled and renewable materials. Yet the modernist dwelling seems more about the panache of architectural possibilities than the virtuousness of green design.
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Spring usually means change and renewing. And one of the most important places that people prefer to change is the place where you spend most of your time: your home.

Although interior decorating is a passion for some and a duty for others, you can completely change the appearance of your home with just a few but effective touches. If you’d like to recreate your home but don’t know what the golden rules are for a magnificent make-over, then keep reading. This article will provide you with the tips and tricks on how to redecorate your home. Read more…

Broyhill Furniture Industries, Inc. has launched a new initiative designed to bring greater focus into all of its product categories through feedback from retailers and consumers. It will be headed by industry veteran Fred Bates.

“Broyhill is the most recognized brand in America but our product needs a little polishing,” says Jeff Cook, Broyhill president. “Product is our No. 1 focus. We are going to add momentum to the power of the Broyhill brand through the product as opposed to just polishing the brand.
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Elizabeth Edwards, who announced last week she is battling an incurable reappearance of cancer, was back in North Carolina for a book signing days after hitting the campaign trail in Ohio.

More than 100 people came to a High Point furniture showroom Wednesday to see Edwards, wife of Democratic presidential candidate and former North Carolina senator John Edwards. She talked about the support she has received and signed copies of her book, “Saving Graces: Finding Solace and Strength from Friends and Strangers.”
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‘I have constant interaction with the furnishings and the architectural elements…’

A slow tour through artist-craftsman David Ebner’s open living area tempts the visitor to linger on objects of exquisite design and impeccable workmanship touched with natural elements: a console table with sinewy underpinnings, its surface laden with potted orchids, a William Morris wallpaper, a leaded glass window.

His fool-the-eye kitchen blends into one wall, barely recognizable as a work space behind a camouflage of wood cladding, its refrigerator sheathed in Sapele wood, its handles replaced with lengths of bamboo. Read more…

Hundreds of Martinsville and Henry County residents are at their home-away-from-home this week, representing the area’s furniture companies at the High Point International Home Furnishings Market.

The furniture market sprawls a mile or two in every direction, but the heart of it is the 12-floor main building, called the International Home Furnishings Center, which has six wings. Thirty-three other buildings are identified in the market directory, and more locales on the outer edges of the district are used by exhibitors as well. Read more…