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13 From the Editor
44 54
16
STYLEBOOK 16 The Hot List
Winter 2019 FEATURES
44 Homestead for the Holidays
By Jim Dodson
For Sid Teague and Camilla Wilcox, the past was truly prelude to a glorious future
54 Divine Mission
By Quinn Dalton
Kimberly Hixson’s revitalized — and revitalizing — High Point renovation
64 Turning the Tables . . . and Chairs
By Nancy Oakley
An artful take on furniture at WinstonSalem’s Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art
70 A Room of our Own
By Nancy Oakley
A cozy, jewel-toned library is the perfect place to unwind
72 Hunt & Gather
Winter 2019
By Jim Dodson
By Amy & Peter Freeman
By Katy Erikson & Leslie Moore
18 Object of Affection
By Noah Salt
21 Favorite Things
By Tracy Bulla
24 Hidden Gem
By Quinn Dalton
27 Prime Resource
By Nancy Oakley
30 Holiday Table Talk
By Noah Salt
35 Garden Guru
By Cheryl Capaldo Traylor
41 Almanac
By Ash Alder
LIFE&HOME 76 House for Sale
By Nancy Oakley
79 The Language of Home
By Noah Salt
80 HomeWords
By Cynthia Adams
Cover Photograph by John Koob Gessner SEASONS • STYLE & DESIGN 7
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The best in low-maintenance living Main level living with optional sq.ft. over garage Double car garage Main level master with 3-4 bedrooms available Main level sq. footage 1,693-1,864 with additional sq.ft. available Lawn Maintenance provided by HOA 927 acres built in and around wetlands and its natural habitat Location is centrally located with easy access to High Point, Greensboro, or Winston-Salem Sod in front yards Architectural Shingles Vinyl exteriors with cultured stone or brick accents Base pricing starts at $245,900
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Vol. 4 No. 4
336.617.0090 1848 Banking Street Greensboro, NC 27408 www.ohenrymag.com Publisher
David Woronoff Jim Dodson, Editor jim@thepilot.com Andie Rose, Art Director andie@thepilot.com Nancy Oakley, Senior Editor nancy@ohenrymag.com Amy Freeman, Style & Design Director Lauren M. Coffey, Graphic Designer Alyssa Rocherolle, Graphic Designer CONTRIBUTORS Cynthia Adams, Ash Alder, Harry Blair, Tracy Bulla, Quinn Dalton, Lynn Donovan, Katy Erikson, Amy Freeman, Peter Freeman, John Koob Gessner, Leslie Moore, Noah Salt, Cheryl Capaldo Traylor, Bert VanderVeen
h
OFFERING A WORLD OF STYLE
ADVERTISING SALES Ginny Trigg, Advertising Director 910.693.2481, ginny@thepilot.com Hattie Aderholdt, Advertising Manager 336.601.1188, hattie@ohenrymag.com Amy Grove, 336.456.0827 amy@ohenrymag.com Glenn McVicker, 336.804.0131 glenn@ohenrymag.com Brad Beard, Graphic Designer CIRCULATION Darlene Stark, Circulation Director 910.693.2488 Steve Anderson, Finance Director 910.693.2497
AT THE SHERROD 1100 NORTH MAIN STREET | HIGH POINT, NC allenandjames.com | 336.886.3333
10 SEASONS •
STYLE
& DESIGN
SUBSCRIPTIONS 336.617.0090 ©Copyright 2019. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Seasons Magazine is published by The Pilot LLC
Winter 2019
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12 SEASONS •
STYLE
& DESIGN
Winter 2019
FROM THE EDITOR
Lighting up the Longest Night By Jim Dodson
ILLUSTRATION BY HARRY BLAIR
E
very family has its holiday traditions, moments that make the meaning of the season come alive. For our far-flung clan, that event is a wintersolstice gathering that lands on the doorstep on or about December 21st, bringing our four grown children and their significant others home from several different compass points. The winter solstice is the shortest day and longest night of the year, a moment when the Northern Hemisphere tilts far away from the sun. Since the Bronze Age, human beings have observed the annual astronomical event with rituals and celebrations that mark the symbolic “death” and “rebirth” of the sun and the beginning of a new growing cycle of the Earth. In ancient times and across numerous world cultures, the hibernal solstice was observed and celebrated by midwinter bonfires, feasting, storytelling and revelry aimed at illuminating the longest night of the year. For people whose fate and livelihood relied entirely on the Earth’s bounty, the period from January to April was regarded as the beginning of “famine time” — marking the midwinter solstice as a final chance to share food and fellowship. Cultural historians, in fact, note that the idea of decorating homes with evergreen boughs — wreaths, garlands, even the first Christmas trees — evolved directly from pre-Christian winter solstice rituals among Northern European people. Our little midwinter fête evolved quietly among a modest gathering of friends and fellow parishioners from our Episcopal church on the coast of Maine. My clever friend Edie Hazard sent out an invitation to a handful of like-minded souls inviting us to drop by her historic colonial home in the village to “Sing for our supper” by reading a poem, singing a song, doing a dance or simply sharing a good tale for a winter’s night. The food was sensational, the fellowship even more so. The highlight came when Edie’s young blond daughter, Caroline, dressed in a white robe and red sash, entered the darkened “hall” room with a wreath of lighted candles balanced on her head, observing the Swedish tradition of honoring the feast of Winter 2019
Saint Lucia. Guitars were played, a few bawdy tales told and Christmas carols sung. Two years on, as word of the party spread through town, the gathering grew and we moved the evening to our roomier post-andbeam house on a forested hilltop west of town. Winter in Maine is serious business. Most years (back then, anyway) the chance of snow being deep on the ground by solstice was high, yet frigid temperatures and blowing snow were never an impediment to our hearty Maine friends and solstice revelers — some of whom we only saw once or twice a year but always at the winter solstice. On at least two occasions, folks turned out during a blizzard and trudged up our long driveway into the forest on snow shoes and relied on their four-wheel vehicles to get them where they needed to go. Hard weather makes good timber, as they say up in Maine. No silly snowstorm ever halted the winter solstice celebration. Edie’s original rules applied, borrowed from an ancient pagan tradition of lighting up the darkest night. Participants were invited to perform for a supper that included my Brunswick stew made from a top-secret recipe and a variety of delicious cakes, pies and other delicacies my bride, Wendy — a world class baker — spent days preparing. Over the next two decades, the wit and creativity of our solstice friends never failed to surprise and inspire. There was always lots of music, ancient airs and dances, beloved church hymns balanced by Irish drinking songs. But we also had medieval jugglers and costumed scenes from Shakespeare. One year, a friend brought her old college roomie who happened to be a lead mezzo-soprano from a famous touring opera company. We had teenage cello players, elderly banjo pickers, moving storytellers, sober memoir readers, goofy comedy skits, pantomimes and shadow puppetry. One of my favorites was the sweet elderly couple who spent weeks working up an elaborate magic act that went so horribly off the rails, the crowd mistakenly thought it was the funniest comedy act they’d ever seen. Another of my annual favorites was old Colonel Bob Day, the SEASONS • STYLE & DESIGN 13
INTERIOR DESIGN
RE S I D E N T IAL
COMMERCIA L
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14 SEASONS •
STYLE
& DESIGN
Winter 2019
STYLEBOOK retired admissions director from West Point Military Academy (and my weekly lunch chum) who showed up every year in his blazingly bright green corduroy pants and fire engine–red sweater to read the hilarious “blue” limericks he spent the year writing. None of which I can repeat here. When we moved home to North Carolina, the party came with us. In Southern Pines, where we lived for almost a decade before moving home to the Triad, the spirit of the party was a bit slow to catch on with friends, some of whom thought it was more of a holiday cocktail party than an ancient pagan observance meant to lighten up the night. It wasn’t until my talented colleague Andie Rose — the co-creator and art director of this magazine — and her visiting sister, Stacy, dressed up like Christmas elves, and performed a charming act that involved making holiday cocktails and singing a silly song, that the floodgates of creativity sprung open. Soon we got everything from Russian folk songs to rodeo roping tricks. For our now-grown four children, who have been steeped in this lovely tradition of performance and fellowship since childhood, the winter solstice has grown to be something special, a tie that binds, a coveted family ritual, something they all strive to get home to every year. In the past, since every member in clan Dodson is musical, we’ve performed everything from Scottish folk songs to Southern spirituals. Here in the Triad — where the 25th edition of the event is already well into the planning stages (baking soon to commence) — friends have quickly embraced our brand of solstice revelry with gusto. A magical moment came the first year when the senior editor of this magazine forgot the third verse of the ancient French drinking song her mother taught her and was bailed out by a member of the audience – an elderly professor of European history – who knew every blessed verse and joined her for a lusty duet all the way to a standing ovation. Last year, accompanied by her husband on guitar, a dear friend we’ve known for years got to her feet and belted out a jaw-dropping version of a cowboy song — complete with yodeling — worthy of Patsy Montana herself, bringing down the house. Who knew Liz could sing like that! The great hope is that our new Queen of the Rodeo will return to reprise her rowdy cowgirl performance this year. Every solstice, though, brings another year of change and surprise. Last year my wife’s two strapping single lads, a pair of newlyweds and a couple about to get engaged were in residence for the days between Solstice and Christmas. They seemed to have one fine time burning every fireplace in the house for days while drinking every adult beverage, including the 70-year-old bottle of rare Portuguese sherry I thought I’d securely squirreled out of sight, before we kissed them goodbye and sent them off for the New Year. This year, for the first time ever, the jury is out as to whether any of the tribe will make it home. The newlyweds are living in Israel and the newly engaged just took new jobs in Manhattan, moving household and dogs from Chicago to an apartment in Queens. One strapping lad is going off to Japan, meanwhile, a trip he’d dreamed of taking forever, and the other has a new love interest. Someday, perhaps we’ll get the family band back together again. In the meantime, sentimental lug that I am, with perhaps the biggest crowd yet expected to show up on our doorstep on that long dark cold Saturday night at month’s end, I’m seriously considering a move in memory of the late great Colonel Bob, who left me a folder of his original blue limericks. Now all I need is to find a pair of outrageously green corduroy pants, a nuclear-red sweater and the liquid courage to actually read them and I should be good to go. On the other hand, maybe I’ll just have a second slice of my wife’s famous Southern caramel cake, count my blessings with a wee nip of rare (and better hidden) Portuguese sherry, and simply savor friends and neighbors kind enough to bring light and laughter — and probably a few tears — to the longest night of the year. h Winter 2019
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SEASONS • STYLE & DESIGN 15
THE HOT LIST
Wild Kingdom From cheetah prints to faux fur, animal themes are inspiring designers and fashionistas this season By Katy Erikson and Leslie Moore
uMane-stay Wild horses couldn’t drag us away from this eloquent expression of equine freedom, Lone Navajo, as captured through the lens of French art photographer Grégoire Moulin. The 40-inch by 60-inch limited edition print comes in a floater frame with your choice of finish, for $2,500. Available online from A Beautiful Mess: abeautifulmess.us/ collections/art qShagreen with Envy Go ahead and tell your friends
t See Shells Move over, Jackie O.! Le Spec’s Caliente Syrup Tort (tortoise shell) sunglasses with gold trim and copper mirror lenses shield your eyes from the sun — and the paparazzi ($79). Lespecs.com.
that the exterior of this handsome Ludwig Tall Cabinet ($9,885) from Mr. Brown of London is made of real shagreen harvested from farm-raised stingrays or sharks (though your pals will undoubtedly mistake it for bamboo). Truth is, no animals were harmed in the manufacture of the “storm-colored” faux shagreen finish, a secret worth keeping, along with other treasures stored in this handsome 89-inch-high piece. Available through L.Moore Designs, (336) 687-4945 or lmooredesigns.com.
qEwe Betcha! Cozy on up to the table on this bunwarmer, the Tarifa Swivel Dining Stool from Verellen ($3,435). Mounted on a carved walnut base, its hair-onhide seat is upholstered with the long, curly — and ohso-soft — fleece of the Gobi, a subspecies of Ovis ammon, sheep native to northern China and Tibet. Available through SFEER + Co., 400 W. Fourth St., Suite 130, Winston-Salem. Sfeerandco.com.
pSpot-on In the words of iconic fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg, “Leopard print never goes out of style.” Keep it classic, yet trendy in Greylin’s faux leopard coat ($225). Rebecca & Co., Shops at Friendly Center, 3326 W. Friendly Ave. #114, Greensboro, (336) 292-2455 or rebeccaandco.com. 16 SEASONS •
STYLE
& DESIGN
Winter 2019
t Jungle Fever Paging Dr. Doolittle! You, too, can grunt and squeak and squawk with the animals, when you don a Becca Jungle Front Midi Dress ($247) made of brightly dotted and spotted fabric by Crosby. Monkee’s of High Point, 1329 N. Main St., High Point, (336) 882-0636 or monkeesofhighpoint.com.
pCat’s Outta the Bag Literally! Make a statement uAfter
a while ... Crocodile! Keep cool in the carpool with the O-ring croc keychain that doubles as a fabulous — and ah, up-scale — bracelet. O-ring by Oventure in silver Croc, ($55). Swoozies, Shops at Friendly Center, 3334 W. Friendly Ave. Greensboro, 336) 856-2406 or facebook. com/swooziesgso.
pSerpentine Scene Slither into these high-rise, Hoxton Slim Raw Hem Roccia snakeskin jeans by Paige ($219) — and enjoy coiling up in your second skin. Available online at Paige.com.
Winter 2019
uPretty as a Peacock Feather your nest with this Windwood wallcovering from House of Harris, the sister design duo of Charlotte Harris Lucas and Liz Harris Carroll, based in Wilmington. An updated version of flora- and fauna-themed wallpapers and fabrics, all of which are made in the United States, Windwood is available in a multicolored iteration, gold, as well as white ($90 per yard). Available through L.Moore Designs, (336) 6874945 or lmooredesigns.com.
with the Cleobella Sotto Weekender Bag ($398) that instantly turns yoga pants or denim from frumpy to flirty. Anthropologie, Shops at Friendly Center, 3320 W. Friendly Ave. #102, Greensboro, (336) 834-2633 or anthropologie.com.
qMoo-vin’ and Groovin’ This chic
cowhide sneaker by P448 ($285) has become a wardrobe staple. We are wearing it with our comfiest jeans as well as our L.B.D. for a more casual look. Monkee’s of High Point, 1329 N. Main St., High Point, (336) 882-0636 or monkeesofhighpoint.com.
SEASONS • STYLE & DESIGN 17
STYLEBOOK
OBJECT OF AFFECTION
The Family Table
Generations of the Jarvis family have gathered round a Depression-era masterpiece By Noah Salt • Photographs by Mark Phelps and Pete Williams
I
n 1935, Eugene Jackson Jarvis, a cabinetmaker employed by Oettinger Lumber Company of Greensboro, decided to make his wife, Blanche a special gift for her birthday — a beautiful dining room table. But not just any table. “He wanted his table to be unlike anything anyone had ever seen,” says his grandson, Eugene Payne. “Something that would last.” E.J., as he was called by friends and family, certainly accomplished this task. Working in his company woodshop in secret over the course of a full year — one of the worst of the Great Depression, according to historians, when almost a quarter of working Americans were jobless — Jarvis built a table that qualifies spectacularly as a one-of-a-kind masterpiece of hardwood craftsmanship.
18 SEASONS •
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It’s stunning tabletop features 3,328 inlaid wooden shapes, each piece measuring 3/4-inch thickness, made from 37 different kinds of wood — a constellation of circles, squares, ovals, diamonds, stars and hearts that form repeated patterns. The centerpiece design of the table features a potted flower comprised of the same geometric shapes. As a companion to his incomparable table, Jarvis created eight matching chairs, each one with 325 inlaid pieces. Eugene Payne remembers the table as a boy, covered with a white tablecloth at his grandparents’ home on Hill Street in Greensboro. “Every family occasion — especially the holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas — that table was where we all gathered . . . and still do.” Payne notes that it’s fortunate that the Jarvis table had strong double pedestal legs made of solid oak — for it was destined to travel in its long life. Winter 2019
To date, five different related families have owned and gathered round the table, including one cousin in Nebraska and another in Asheboro, followed by an uncle in Rural Hall. Twenty years ago, the magnificent table found its way to Eugene and Sylvia Payne’s home in rural Randolph County, where it will be loyally in service when the 10 members of the family gather round to give thanks and break bread at the holidays. The gathering may even include Esther Heiling, 99, the sole remaining among E.J’s eight children. Not surprisingly, for the immediate future, the beloved gem of Piedmont craftsmanship is firmly spoken for. “Our daughter Kelly and son Dennis
Winter 2019
have asked to have it when we’re ready to pass it along,” Payne explains. “And so has a nephew named Dean.” Someday, he muses, when the table has completed its generations of loyal service to the family, Payne hopes a local museum might be interested in giving the table a permanent home. Any museum of art, we believe, would be fortunate to have it. h Editor’s Note: Does your family have an object of affection? We’d love to hear about it.
SEASONS • STYLE & DESIGN 19
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STYLE
& DESIGN
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Winter 2019
STYLEBOOK
Lindsey Cooper (left) and Amy Barney
FAVORITE THINGS
Playing Favorites
Asheboro designers Lindsey Cooper and Amy Barney dish on some of their preferred likes, trends and inspirations By Tracy Bulla • Photograph by Amy Freeman
A
sheboro, N.C.–based Collective Interiors aims to inspire its clients to embrace their creativity by painting, making and decorating together. Co-owners Lindsey Cooper and Amy Barney (both busy moms of three) met at their children’s school and bonded over a shared love of design as well as a self-proclaimed furniture “hoarding” habit. Initially conceived as a storage and studio space to house their purchases, the designing duo’s idea transformed into a one-stop shop a year later — a fully fledged design studio and retail shop, complete with creative workshops such as furniture painting for beginners. We stopped by their design hive to suss out some of their favorite trends, likes, dislikes.
With so many conflicting and bad design trends floating around, how do you distinguish what you have to offer? Amy: The beauty of our business is that we are able to incorporate many different design styles and fuse them into something special for our clients. Yes, we are over many trends, but feel that when working with our clients we must look at their pieces that are treasured and help them rethink a certain style to tie their rooms together.
What is the design trend you’re most interested in now? Lindsey: I’m loving all the bamboo pieces I can get my hands
What is your favorite piece of furniture? Amy: There is nothing quite like a decorated table for seasonal gatherings and celebrations. Families gather, break bread and
Winter 2019
on. We love to paint them in jewel-tone colors and mix them in with classic finds. To me, bamboo is timeless and simply never goes out of style.
SEASONS • STYLE & DESIGN 21
Consignments Welcomed!
ANTIQUES | VINTAGE | DESIGN ACCENTS | FARMHOUSE Near Hanes Towne Village, Just off Stratford Road | 312 Harvey Street • Winston-Salem, NC Monday-Friday 10-6 | Saturday 10-4 | 336.829.1173 | facebook.com/carolinavintiques
22 SEASONS •
STYLE
& DESIGN
Winter 2019
STYLEBOOK converse at holiday tables. A festive table is one of the most important pieces you can have in your home. It is where new friends are made and old ones share memories of the past.
Lindsey: Katie Podracky from Greensboro has such an eye for color and capturing landscapes. Her color combinations play off each other so well and she has such an eye for capturing light. Her paintings can be found in our shop.
What is the best bargain you’ve ever run across? Amy: One of our favorite experiences was the time we had to climb a mountain of antiques — floor to ceiling in a leaking warehouse. Raincoats were in place and we managed to pull out the most beautiful piece of furniture. From there we transformed the piece.
Much as we love N.C., are there any getaways you’re eyeing for winter? Amy: My favorite winter getaway is Rome, Italy. You can’t beat the brightly lit winding city streets, the importance of water to the city from all the fountains and aqueducts, handcrafted items from the Christmas markets and the rich historical architecture. Also, cafe cappuccinos will always be one of my favorite things to grab while wandering the streets.
With the holidays right around the corner, do you have a preferred go-to holiday dish? Lindsey: One of my favorite things to put together is a lavish charcuterie board filled with cheese, meats, olives, capers and crackers. We love to snack and these are so easy, fun to decorate and can be styled so pretty! Putting in so many long days, as you do, sustenance is key. Any favorite restaurants in the area that you like to frequent? Lindsey: Oh goodness! There are so many restaurants that are favorites. This is such a hard one to choose, but honestly all of them are located in downtown Asheboro right near our shop. We know each of the owners personally and they all have the best food. If you are looking for the best tacos, visit The Taco Loco. Want the best pastries and coffee? Visit The Table. Then there’s Magnolia 23, which offers the BEST fried chicken in the state of North Carolina. Speaking of North Carolina, do you have a favorite local artist?
Is there any place left in the world you’d like to visit and why? Lindsey: There are many places we’d love to go, but up next for us is a fun trip to Ireland. We can’t wait to visit, collect inspiration and bring back new ideas for our shop. What about for your own home? Amy: I enjoy a classic mixture of styles and love pops of bright color. As we have traveled the world, our family has always collected pieces of artwork and many of our walls are filled with pieces by artists from all over. Each piece has a story filled with memories. h Info: Collectiveinteriorsnc.com Tracy Bulla is the former senior style director of Home Accents Today magazine and is now a freelance writer specializing in all things design- and trend-related.
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SEASONS • STYLE & DESIGN 23
STYLEBOOK
HIDDEN GEM
Mod Pod
Midcentury designs get a second life at AREA modern home By Quinn Dalton • Photographs by Bert VanderVeen
S
tep inside AREA modern home at 511 South Elm in Greensboro and you’ll feel you’ve finally found the home you always imagined was out there waiting for you. In fact AREA’s clean-lined, midcentury vibe has been waiting for you since owner Mark Hewett opened it in 2000 — well before the South End, as this downtown neighborhood is known, had begun to reemerge as the vibrant design and cultural arts district it is today. A native of Birmingham, England, Hewett studied industrial design and worked in London, Hong Kong and New York before he came to Greensboro 20 years ago. He was already familiar with the Triad from regularly visiting High Point suppliers to his Bronx-based business that specialized in reproductions of midcentury furniture designs. Eventually, rents and other expenses climbed too high, so Hewett headed south, renting the building at 515 South Elm (next door to his current location) and setting up shop, initially living upstairs. For someone who’s lived in cities his whole life, the change was refreshing. “Where I grew up, when you open your front door, you’re on the street,” Hewett says. “This is a really pleasant place to live. For people with my experience it feels like living in the countryside.”
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There’s also the advantage of access to top-notch suppliers only a few miles away. Hewett has a long relationship with High Point–based Younger Furniture. Customers can select from a wide range of designs and upholstery for the couches, chairs and headboards displayed in AREA, which are then custom-made and delivered to their homes, usually within six to eight weeks. Most of the case goods — nonupholstered chairs, side and coffee tables, et cetera — are sourced from a Minneapolisbased company, which in turn sources from a manufacturer in Pennsylvania. So customers can feel good about supporting locally supplied and American-made products with the attendant lower carbon footprint. “AREA is lifestyle furniture,” Hewett says. “We are bringing together appealing design, high quality construction and moderate pricing.” This mix has developed a loyal following over the years. Hewett opened another AREA store in Durham in 2010 after many customers coming from the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area expressed the wish for a location closer to them. But the success he’s achieved has demanded business creativity beyond just selling good products at a reasonable price. In 2012, Hewett purchased the buildings at 513 and 511 South Winter 2019
STYLEBOOK Elm Street, next door to his original location. He moved AREA into 511 in 2012, which allowed him to expand to two floors of showroom space. He then renovated 513, which houses office tenants upstairs, with the storefront serving as the retail space of interior design company VIVID interiors. Owners Gina Hicks and Laura Mensch describe their design aesthetic as “modern with a softer organic feel, with an emphasis on texture and color.” On occasion VIVID will source pieces from AREA, and AREA’s established presence has helped bring traffic and awareness to VIVID, which had already built a client base before setting up shop at 513, and will celebrate five years in the location this December. While the downtown renewal was and is certainly positive, Hewett knows from previous experience that rising rents are a particular challenge for specialty retail stores. “Retail needs foot traffic and it’s already harder for people to navigate this area,” Hewett says. “Rising rents puts retail at higher risk of failure. It’s a really delicate balance.” Hewett tries to maintain the balance through offering
reasonable rental rates in his properties. And he’s happy to see Greensboro’s downtown flourish. Aside from his strong business instincts, Hewett seems to be first and foremost a design devotee and lover of quality, not just in the construction of his offerings, but in the delivery – literally. Many clients are surprised to see that he and store manager Evan Brearey actually deliver most of AREA’s orders. Hewett wants to ensure that the furniture a customer has waited weeks to receive is in perfect condition, is exactly what was ordered, and is assembled and placed precisely as directed. On the one hand, it’s a smart business move to make sure this crucial last step in the process goes smoothly, especially since Hewett does not collect final balance until customer sign-off on delivery. But mainly Hewett just wants the job done right. “People are happy when you bring in the couch or dining room set they’ve been waiting on,” Hewett says. “I want them to stay happy for years to come.” h Winter 2019
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PRIME RESOURCE
Keeping Time
And the timeless appeal of Winston-Salem’s Old Town Clock Shop & Repair By Nancy Oakley • Photographs by John Koob Gessner
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mid a soundtrack of whirring and ticking and chiming and the occasional birdcall of “cuckoo,” Nate Moffatt holds up two pairs of dancing figures, each clasping hands while they whirl around a bare circular disk. “It’s an odd one,” says Sandy Moran, co-owner along with her husband Alan Moran of Winston-Salem’s Old Town Clock Shop & Repair. “You don’t see those too often.” The timepiece is one of thousands among cuckoos, mantel clocks, grandfathers, sleek contemporary clocks on tripods and novelties, such as the popular Kit-Cat Klocks with moving eyes and tails that fill the shop’s walls and shelves. And then there’s an oversized round clock with Roman numerals on its face, perched on a chair facing the front window. “It’s huge! I didn’t have any place else to put it!” says Patsy Holder, Old Town’s shop assistant (or “Girl Everything” as Sandy affectionately calls her), who greets customers along with the Morans’ affable, aging Lab mix, Kioti. Since 1977, the shop has been a fixture of the Old Town community, so named for its proximity to Bethania, the area’s second Moravian settlement and oldest planned municipality. “When I was a little boy, there was a farm-machinery place up here called Leinbach’s,” Alan Moran recalls. “I used to go by here all the time . . . not knowing 40 years later I’d be owning it.” In 2008, he and Sandy bought the place from its previous owners, Larry and Nancy Farrington (who had bought it from Philip Woods, the founder) — even though neither of the Morans knew anything about clock repair. “He’s always been interested in clocks and watches,” Sandy says of her husband. Winter 2019
Fortunately, repair technician P.K. Knab stayed on, and to this day, quietly sits across from Moffatt, bent over the backlog of cable-style grandfather clocks. (Sandy handles the chain-style grandfathers; Patsy Holder converts traditional mechanisms to battery packs.) Larry Farrington remained for a year, as well, taking Alan along with him on service calls and training him — just as Philip Woods had done for him. “I’m still learning!” Alan chuckles. “You see something new every day.” He’s often on the road, gathering clocks — typically grandfathers — around the Triad that need a temporary storage facility while the floors of houses need resurfacing or carpeting. Natural disasters also take their toll, such as the tornado of 2018 that struck east Greensboro and beyond. And when timepieces themselves are damaged in fires and floods, Old Town comes to the rescue, repairing or cleaning clocks, and sending the large wooden cases of grandfathers to restoration companies, such as Carolina Furniture in Advance, or in the case of a more complicated job, to a horologist in Maryland. “You’d be surprised how many water pipes burst,” Alan adds. When a sprinkler system in Old Salem’s museum archives broke, it was Alan who restored one of its clocks that fell victim to the water damage. “It was 1740,” he says, making it the oldest he’s ever worked on. “It was actually given to the museum by one of the residents who had passed away. Not knowing much heritage about it, we had to do a lot of rebuilding.” Now, he says, “We take care of all their clocks.” Preserving history is at the heart of the Morans’ operation. Sandy points to a late 18th-century clock with pastoral figures painted on its face, an English Bellstriker, with the cutout of a SEASONS • STYLE & DESIGN 27
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Winter 2019
STYLEBOOK ship that moves upon “waves” when it strikes the hour in a clear, high-pitched tone. Nearby is another unusual 19th-century piece with ball weights hanging from its chains. Just as timepieces vary enormously, so do the shop’s clients: Sandy and her cohorts understand that the personal histories of their customers are what matter — even in this hyper-digitized day and age. “Luckily people are still sentimental or we would go out of business,” she says. Each clock awaiting repair — and even some of the new ones that Old Town sells — ̌ have stories to tell: “It was the first thing I gave my wife,” Sandy often hears, or “My dad bought this clock in Germany; he was there during the war.” There was the elderly lady who anxiously called every week, asking if her clock from the 1890s had been wound while it was undergoing repair, or the gentleman who brought in an unusual painted wall clock — his only inherited possession. Other customers are particular about timepieces from a home decorating standpoint. “I had one lady pay $30 just for a little teeny plastic piece,” Sandy recalls. She told her customer it would be more cost-effective to replace the clock with a new one, easily acquired at Walmart. “She goes, ‘Honey, this fits where I want it. Perfect. And I love the color. Fix it!’” Younger generations, too, make their way to the Clock Shop. “Every now and then we’ll get a young person who will buy a grandfather clock or they’ll lay it away,” Sandy says. “It’s always something usually connected to their past: ‘My grandmother had one.’” But many of them reveal their 21st-century idiosyncrasies, such as an avoidance of Roman numerals, which they often don’t know how to read. Referring to New York’s street clocks of the Gilded Age or London’s Big Ben, she posits, “Wouldn’t you just like to know what time it is?” Similarly, younger folk prefer battery-powered clocks so as not to have to wind traditional ones, and softer, lower-toned chimes. “The old ones were loud!” Sandy exclaims.
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FORSYTH PLASTIC S U R G E RY
She’s become something of a horological buff, explaining how the various clock manufacturers — Herman Miller, Hermle, Bulova, among others — are all intertwined, given that some of them patent clock movements (or “guts” as she calls them), much in the way that Intel provides processors for a variety of computer brands. “You might say, ‘I have a Tiffany clock,’” she says, “but for us, you have a Seth Thomas movement.” She points out the different styles — Vienna regulators (rectangular wall clocks that chime), steeple clocks, bracket clocks (with handles), tambours (flat-bottomed ones with sloped tops), and “kitchen clocks” a catchall that can refer to a classification of rectangular clocks, made between the 1890s and the early 20th century — an era when the main room of the house, particularly in rural and agricultural areas, was the kitchen. “So that’s why we call them kitchen clocks because that’s where they were.” With time literally at our fingertips — on our cell phones and computers, in our cars — it’s a strange concept to ponder: time standing literally in one place. Did previous generations have a deeper appreciation of the passing minutes and hours because they were formally and communally marked, or more audible, like the constant, rhythmic ticking and chiming of Old Town Clock Shop’s wares? “Listen,” says Sandy, pausing. “Get you a full meal, and you can lay down and go to sleep listening to that.” A series of heartbeats, in effect, kept beating, ironically, by tradesmen whom Alan calls “a dying breed.” He says that when they bought the shop, “in Greensboro, High Point and Winston-Salem, there were eight or 10 guys that worked out of their homes. They’re not doing it any more. They’ve either passed away, or they can’t do the work any more. So it’s fallen to us. We’re keeping a tradition alive.” h The Old Town Clock Shop & Repair, 3738 Reynolda Road (Highway 67), Winston-Salem. (336) 924-8807 or oldtownclock.com
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STYLEBOOK
A Little Holiday Table Talk The art of setting a beautiful table is all about knowing your guests and setting a welcoming mood By Noah Salt • Photographs by Amy Freeman
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ithout apology, Laura Griffin is a force of nature and woman with a storied past — which explains why she’s so brilliant at designing and hosting anything that involves the task of pleasing guests, especially memorable dinner parties. The daughter of a former Cone Mills vice-president and fashion designer, she grew up in Greensboro and set off on a career in nursing before she and first husband Robert Pearse opened a legendary white-tablecloth restaurant called Robert’s in Friendly Center’s Forum VI (now Signature Place). The couple went on to create a popular low-budget eatery at Elam and Walker called the Smokin’ Dog that specialized in gourmet sandwiches and vegetarian fare, before migrating out to Guilford College and opening The Revival Grill, a beloved and innovative restaurant that occupied a cubby hole in Quaker Square for more than a decade. After this, Laura helped design and launch three award-winning wineries around the state. These days, Laura and her second husband Mike own historic Chinaberry Guest Farm and Barn in the village of Wallburg, a spec-
Winter 2019
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STYLEBOOK tacularly restored vacation rental that sleeps up to eight people. With 26 years of designer hosting and catering behind her, we thought it might be useful to drop by the farm and have a chat with the indefatigable hostess about the approaching holiday season, hoping to pick up some pearls of wisdom about how to set a memorable holiday table. Here are a few useful pointers we picked up during an hour with Laura in the barn: “The key to a great dinner party is to mix and match interesting people who will enjoy getting to know others over good food and wine. I love to invite guests who may not know each other but who share certain interests in a subject. The other night we had a party for eight in the barn that involved a local builder, two top interior designers and a couple who worked on Broadway for years. The conversation was nonstop.” “A good dinner party is a chance to tell a story about who you are as well, to create a memorable setting where your guests feel both comfortable and intrigued by the design of the table, especially at the holidays.” Aesthetics are everything: “Themes are important but beauty is maybe even more so. The best themes tend to reflect whatever has captured the interest of the host at that moment, something you are passionate about. It could be Christmas . . . or local history! Not long ago I hosted a party with a George Washington theme because I’d learned he traveled the road by our farm on his famous Southern tour. I decorated with lots of Washington figurines. The guests loved it.” There’s no need to spend a lot of money, Laura says, “Use what you have, what you have collected. I personally love to set a beautiful table with antique pieces and vintage china and other items I’ve collected from many years of travel and work. Beautiful old plates and silverware have such character —authenticity and their own stories! It’s also quite economical if you collect, as I have done, over time — picked up beautiful pieces of silverware, for instance, here or there. You’d be surprised by what you can find at second-hand and consignment stores. The Triad area has loads of them. If you have a little extra to spend, you can splurge on flowers and other appropriate decorations.” Then there’s hospitality: “Most of all, a memorable dinner party or a holiday gathering is about creating a feeling of welcome and comfort. Obviously, the food is important. But you also want your guests to relax and have fun, to enjoy making new friends or spending time with old ones. And when they leave, you hope they take away happy feelings.” Just for fun, we wondered, given her many years of catering and hosting, what kind of table Laura and Mike set for friends and family at the holidays. “Actually,” she allows with her quicksilver laugh, “we’re pretty low-key these days. Between us, we have six children who are grown up and learning what it’s like to be out working in the world! Extended family and even grandchildren now come. We light lots of fires and have delicious stews, comfort food that feels like home. That feeling,” she emphasizes, “is so important anytime, but especially the holidays.” h Learn more about China Berry Farm and Guest Barn at www. vrbo.com.
32 SEASONS •
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34 SEASONS •
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STYLEBOOK
THE GARDEN GURU
Hellebore Heaven Winter puts the bloom on Lenten roses By Cheryl Capaldo Traylor
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he fascination started with just one look. Janice Nicolson spotted a plant blooming by a landscape client’s front porch, in shade, in the dead of winter. “What is this plant?” she asked pointing to the flower she had never seen before. Her client didn’t know the name, so Nicholson began a quest to find out. After seeing it several times in old gardens and asking other gardeners, she discovered the plant was a Lenten rose. But her quest didn’t end there. After unsuccessfully trying to locate a local buying source, she started producing them herself. Hellebores take two to four years to mature from seed, so many nurseries don’t want to invest the time it takes to grow them. “But, I didn’t know any better,” Nicholson laughs. “So, I started growing them.” That’s how hellebore fever often begins. Lenten rose, Helleborus xˣ hybridus (formerly known as H. orientalis), is the most commonly grown hellebore in American gardens. And it is no wonder as they are tough garden plants and
Winter 2019
the easiest of the hellebores for us to grow. “They’re pretty much foolproof,” says Nicholson, owner of Gethsemane Gardens and Nursery in Greensboro. “You can plant them and forget them.” Add to that their captivating beauty and unique bloom time, and you understand why gardening legend Christopher Lloyd proclaimed, “Hellebores are an addiction.”
Endless Possibilities
Hellebores are members of the Ranunculaceae, or buttercup family, and are native to Europe and Asia. Lenten rose gets its name from its propensity to bloom before, during and after the forty days of the Christian observance of Lent. They can bloom as early as January and last through May. The showy blossoms are comprised of five petal-like sepals, with the actual ring of modified petals tucked inside the bloom. These tiny, funnel-shaped petals, appropriately named nectaries, are a source of nectar for bees and other early pollinators. The SEASONS • STYLE & DESIGN 35
STYLEBOOK large glossy evergreen leaves are spectacular in the landscape, often measuring over a foot across. These cold-weather perennial luminaries come in an array of colors, shapes, forms and sizes. Colors include pink, lavender, white, yellow, green, reddish, purple, creamy white, near black and slate blue. Some are freckled, dark-centered or veined. Picotee styles have an elegant maroon stain tracing the rim of each bloom. Shapes and habit vary widely: star, cup, outward-facing, nodding, single and double hellebores. The varietal possibilities are infinite! Winter is often thought of as a time of bare branches and few blooms, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Hellebores work together with many other woodlanders like crocus, epimedium, Iris reticulata and snowdrops to light up the bleak midwinter landscape. H. ˣhybridus thrives in well-drained soils and are remarkably drought tolerant. They need protection from the intense Southern summer sun, but like more light in the winter. “Don’t plant in solid shade,” advises Nicholson. “The plant will probably live, but won’t produce as many blooms.”
Hellebore Chores
Although hellebores are happy to grow without human intervention, there are a few maintenance tips that help plants look and perform their best in the garden. Removing seeds After the blooms fade, the papery seedpods, which are surprisingly beautiful, ripen and a multitude of glossy black seeds spill out. If you garden on a large piece of land, you might want to let them spread with abandon — and don’t worry — they will. But as wonderful as new seedlings are, too much of a good thing can be too much, especially in smaller gardens among other plants. You can remove the seedpods before they burst. Sharing seedlings with friends is another option. Remember though, seedlings do not come true from seeds, so may not be the same color as the parent plant. The best time to transplant and plant is fall, although most nurseries sell more hellebores when the plants are in glorious bloom in late winter or early spring. Another option for the small garden is sterile hybrids that don’t set seed. Some of the most sought-after hellebores in the world right now are sterile hybrids. Removing old leaves Although hellebore leaves last throughout the year, they begin to look ragged in January at about the same time flower buds begin to appear. The leaves can be cut off at this time. This is mostly done for aesthetic reasons, but it makes a notable difference as bloom stalks show up much better without leaves. Nicholson prefers to leave some of the newer foliage to accompany the bloom, and cuts only tired-looking, ragged leaves. Fertilizing It’s not necessary to fertilize these robust plants in the garden. Some gardeners like Nicholson allow leaves that fall in autumn to mulch and fertilize hellebores naturally. She doesn’t add extra leaves to the beds because she doesn’t want to inhibit seedling growth. “The good Lord knows better than I do how much mulch they need,” she says. If the leaves start to turn yellow and plants are not performing well, she recommends topdressing around the plants with bagged, composted cow manure. If the soil is too acidic, you can also sprinkle some ground, dolomitic limestone around plants.
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Oh Rabbit! Oh Vole! Oh Deer!
Plants go in and out of favor in the gardening world. But, hellebores have managed to stay popular for a long time. Nicholson believes their deer resistance has a lot to do with that. With ongoing loss of habitat, deer and other wildlife are more prevalent in neighborhoods, and gardeners are looking for plants that will not get nibbled. All parts of the hellebore plant are poisonous, so deer, rabbit and voles leave them alone. Helleborus comes from Greek helein meaning “to injure” and bora meaning “food,” literally food that kills.
36 SEASONS •
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Interior Design Showroom and Home Furnishings Come visit us Monday through Friday 9 to 5 or call for an in-home appointment
Diane Lackey, IDS • Eric Lackey, IDS 509 Randolph Street, Thomasville • 336-476-3223 www.decoratorsedge.com
Winter 2019
STYLEBOOK A Few Good Hellebores
“Anyone can grow Lenten roses,” wrote Elizabeth Lawrence. So here are a few more hellebores for adventurous gardeners to try. The Christmas rose (Helleborus niger) blooms earlier, hence the name. The vigorous “Nell Lewis” strain from the garden of the renowned late Greensboro plantswoman Nell Lewis thrives in Southern gardens. Other hellebores that grow successfully in the Triad include H. argutifolius, H. dumetorum, H. foetidus, H. odorus, H. sˣ ternii, and H. torquatus. The reasons to grow these delightful plants are many. To borrow a popular sports slogan: Just Do It! You won’t be sorry. Your winter garden will be more colorful, inviting, and warm-feeling. We could all do with a little more hellebore fever. h RESOURCES In addition to a variety of hellebores, Gethsemane Gardens also specializes in hard-to-find perennials, shrubs and seeds. The nursery, located off N.C. Hwy. 150 in Greensboro, is open by appointment only. Phone number: (336) 6563096. Nicholson sells plants at the Downtown Greensboro Farmers Market Saturday mornings from mid-February to mid-June and October to November. Hellebores are also on display and for sale at: Pine Knot Farms, Clarksville, Virginia. www.pineknotfarms.com Plant Delights Nursery, Raleigh, N.C. www.plantdelights.com Cheryl Capaldo Traylor is a writer, gardener, reader, and hiker. She blogs at Giving Voice to My (www.cherylcapaldotraylor.com).
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Visit our retail store, where we carry home décor, gifts and fashion! 153 S. Stratford Road Winston-Salem, NC 27104 (336) 722-8503 @kimtaylorco Winter 2019
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SEASONS • STYLE & DESIGN 37
We Service What We Sell & Offer Personal Attention 336-854-9222 • www.HartApplianceCenter.com
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38 SEASONS •
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1107 N. MAIN STREET • HIGHPOINT • 336.889.0400
www.aboutfacedayspa.com Winter 2019
Working with buyers and sellers in the TRIAD area for over 30 years. Call me for all your Real Estate needs!
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SEASONS • STYLE & DESIGN 39
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40 SEASONS •
Monday-Friday 10-5:30 • Saturday • 10-5 Sunday 1-5
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& DESIGN
Winter 2019
Winter Almanac By Ash Alder
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n the winter garden, everything feels like a tiny miracle. Each ice crystal. Each smiling pansy. Each tender bud on the heirloom camellia. Even the sunlight looks different than you’ve ever seen it — softer, more forgiving. In this bare-branched season of shadow and new light, the sweetness of infinite possibility reveals itself in endless subtle ways. Notice the magic even amidst the decay You clean the birdbath, add fresh water, return to the kitchen for the whistling kettle. As your sachet of tea pirouettes in hot water, the aroma of citrus, clove and cinnamon permeates the air, and there is movement in the periphery. Flashes of color. Through the window, a procession of songbirds splashes round in their warm bath, preening each feather — each tiny miracle. You watch as they bob and shimmy, and when the last bird lifts off, you exhale a silent prayer. Grace is here. Winter is a threshold to wonders yet unknown. Dark as it sometimes seems, you enter bright-eyed, as if your very breath might perfect Nature’s unfurling masterpiece.
Rebirth of the Sun
Call it what you like — Winter Solstice, Yule, or midwinter — the longest night of the year falls on Saturday, December 21. In Japan, it’s a midwinter tradition to take a dip in the yuza tub, a hot bath filled with floating yellow yuzu fruit, to ward off the common cold. Not a bad way to welcome winter. Or round a fire with dearest friends, sharing stories, songs and cider beneath the waning crescent moon.
How many lessons of faith and beauty we should lose, if there were no winter in our year! — Thomas Wentworth Higginson, April Days, 1861
Sweet Herbal Magic
January is National Hot Tea Month. Loose leaf is best. Indulge. Add honey, lemon, spices, sticks of cinnamon. Cook with it. Chai and matcha shortbread cookies. Roasted oolong ice cream. Green tea poached salmon with ginger and lime. Detoxing? Dandelion root has long been used to help cleanse the liver and gallbladder. Sore throat? Try peppermint, echinacea, ginger root, or slippery elm. And if you’re dreaming of summer: sweet rose.
Say it in Flowers (or Spoons)
Red roses say I love you. But if you’re looking to dazzle your sweetheart with something different this Valentine’s Day, these customs from around the globe are sure to inspire: • Exchange pressed snowdrops (Denmark) • Pin the name of your one true love on your shirtsleeve (South Africa) • Offer carved melons and fruit (China) • Although the Welsh celebrate their patron saint of lovers on January 25, this gift might take the cake: the love spoon. Carved with intricate patterns and symbols, these wooden spoons have been given as tokens of affection for centuries. h
Year of the Rat
Twelfth Night (January 5), the eve of Epiphany, marks the end of the Christmas season. But the merriment continues. Saturday, January 25, marks the celebration of the Chinese New Year. Cue the paper lanterns for the Year of the Metal Rat, a year of wealth and surplus. Bring it on. According to one ancient myth, the rat is the first of all zodiac animals because it tricked the ox into giving it a ride to the Jade Emperor’s party, a race to determine the order in which the animals would appear. Just as the ox was approaching the finish line, the rat leapt down in front of it, arriving first. All of this to say that 2020 just may be a year of newfound ingenuity and resourcefulness. But no need to go fooling anyone.
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The simplicity of winter has a deep moral. The return of Nature, after such a career of splendor and prodigality, to habits so simple and austere, is not lost either upon the head or the heart. It is the philosopher coming back from the banquet and the wine to a cup of water and a crust of bread. —John Burroughs, “The Snow-Walkers,” 1866 SEASONS • STYLE & DESIGN 41
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VIVID i n t e r i o r s
Interior Design • Furnishings • Accessories • Gifts • Art
513 South Elm Street , Greensboro, NC 27406 336.265.8628 www.vivid-interiors .com Winter 2019
Winter Our many different cultures notwithstanding, there’s something about the holidays that makes the planet communal. Even nations that do not celebrate Christmas can’t help but be caught up in the collective spirit of their neighbors, as twinkling lights dot the landscape and carols fill the air. It’s an inspiring time of the year. – Marlo Thomas Winter 2019
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Homestead for the Holidays For Sid Teague and Camilla Wilcox, the past was truly prelude to a glorious future By Jim Dodson • Photographs by Amy Freeman
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his is the place where we create,” says Sid Teague matter-offactly, indicating with a wave of the hand the area beyond his wide and commodious back porch. “An artist puts his work on canvas. We create on dirt. It’s important to us where we live. In some ways, it’s like we’ve withdrawn to a different time in the world.” “When I first saw this house,” adds Camilla Wilcox, “It truly looked like it had been here forever — or at least a hundred years.” Indeed it does. To a visitor’s uninformed eye on this warm late Indian summer afternoon, with a cool glass of local wine in hand, the tableau that presents itself — a handsome barn and flock of sheep grazing peacefully in the adjacent meadow, a rustic rail-fenced garden giving up the last of summer’s bounty, pathways of crushed stone meandering through curated beds of native flowers, even an ancient log house tucked artfully into a corner of the property — gives off an air of Jeffersonian simplicity. The stately Federalist style house has the look and feel of a beloved family home passed down through the generations. The fact that it reposes on a rural patch of land just outside the historic village of Lewisville, within a mile or so of the legendary Great Wagon Road that brought thousands of German and Scotch-Irish settlers to the Colonial
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backcountry, doesn’t hurt this impression in the least. “Actually,” Sid allows with a smile, “none of what you see was here 20 years ago, though it was the site of an old farmstead going back to the early 19th century and maybe before. What you see now, however, is really the work and vision of two people who share a love of history.” “It’s funny that you mention Thomas Jefferson,” Camilla Wilcox is moved to say with a bright smile, offering a bowl of sweet figs from her garden. “The first project Sid and I worked on here together was the Jefferson garden area here in back.” She indicates the area off the western corner of the porch where ferns, lungwort, fire pinks and an old-fashioned blackberry lily grow beneath the spreading arms of a black walnut tree. To step back a bit in time, their spectacular collaboration commenced not long after the couple began dating in 2002, introduced by like-minded friends at a function of the Foothills Group of N.C. Sierra Club. Of course popular dentist Sid Teague and plant historian Camilla Wilcox would make an interesting couple, given their mutual interests in American history and the natural world. At that time, Camilla was the longtime curator of education for Reynolda Gardens of Wake Forest University, a widowed mother with a son who was a college professor. Her life’s work had been finding and preserving historic plants. SEASONS • STYLE & DESIGN 45
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Sid was also a life in transition, a divorced father of three. A son of western Forsyth, he had a deep reverence for local history and historic preservation that led him to undertake the complete construction of a spectacular brick house in Lewisville based on an early 19th-century design by historical architect and former Old Salem conservator Charles Phillips. “It’s funny how things sometimes work out,” Sid begins the tale of their collaboration. “After my marriage ended, I looked around the state for a rural piece of land and was even considering the purchase of a historic house in Old Salem, when one afternoon I happened upon a man who was digging below the floor joists of St. Philips Moravian Church. That fascinated me. His name was Mo Hartley, Old Salem’s archeologist. We got to talking and I told him I thought I might build a house that would be authentic in every detail. I asked him where I might begin. He suggested that I get in touch with architect Charles Phillips.” At that time, circa 1996, Phillips, Old Salem’s former director of restoration, was one of the nation’s leading conservators and experts on historic restoration. His lengthy professional vita included a 20-year stint restoring George Mason’s Colonial home in Virginia in collaboration with Williamsburg’s director of archeology Paul Buchanan, plus advisory work on James Madison’s Montpelier estate for the National Trust for Historic Preservation and numerous other public and private historic properties. “Here I was, a local dentist, who happened to love history, getting in touch Winter 2019
to see if he might design me a house,” Sid remembers with a laugh. “I wasn’t sure he would take me seriously.” But Charles Phillips did. “I knew from our first conversation that Sid was a thoughtful man who knew a great deal about history and had a firm vision in his head,” relates Phillips, who has since returned to his native Texas, where he is CEO of a preservation group, Conserve Architecture. “Sometimes that’s a good thing. Other times it can be a problem — if a client insists on doing everything his own way,” he says. Fortunately, in this instance, it was a very good partnership: “Sid actually listened to the things I told him. He was a terrific client, very informed and curious. As a result, everything flowed really well.” The 2,600-square-foot house Charles Phillips designed for Dr. Sid Teague was what the architect calls a three-story “survival Federalist-style” brick house. “It was the kind of house you would have found in the rural areas of the Southern states in the early 19th century,” Phillips explains. “Federalist houses reached their peak around 1790 in the major cities and towns of early America. But it took time for the style to spread out to the country — hence the word survival.” With his “new old” house’s design plans in hand, Sid went looking for builders who would do specialized reproduction work but found that most of those he contacted were either unequipped to create the kind of historic property he had in mind or were simply way beyond his projected budget. SEASONS • STYLE & DESIGN 47
At the suggestion of an old friend who was a builder, however, he became his own contractor and dove headlong into the challenging process of building his historic dream house on a forested 8-acre parcel of land he found not far from where he grew up in western Forsyth. “When I look back, I realize how challenging it was to build this house myself,” he reflects. “But it was something I really felt committed to do.” And so, he researched the right handmade historic bricks and even hired the skilled German bricklayers from Surry County; sought out and lined up the region’s last two skilled plasterers, and found a firm down in Whiteville, N.C., that could provide reclaimed and finished “Charleston grade” heart pine flooring with no knots. Goodman Millwork of Salisbury provided stunning custom-made moldings and cabinets made from sustainable Pennsylvania cherry. “If it sounds a little like a personal obsession,” he allows, “that wouldn’t be far wrong. I threw every moment of my life into building this house — every waking moment and even dreams at night.” By the time of his second date with Camilla Wilcox in 2002, the house was more or less completed. After a pleasant supper at the Old Salem Tavern, Sid drove Camilla out to have a look at his newfangled, old-fashioned historic homestead dream house. He remembers how she got out of the car and just looked up at the house and smiled. At the time, he recalls, “I’d just moved into the house but the walls inside were all whitewashed. At that stage, everything was pretty basic.”
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“I remember thinking,” recalls Camilla, “Oh my, I think I’m home.” Over the next five years, as history beckoned and love took root like the passion flowers on their period-correct picket fence, Camilla’s gifted eye for design, not to mention historic colors and rich textures — along with family heirlooms combined with historic furnishings they picked up from sorties to antique auctions — slowly transformed the interior of their Survival Federalist into a warm and inviting masterpiece of historic design. “Sid was a wonderful client, the kind you dream of having,” says Phillips. “But it must be said that Camilla’s influence was really important. She saw things Sid couldn’t see. Her understanding of interior design — the beautiful
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flooring and colors she chose — and the historic nature of the house made it all fit so honestly and naturally on the landscape.” “We actually had to postpone the wedding for a year in order to build closets,” Camilla remembers with an amused shake of her head, noting how most 19th-century houses typically relied on wardrobes in place of closets. “The only closets I originally built were for myself, thinking I’d be a single man,” Sid admits. “I finished the third floor with closets and a place for Camilla to have her own dedicated space.” “Sid had his study on the second floor,” she injects. “I needed my own inner sanctum too.” Winter 2019
His cozy second-floor nook hosts favorite books, sentimental items from his boyhood and many years of travel and outdoor life. Her third-floor aerie boasts a serene reading room and old-fashioned clawfoot bathtub that took several men to maneuver up two flights of stairs.
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n a broiling August afternoon in 2007, a hundred friends and family turned out for the wedding of Sid Teague and Camilla Wilcox beneath a 250-year-old southern red oak behind their house. By then the property included a new irrigation pond and a recently constructed “sitting porch” that spanned the rear of the house. The Winter 2019
porch was shaded by wild grapes that migrated from the nearby woods, along with Carolina jasmine and Lady Banks roses — an ideal spot for catching the prevailing afternoon breeze. “Original air conditioning,” Camilla jokes. There was also a new carriage house garage designed to replicate a 19thcentury hay barn and winding stone pathways tiered with historic and native flowers behind retaining walls. Sid’s cousin, a Moravian minister, officiated, with musicians from the N. C. School of the Arts providing the music — including an up-tempo version of “Green Acres” as a surprise for Camilla. “She was, after all, the city mouse marrying the country mouse,” Sid quips. SEASONS • STYLE & DESIGN 51
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“I’m the constant builder. She’s the gifted decorator. She simply brought her talents out to the country.” Their wedding guests were also treated to the couple’s latest acquisition —a relocated log house that once belonged to Sid’s great-grandmother, a rustic family homeplace he’d literally dug up and moved in two pieces from its original site 20 miles away on the road to Lexington. The old family homeplace has been faithfully restored and filled with family furniture donated by Sid’s relations. “Charles Phillips told me he thought a house like ours needed an old house in order to give the property the right feel,” Sid says. “I think he probably had a simple corn crib in mind, though — not an actual family house on skids.” “One thing I learned about Sid pretty quickly,” Camilla adds, “there was always something else to build in the planning stages, with more creating to come.” Indeed, soon a handsome well house constructed from a pallet of leftover antique bricks was added to the property, followed by an elegant garden shed and perhaps the county’s most artful chicken coop, all designed by the elegant hand of one Charles Phillips. The coop today boasts 50 resident chickens of 10 different heritage varieties — blue cochins, dark brahmas, Delawares and others — yielding on average a dozen eggs per day, which Sid, who is a youthful 69 but still works two days a week, often takes to work for his employees. Perhaps the crowning touch came three years ago with the completion of a magnificent 30-by-20-foot mortise and tenon barn constructed by Steven Cole Builders of Danbury, and now home to a dozen Corriedale and Dorset sheep and a charming pair of mother-and-daughter llamas named Rosa and Lily. They share the barn with Sid’s remarkable collection of antique farm implements and a genuine Nissen wagon – a fitting touch given that Nissen Wagon Works, established down the road from Old Salem, was one of the largest wagon makers in the South in the 19th century. Two of Sid’s great grandfathers worked there.
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f there’s any truth to the notion that home is where the heart is — a phrase historically attributed to everyone from Pliny the Elder to Davy Crockett — this history-loving couple has surely created a homestead for any season in the heart of the country. “The house does seem to fascinate people. When our friends and family come to visit,” Camilla notes, “we light the fireplaces and cook lots of meals, and talk on the porch even into winter. People like to wander all over the house, up and down, checking things out. My grandchildren always seem to discover something that intrigues them.” And why not? In the house’s expansive red-oak-paneled basement — reached one way by a outside door, the other by a cool pioneer-style ladder through the floor — are Camilla’s workshop, and curated rooms of antiques and collected furnishings from their many years of chasing history though auction houses and back roads, every item carefully catalogued, including a vintage mail-slot cabinet that once belonged to the Lewisville post office. “Perfect for wine bottles, eh?” Sid jokes. Back on the porch, as a cool blue dusk settles over the peaceable kingdom they have made into a living postcard from the 19th century, Sid admits his last “creation” may be finishing the second floor of the carriage house for a home office. “I’ve just given my notice and will need a place for my office furniture.” “He’s officially retired three times already,” Camilla wryly points out. “Whenever our friends saw Sid’s newspaper or billboard ads for his practice, they knew another construction project was about to begin here in the country.” “We may finally be approaching maintenance mode,” Sid concedes as he heads off to the barn to feed the sheep and llamas. “But building the past has been such a pleasure. You never know what we just might create next.” h Jim Dodson is the editor of Seasons and its sister magazines, O.Henry, PineStraw and Salt.
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Divine Mission
Kimberly Hixson’s revitalized — and revitalizing — High Point renovation By Quinn Dalton • Photographs by Amy Freeman
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s with most of Kimberly Hixson’s projects, the house at 111 West Farriss Avenue in High Point found her, not the other way around. But this one kept finding her even when she tried again and again to turn it away. “I don’t take on every house that I’m asked to do,” she says. “The ones I choose have indeed found me and usually at a time when I’ve needed them as much as they needed me. They tell their stories to me. What they ask of me at times can be a difficult and expensive path to take, but every one of them has been worth it.” She had her reasons for holding out on this house, but as she sees it, the house had its reasons, too. Some houses just insist. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the one-story, Mission Revival-style house at the corner of West Farriss Avenue and Hillcrest Drive had been built around 1927. In more recent years it became known to locals as the Clontz house, after Jim W. Clontz, a World War II veteran and prominent High Point attorney, who purchased the house for his growing family. He and his wife remained there for the next 40 years. Even as the four Clontz children grew up and moved into their adult lives, they thought of their home as more than the cherished shelter of their childhood memories, but as another family member, one they could not bring themselves to abandon.
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This was why in early 2014 Clontz’s son, Jimmy walked a few doors down the street to another house Hixson was then renovating to ask if she could come with him for a few minutes and take a look. Two things she remembers. “So much water damage — you could see from the front door through to the back yard.” The Mission (sometimes generally referred to as Mediterranean) style is, after all, an architectural answer to staying cool in arid, sunbaked climes. It features thick stucco exteriors and low-pitch or flat rooflines with clay tiles rather than shingles. Humid climates with frequent rain and abundant, moisture-trapping shade are kryptonite to this style. But the other thing: “I felt a connection the moment I walked in the door,” Hixson remembers. “It was an instant, soul-deep link.” Hixson, a general contractor known for her exacting and creative workmanship, has renovated and custom-built dozens of homes across the Triad and beyond over the years. But by 2014, Hixson’s practiced gaze was turning toward the Blue Ridge; she was already working toward building a home for herself and her husband in Boone, where they planned to retire. But you can’t help what you love. Hixson looked at 111 West Farriss and saw in its faded elegance the possibility of healing. “I thought I might restore it into an actual mission — a place for people in recovery.” This vision seemed especially fitting because of the house’s immediate proximity to St. Mary’s Episcopal Church. And the cause itself was as close to her heart as her oldest son, whose heroin addiction had by then led him to prison. But it turned out the timing wasn’t yet right for the Clontz family
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to sell. And their price was too high given what Hixson knew would be required to bring the house back to life properly. “The truth is, as much as I felt the pull of that house, I was almost relieved,” she recalls. Two years later, in 2016, Hixson received a call from a broker representing the Clontz family. They had reduced the price. This time, it was Hixson’s turn to say no. Her 23-year-old son had since died. She had no intention of doing another project in High Point, or living there a day longer than she had to, so crushing was her grief. But the broker called back, and then called back again, each time announcing reductions in price. She said no, and still he called back. The fifth time, he told her the family was reluctantly considering tearing the house down in order to sell the lot, had even gotten bids. It hurt her to think of that, but she still said no. The sixth time he called, she recognized his number. “I said to God, ‘You really want me to do this, don’t you?’” She picked up. “OK, yes,” she said. “I’ll buy it.” “Don’t you want to know the price?” Hixson laughs, remembering. “I was just accepting my fate.” The transformation of 111 West Farriss was beyond a restoration. It was a reimagining, down to the studs. Hixson moved the kitchen so that it would truly be the center of the house. She opened up the floor plan, moved doorways for better flow, and added modern amenities such as an en-suite master bedroom, while also nodding to the Spanish Mission style by arching all of the new doorways, which, in the old floor plan, had been squared off. The exterior required as much or more effort. The stucco and structural integrity had to be shored up. Mature white oaks in the front yard, though beautiful, would only create more moisture problems and had to be removed. Much as it pained Hixson to clear them away, the end result opened the approach to the house and allowed its face to shine in the sun. And this was her aim, to open. She found ways to embody the pull she’d felt from the first moment she’d stepped inside. For example, the graceful outward sweep of iron railings framing the front steps seem to mimic an embrace. The lowwalled terrace extending the length of the façade allows from the street a view of comfortable perches inviting a visit. Tile from the guest bath adds a spot of color to the mailbox — the inside reaching out. The overall feel of the house inside and out is crisp, clean and open. The cool white exterior contrasts with the rich dark tones of the front door and window casings. This contrast repeats inside, with the low gleam of the refinished wood floors and pristine white walls throughout, which not only reflect the abundant natural light but seem to glow from within. They serve as a canvas for every piece of furniture and artwork. The front room is anchored by a whitewashed fireplace, the kitchen by a generous central island and a mix of cabinetry, with some glass-front doors displaying treasures within. At just under 2,000 square feet, the main floor was comfortable in size, made to feel more spacious with the opening up of the floor plan. But there was also an unfinished basement, which Hixson took upon herself to completely and creatively finish, doubling the living space. Hixson and her husband moved in, and it wasn’t long before offers to purchase came along. This is an occupational hazard of success in Hixson’s line of work — people try to buy the results right out from under you. But Hixson was and is just as resolute about not selling as she had been about not buying years before. Among the houses she has lovingly transformed into homes — work she describes as her calling — 111 West Farriss Avenue holds its own ground in her heart. “I’ve never been so attached to a house,” Hixson says. “I don’t know that I could ever sell it.” Winter 2019
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But with the dream of someday retiring to the mountains, Hixson found another option. After rebuffing multiple offers to sell, a perfect tenant appeared in the form of Michelle Casey, a personal trainer with a strong design aesthetic of her own. Her tastes run toward the modern and minimal, and they happen to complement perfectly the clean, simple lines of the house. Casey marvels at the deep calm that seems to emanate from every room, especially the kitchen, which both she and Hixson name as the space they gravitate toward the most. “Houses have souls,” Hixson says. She’s convinced every house yearns to be cared for, and, if time gets the better of it, to be made whole again. “That,” she says, “is where I step in.” And what good fortune that she did — for the community, the house and its latest grateful occupant. “I wake up every day and pinch myself,” Casey says. “I can’t believe how lucky I am to live here.” h Quinn Dalton is the author of two story collections and two novels, most recently Midnight Bowling. She also co-authored The Infinity Of You & Me under the pen name JQ Coyle with fellow UNCG M.F.A. grad Julianna Baggott. Winter 2019
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Turning the
Tables . . . & Chairs
An artful take on furniture at Winston-Salem’s Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art By Nancy Oakley • Photographs by John Koob Gessner
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ome sit a spell! But before you plop down onto the seat of that aluminum chair with geometric patterns seemingly etched into it, you might want to think again, and ease yourself onto it. For those “etchings,” are actually interlocking pieces supported by springy foam. “It conforms to your butt,” says Wendy Earle, curator at the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (SECCA) in Winston-Salem. The chair, aka The Blue Scotty, was fashioned by Penland’s Annie Evelyn, one of 15 artists from North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee whose 50 pieces of furniture comprise SECCA’s whimsical exhibit — Furnished — on view through January 5, 2020. Arriving from West Texas a year and a half ago, Earle says she was struck by the prevalence of the Triad’s furniture industry. “There are a lot of makers and sales,” she observes. “All the places I’d lived, that hadn’t been the case. It wasn’t an industry like it is here.” So she got to thinking: “What does that mean for us in the contemporary world to kind of have all this furniture swirling around us?” She was also interested in mounting an exhibit with an accessible frame of reference for viewers. “We see it every day. Everyone’s got furniture in their house,” Earle says. Partnering with the Furniture Society, a Brooklyn-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting the art of, you guessed it, furniture making, Earle was convinced to approach the show with an open call for entries. “‘That way,’” she recalls her cohorts at the Society telling her, “‘you’re going to get some surprises, because you’re not going to know everybody.’” And surprised she was, as 35 applicants came to the fore. Two of them among the 15 selected for the show are Africans — Jomo Tariku an Ethiopian, who resides in Virginia, and Graham Campbell, a white South African based in Tennessee. “The other thing that surprised me is, we’ve got a lot of animal themes,” Earl says, pointing to wall sculptures of animals, a fish appearing to charge right through the middle of a Federalist-style table (inspired by a piece in Old Salem, as it happens), and another table embellished with a tail made of horsehair. “There’s also a bit of a nautical theme,” Earle says. She anticipated “creative re-use” of materials, but was, again surprised at the ways in which they were used — metal and ceramics masquerading as wood, lines drawn onto wood to simulate its grain. But don’t think for a minute you need to hold your breath and reverently tiptoe around these works. With the exception of the ceramic pieces, you’re encouraged to sit on them, touch them and explore. (At the exhibit’s opening in July, the artists fairly insisted on it.) Ultimately, you’ll discover, as Earle has, that Furnished “transcends furniture,” revealing “furniture as sculpture and sculpture as furniture; so really, taking it beyond this utilitarian object and looking at it as a form of art,” she says. Below are some of the exhibit’s standouts that will give pause the next time you set a table, flip a light switch or sink into your sofa, remote in hand.
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Deconstructed
Brent Skidmore’s towering sculpture, Peril AND Promise of Building a New Livingroom asks viewers to consider just what furniture is. Though some of its components are metal (pieces of chair backs and legs), most are made of wood. “He’s investigating the wood and what he can make it look like,” says Earle. “He’s playing in a real way.” Some sections of the tower appear to be made of stone, others are imprinted with patterns, another studded with jewels. Adding to the playful vibe are two other sections puckishly crowned with tiny models of an armchair and an Eames chair.
Four Legs Good!
Especially four legs of chairs reconstituted to form these whimsical animal wall sculptures. In his Charismatic series, Mexico native and Asheville resident José Pablo (JP) Barreda recalls his childhood love of comic books and nature documentaries by transforming different styles of chairs into a menagerie. The teeth of his American Alligator were once the rungs on the back of a rocking chair; a Windsor chair enjoys new life of a fighting bull; a Louis side chair becomes a Galápagos tortoise; while a basic wooden office chair with a slatted back has morphed into a Sumatran orangutan.
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All Hands on Deck
If the curved ribs of Rassawek Side Table (steam-bent ash placed over a cherry frame) remind you of a yacht’s hull, or the sleek cypress planks forming the backing of Draketail Chair resemble the deck of a yacht, that’s exactly as David Bohnhoff intended. A native of Virginia Beach, Virginia, the artist was fascinated with boats from an early age, so much so that he studied at Maine’s Landing School of boat making and design. Since returning to his home state, where he earned a B.F.A. in furniture making from Virginia Commonwealth Univerisity in Richmond, Bohnhoff has been creating simple, elegant pieces by hand, without the aid of computers, automated tools or 3-D printers — a true testament of an artist in command of his, er, craft.
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Visions of Light
Illuminating a darkened corner of SECCA’s sprawling galley seven colorful “chandeliers” form a series titled Where Do You Stay? by Charlotte native Austin Ballard. Through cutouts of patterned shades suspended from basic lamp chains that the artist bought in bulk, the light fixtures cast a soft glow. On close inspection, you’ll realize the shades are made of familiar materials: “Craft store supplies,” explains Curator Wendy Earle. “That sort of grid work you’d use when you’re learning needlepoint.” Most are plastic but there are other materials, such as wood and rattan in the hanging wonders. “He’s putting an extraordinary amount of time into it. And using a basic material,” Earle says. “You wouldn’t expect a male artist to be playing with these other two pieces, Conversation Chair and Fainting Chair, made from cane webbing whose tiny holes Ballard filled with epoxy entirely by hand.
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Sitting Pretty
Perching on the dramatic Cathedral Train Chair, the handiwork of Penland artist Annie Evelyn, you can indulge in your Game of Thrones fantasies, and more important, become one with the piece of art. “She just wanted to create a dress that you could sit in, a chair that you could wear,” says Earle of the walnut base with a flowing train of teal Dupioni silk. “It makes you feel very regal.” Complementing the chair’s grandeur is William Lenard’s Cathedral Windows, three gothic-style panels of ebonized white oak and denim.
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Stumped
Yes, this gnarled old chair (aka Majesty) with its swirling grain and companions Tea Table and Teapot appear to have been fashioned out of tree trunks for the likes of Merlin or Gandalf the Wizard. But run your hand along their surfaces — and ever so carefully, please! — to find the works are in fact, made of ceramic. “He’s really into the detail,” observes Wendy Earle of Chapel Hill about artist Eric Serritella’s trompe l’oeil pieces (the heaviest in the Furnished exhibit) that explore themes of nature and sustainability.
Want to Go? A division of the North Carolina Department of Cultural and Natural Resources, the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (SECCA) continues to expand its reach. New plans are afoot under the leadership of Executive Director, William Carpenter, who took the helm in June. The Center’s main entrance — for years the heavy wooden door to the English country-style house that once belonged to James G. Hanes, will move closer to the contemporary Winter 2019
wing housing exhibit space and the McChesney Scott Dunn Auditorium. Also in Carpenter’s plans? Expanding event space on the grounds with an amphitheater and in a smaller gallery space inside. More significant, SECCA will convert the house’s original dining room to a gallery. “We’re going to call it the Southern Idioms Gallery,” Carpenter explains.” Everything will be for sale. It’s an opportunity to celebrate local artists.” Info: secca.org h
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A ROOM OF OUR OWN
Ever Green (and Red) A cozy, jewel-toned library is the perfect place to unwind
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By Nancy Oakley • Photographs by John Koob Gessner utside its lone window, swaths of green — a sweeping lawn punctuated by towering pines — undulate in waves in the flickering afternoon light. But it’s the swaths of green inside, accented with red and wood tones that entice one to enter, sit awhile and relax. The small library tucked off a hallway in a historic Winston-Salem home belonging to Matt Carey and his wife, Elise Peters Carey, was borne of Matt’s enthusiasm for the Christmas holidays. “He loves the holidays. He loves big, family traditional stuff. He loves it!” says Anne Rainey Rokahr, owner of Trouvaille Home, whose design flair brought the room to life. As co-founder and CEO of Blueprint Income, an online marketplace for personal annuities, Matt spends his time shuttling to New York during the week and back to North Carolina on the weekends. Elise, too, shoulders a huge load, not only as mother to their two toddler daughters, but also as president of Bethany Medical Center, the Triad’s largest independent healthcare provider. In addition, she holds various other posts and board memberships, and serves as director of the Lenny Peters Foundation, a nonprofit supporting the Triad and communities around the world that was started by her father, High Point’s Dr. Lenny Peters. Clearly, for such busy lives laden with responsibility, home — and specifically its hearth, that inner sanctum where the couple can retire with their small girls at the day’s and week’s end — has acquired greater importance. Plus, it’s a comfy place where they can just kick back and relax. “They love to have a drink before dinner,” Rokahr says. “That’s their thing.” She made a mental note of the Careys’ preferences, when, arriving from New York City “without a stick of furniture,” they approached her last spring to design their new home — a spacious, 1920s jewel designed by the architectural firm of Northup & O’Brien. Matt had a basic vision for the library. “He kept saying ‘red and green,’” Rokahr recalls of those early consultations with the couple. Visions of “bad, late ’80s and
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early ’90s” trends in burgundy and forest green flashed through her mind. But then her imagination went to work. First order of the day: “I had to work to find the right fabric,” says Rokahr. To anchor the room and its color palette, she selected two small swivel chairs from Highland House in High Point. Using the chairs’ rich, emerald green velvet as a guide, she then approached Sherwin-Williams to match their tone with a glossy interior eggshell paint. Not only does it echo the hue of the chairs, it complements the reddish wood molding and trim around the library’s shelves, mantel and doors opening into the rooms adjacent. Truth is, that trim is actually faux finish, original to the house. Working closely with her clients, whom she describes as having an “adventuresome” spirit and willingness to experiment, Rokahr created “youthful” English country ambiance “with a sense of humor.” (Note the taxidermied ibex head mounted over the gas fireplace.) A hunt-themed fabric, “Equestrian” by Thibaut, covers a 19thcentury English footman’s stool, the perfect perch for the Careys’ two daughters at the foot of the clubby, Cognac-colored, leather Chesterfield sofa from MT Company. Hanging on the wall above it are nods to the Careys’ roots: vintage maps of Matt’s native Maine, of Elise’s native North Carolina, of New York and photographs of quiet landscapes. Because there wasn’t room on either side of the couch for end tables, Rokahr found a pair of Oscar Bach Moroccan-style floor lamps in cast brass that lend a fanciful flavor to the room. Another light source, a fine lamp with a dolphin motif also in cast brass and mounted on a marble base, sits atop a 19th-century Korean Tansu chest, convenient for curling up in the adjacent red-and-green plaid armchair positioned next to the bookshelves. It is a scene worthy of a Dickens novel — especially when a little holiday sparkle in the form of crystal candelabras and various brass ornaments adorn the mantel. What better way to spend a winter afternoon? h SEASONS • STYLE & DESIGN 71
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HUNT & GATHER
Asheboro, Delightfully Repurposed An architect and an artist prove you can go home again By Amy & Peter Freeman
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t was that time of year again: my wife, Amy’s annual rejuvenation project requiring an army of assistants — meaning, son Louis and me. As in years past, her plans for a reorganized closet, a replanted garden or a spruced up bedroom elicited our moans and groans. But her excitement is always infectious and before long, Louis and I reluctantly march along to her whim. For this year’s endeavor, Amy had set her sights on “cleaning up” her workspace. And what better way to clean up than to give everything the old heave-ho? Almost everything. We decided to repurpose two furniture pieces that we were vaguely attached to. Expecting to find all the resources for our highly expressive design project in the immediate orbit of our beloved “furniture capital” of High Point or in one of the highbrow decorator oases in Greensboro or Winston-Salem, we were thrilled to find an abundance of resources readily available at the source — Amy’s hometown of Asheboro. On a recent visit to Amy’s mom, we came to appreciate that Asheboro’s downtown is not only a mecca for any D.I.Y. enthusiast, but also reflects a genuine culture of support for local artisans, makers and craftsmen. Asheboro is walkable, friendly and small-town urban. City visionaries have provided a framework and canvas for entrepreneurship to blossom. Scaled interventions —a farmers market, a community chalkboard for self-expression, hanging baskets, pocket parks and pedestrianfocused embellishments — enhance the essence of the Randolph County seat without overpowering it. The result? Asheboro has attracted a collection of thriving downtown businesses that are sure to be the envy of larger neighboring cities and communities. Our most recent venture began with our customary stop at The Table, the self-described “farmhouse bakery,” a delightful European
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inspired patisserie, coffeehouse and eatery with a local flair. We could have spent the rest of the morning sipping espresso, people watching and observing folks, mostly kids covered with chalk dust, as they scribbled on the community chalkboard. But we had to stick to our intended purpose of repurposing furniture. What we found was not one but three places to guide us. The Vintage Cottage, Collective Interiors (see page 21) and The Window Workshop offered the materials we needed for our D.I.Y. project and more importantly, the knowledge, assistance and hands-on experience to help us execute it. At each shop, we picked up a variety of ideas, techniques and finishing provisions to accomplish our goals, not to mention opportunities for workshops and examples of refinished pieces completed by the shopkeepers. With our newfound knowledge and supplies, our appetite for the project had increased. Along with our more visceral appetites. Within a few steps, Amy and I stumbled upon Taco Loco, a street-side taco joint with a garage door faรงade allowing the bistro to spill out into the street. The place was another thoughtful nod to downtown enhancement. After a satisfying bite, we struck out in search of something to quench our thirst. Along the way we were enticed by the aroma wafting from the Asheboro Popcorn Co., a brand-new snack shop, where owners combat veteran Sara Holden and her husband Greg Holden have made it their mission to take the familiar corn kernel to a higher level. We were treated to samples of non-GMO popcorn in several delectable, savory and sweet flavors before settling in on a small portion of the creamy dill mix. With hunger pangs sated, Four Saints Brewing Company
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and the desire for a quality handcrafted local brew began to occupy our thoughts. What we ran into was Ashe-toberfest, an autumnal celebration of the season sponsored by the brewery. Folks in fanciful costume and the sounds of live music filled the air both inside and from the adjacent Bicentennial Park. We finished off a St. Wenceslaus Bohemian Pilsner and a St. Luke Honey Ginger Pale Ale and reflected on the changes and improvements to downtown Asheboro. In his posthumous opus, You Can’t Go Home Again, North Carolina novelist Thomas Wolfe suggests that you cannot return to the narrow confines of your previous way of life. But with the discoveries of our latest excursion to Amy’s Asheboro, a town that has worked hard at reinventing itself and redefining its image, we’ll gladly go home again . . . and again . . . and again. h Amy and Peter Freeman include among their pastimes mindless wandering. Amy, a photographer, and Peter, an architect, are perpetually in search of new gigs, fresh digs and fun swigs. Winter 2019
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LIFE&HOME
HOUSE FOR SALE
Upscale Downsizing
With refreshed interiors, a centrally located Winston-Salem condominium accommodates any lifestyle By Nancy Oakley
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t’s become a cliché among Realtors, but we’re singing the praises of “location, location, location” nonetheless. Particularly if the property in question is smaller in scope than, say, a colonial manse, but no less gracious. Welcome to 1257 Kent Place Lane, a condominium nestled quite literally in the heart of Winston-Salem. “It was built in the mid-’80s,” says Chris Wilson, the Leonard Ryden Burr Realtor who’s listing the property, and who estimates the cluster of similar structures was “the first game in town as far as condos go.” Certainly the first — if not the only one — in the Buena Vista neighborhood. (And by the way, that’s pronounced “Byune-ah,” as anyone
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who’s lived in the Twin City for any length of time will tell you.) Situated at the corner of East Kent and Arbor roads, the 3,700-foot space would suit just about any lifestyle. With four bedrooms, four full baths and two half-baths, a family with young children would fit comfortably (and be minutes away from several primary and secondary schools, Wake Forest University, and the commercial Five Points intersection). Similarly, empty-nesters with aging relatives would appreciate the condo’s proximity to Arbor Acres Retirement Community. Culture vultures would be a mere stone’s throw from Reynolda Mile (the stretch of Reynolda Road that includes Reynolda House Museum of Winter 2019
American Art and Reynolda Village, Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art and Graylyn International Conference Center), while gadabouts and golf enthusiasts could easily avail themselves of the revered Old Town Club. And don’t think, given the condo’s age, that it’s stuck in the ’80s. Its former darker English country vibe has given way to soft grays and creams — particularly in the kitchen — taking full advantage of the abundance of natural light. “Its got more of a Millennial appeal,” observes Wilson, referring to the current trend toward a cleaner “clutter-free” aesthetic. For “people who might be downsizing but have traditional furnishings,” he offers. And no desire to do yard work. Winter 2019
For anyone who wants a city haven to come home to — and still be in the center of the action — this one is hard to beat. Vital Details 1257 Kent Place Lane, Winston-Salem Asking price: $574,500 Listed by Chris Wilson of Leonard Ryden Burr (336) 287-3330 or rbrealestate.com SEASONS • STYLE & DESIGN 77
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LIFE&HOME THE LANGUAGE OF HOME
Light Fright
From enchanting twinklers to garish displays, Christmas light displays run the gamut By Noah Salt
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n Christmas folklore, 16th-entury German priest and reformer Martin Luther was reportedly so moved by the twinkling of winter stars he was inspired to attach candles to a fir from the local forest, and light them on Christmas Eve, creating the first lighted Christmas tree. His countrymen adopted the practice and by the 19th century, the tradition had spread across Europe. In 1832, Britain’s 13-year-old princess Victoria jotted in her Christmas Eve diary: “After dinner . . . we then went into the drawing-room near the dining-room. . . There were two large round tables on which were placed two trees hung with lights and sugar ornaments. All the presents being placed round the trees.” As the end of the century approached, the advent of electricity dramatically changed the use and popularity of holiday lights, which were sometimes called “fairy lights” across Britain. London’s Savoy Theatre was reportedly the first building in the world to be lit entirely by electric lights. Within a year, strings of electrically powered colored lights were all the rage in London’s theater district — and rapidly spread in use in cities everywhere. An associate of Thomas Edison’s named Edward Johnson reportedly created the first electrically illuminated Christmas tree by hand-wiring 80 walnut-sized red, white and blue electric incandescent light bulbs and placing them on a rotating fir tree in his Fifth Avenue home in Manhattan on December 22, 1882. The New York papers ignored the story, dismissing it as simply a publicity stunt for Edison’s new company. But Johnson had the well, bright idea, to engage an enterprising reporter from the Detroit Post and Tribune to publish an account of the event. He described “a continuous twinkling of dancing colors, red, white, blue, white, red, blue — all evening. I need not tell you that the scintillating evergreen was a pretty sight — one can hardly imagine anything prettier.” His description earned Johnson the sobriquet “Father of Electric Christmas Tree Lights.” In 1895, President Grover Cleveland put up the White House’s first electrically lighted Christmas tree featuring over 100 multicolored lights. The estimated total cost including a generator was $300, way out of the average homeowner’s budget. In 1903, however, General Electric introduced holiday lights that could be rented by the strand for $12. Winter 2019
From then on, as historians note, towns and cities raced to claim their place in Christmas tree lore. San Diego, Appleton (Wisconsin) and New York City boasted the first recorded instances of outdoor holiday lights, though North Carolina’s own town of McAdenville (southwest of Charlotte) seems to have been the first to light several of its municipal trees around its community center in 1956 — a claim supported by the Library of Congress. To this day, McAdenville’s annual display of outdoor lights draws thousands of holiday tourists who make the circuit through the pretty town center, illuminated by more than half-amillion Christmas lights. Each year, America’s annual obsession with holiday lights eats up about 6.63 billion kilowatt hours of electricity, or roughly one-sixth of the nation’s entire energy consumption in December — and that’s based on 2015 figures. By one calculation, it’s been predicted that some Americans will spend as much as $200–600 a month on electrifying their holiday lights. Not to sound like some proverbial Ebenezer Scrooge, (for yours truly does appreciate the lighted balls in Greensboro’s Sunset Hills neighborhood or the winking “Blinkies” created by Kernersville’s Roger Briles), but we see a need for some restraint. Given the explosion of holiday lights in your loyal correspondent’s own neighborhood — which commences with illuminated ghouls and Great Pumpkins at Halloween, and then gives way to incandescent flying turkeys at Thanksgiving only to be followed by lighted giant Santas, reindeer and snowmen that would be the envy of Clark Griswald and seem larger and brighter each passing season, blotting out the clockwork beauty of the winter stars in the process — we almost yearn for the days when a few simple candles on the fir tree nicely accomplished the feat. We understand that in the city of San Diego, which helped launch holiday lighting fever many decades ago, city fathers and mothers now have an ordinance that homeowners who fail to remove their holiday lights after February 2 may face a $250 fine. Ho, ho, ho! That strikes us as quite sensible. We love Christmas lights as much as the next person . . . but wouldn’t it be nice to see those winter stars the way the Wise Men did, once upon a time? h SEASONS • STYLE & DESIGN 79
LIFE&HOME
HOMEWORDS
This Old Open House Rebuild it and they will come By Cynthia Adams
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oy at the start, the house played us. We were young, inexperienced. It said it needed us. Dazzled us with its charms: picture molding, butler’s pantry, a fantastical staircase, coal burning fireplace, impossibly high ceilings and a certain, elemental je ne sais quoi. The 1911 house in Greensboro’s leafy Westerwood neighborhood directly north of UNCG had champagne tastes and thumbed its nose at our beer-budget offerings. How it crooned to us, drawing us ever closer to the shore of financial ruin like a beguiling siren. When its original wooden siding was discovered rotting during an expensive scrape-and-paint job, we had German siding milled. When the wide front porch opened its maw beneath our feet about to swallow me whole, we hired a handyman to redo it. In a moment of financial recklessness, I restored the Chinese Chippendale railing. Then we just had to have a swing. When the dining floor tilted dangerously, I called my clever brother, whined, and he arrived one weekend to shore it up, reworking the pilings. Where the plaster cracked in spider web designs, each crack spawning cracks of its own, we built our own scaffolding and learned to plaster. We painted the walls a perfect shell pink and the moldings creamy white; the house blushed like a bride in evening light. Yet the old heater grumbled, sounding very like a ghost. The roof was iffy. The redos kept piling up: a new powder room. New tile work and an elaborate bathroom reno. Floors. New A/C, appliances, kitchen cabinet fronts, countertop. New patio, terracing and new parking area. Overgrown shrubs and trees went out. Plantings, bulbs, an arbor, picket fence and brick sidewalk went in. Every night we labored, subsisting on pizza and Snickers bars, and outsized dreams of the finish line. The powder room was so charming that my sister said she
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just wanted to stay there, savoring it. We replaced the original drop-down ironing board in the kitchen, which was impractical because there was little room for it, but it just seemed the right decision. The house grew ever more radiant. There were things we didn’t and couldn’t fix. The sagging garage. A shared drive. When we knew we had to cut bait, we held open houses. The house was a blushing beauty; we knew others would see that and ignore the negatives. During the first open house, people trooped through; we watched in disbelief at their numbers. My husband high-fived me from behind a corner, grinning. “Told you they would come!” But no offers. After another open house, we watched the curious leave. We plopped down in the kitchen to open a bottle and take stock. Why no offers? My hubby cocked an ear. “Hear that?” “Help!” Our ghost? He raced upstairs, finding two women banging on an upstairs door. From inside. Sheepishly, they hurried out. “They said they wanted to experience the quiet of the room,” hubby said, his eyebrows high. The house took them captive, we joked. Choosing its next victims? At a recent gathering, we ran into an old friend. He reminisced about the women. We gabbed about the open houses. And happily, about the young newlywed who simply had to have that house: She saw what we had seen and loved it. Our friend grinned knowingly. We grinned back. Somehow, house people just get it. And the house always wins. h Cynthia Adams resides in a 93-year-old house whose slate roof just had to be replaced; she is holding the rest of her retirement funds ransom until it gets new shutters. Winter 2019
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