Today I visited the ASID Designer Showhouse in Ramblewood. There are two townhomes open (at 3611 and 3615 Rolston Drive) where you can view rooms that have been designed by one of 25 local ASID interior designers. Each room is done by a different designer, and part of proceeds from ticket sales will go to Hospice of Wake County. Click here for more details from one of our earlier write-ups. If you’re thinking about visiting the Showhouse, this is your last week to do it, since the exhibit will close after June 1.
As someone who doesn’t know much about design (but still appreciates it), I found these rooms, furniture and designs to be very interesting. The volunteers were very friendly and willing to answer all my questions. While I wasn’t able to get any pictures inside (no photography rule was reportedly requested by the designers), I’ll try my best to describe some things I thought were interesting. Much of the furniture and items in the rooms is for sale, so if you see something you like, you can inquire about the price.
The First House (3611)
When you walk into the first house, there’s giant glass chandelier hanging above you from the high ceiling. The chandelier is from Michael Steiner and was crafted from glass globes that date back to the 1960s. You can have it for $3,800.
One of the upstairs bedrooms featured something I’d never heard of–a lambrequin. I’m definitely not a design expert, but from what I could gather, it’s basically a very ornamental drapery/curtain thing that hangs over a window. This lambrequin was white with blue trim. I’m not sure what purpose it serves other than looking nice (maybe that’s all you need), but you can buy it for $3,375.97. This bedroom also had a really cool silver-blue metallic ceiling, which I learned was created by a combination of painting, waxing and glazing.
Back downstairs, I liked the chandelier that was in the family room, which was designed by Rodolfo Gonzales Interior Design. This chandelier from Ironware International has six lights and the iron supports are twisted into a cool-looking sphere shape. It can be yours for $5,104.
The Second House (3615)
The pieces I liked the best in the second house stood out because they were taken from something else or made from something you’d never expect. Seeing these two pieces made me realize that I appreciate designs that tell stories.
The first really interesting design I saw was in the dining room. After I saw a cool piece of driftwood in the corner to my left, I noticed some interesting lamps across the room. I was told that the white lamp stands where made from stools that had been taken from an old ice cream parlor.
The second thing that really caught my eye was the table in the living room. I’ve seen a few wood tables before, but never any that were made of 2,000 year old petrified wood like this one was. I think it’d just be cool to say you had table made out of petrified wood. You can buy it for $1,625.
Before I went upstairs I briefly met Angela Pence, who was one of the featured designers. She did a nice job with the master bedroom upstairs. Check her out at http://www.angelapenceinteriordesign.com.
I liked all the upstairs bedrooms in the second house, but I especially liked the third bedroom, which was done by Molly Simmons. The room is part bedroom and part fitness room ( it had a treadmill). It seemed like the kind of room I’d really enjoy sitting down and doing some work or writing. Everything was nice and simple and functional.
Thanks again to all the volunteers who showed me around. Like I said before, if you’re planning on visiting the Showhouse, get over there now, before they close after June 1.
