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.

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Yesterday (Monday) morning, I visited the sales model over at the new Ramblewood condominiums, or “the stacked flats” as they are commonly called. Ramblewood is part of Kane Realty’s plan for North Hills Raleigh, and this neighborhood is located about a minute or two away from the main North Hills shopping center. If you’re going south on Six Forks, you pass the exit for the Beltline on your right and then take the next right, and Ramblewood is on your left. The area includes the condos, town homes and larger “garden homes.” Most of the community is still under construction, though there is at least one of every type of unit that is open.

Check out the sections below for some facts about the condos, information about the Ramblewood area as a whole and some pictures from my visit.

Ramblewood Stacked Flats – The Facts

When all construction is complete (still TBD) there will be four separate stacked flat condo buildings in Ramblewood. The model that I visited was in one of the larger buildings, and it had 24 units total (three floors, eight units per floor). The stacked flats are all single level residences with two or three bedrooms. There are seven different floor plans available for these condos, which range in size from roughly 1,150 – 2,000 square feet. Each Unit includes:

• 9-foot ceilings
• Nice hardwood floors
• KitchenAid appliances
• Granite countertops (I think you can choose from 12 different types/colors)
• Covered terraces
• Kohler plumbing fixtures
• Parking and storage rooms underneath the building

Of course there are more features, but these were the ones that I remembered. If you’re really interested in these stacked flat condos at Ramblewood call Anne Simons and Josie Reeves (919-833-5263) and make an appointment to visit the sales office. The office is open from 10am-6pm Monday through Saturday and on Sunday from 1pm-6pm.

More Ramblewood Information

I was impressed by the level of customization available for these condos and the plan for the Ramblewood area as a whole. Instead of just building a bunch of condos and homes and hoping people will buy them, Kane is really going to wait and see what people want and listen before building out the entire area. They’re also planning on varying the type and color of the brick that will be used in all the buildings while matching up the rooflines. They say this will ensure that nothing sticks out like an eyesore and the area will feel more authentic.

One thing I and others are concerned about is traffic due to all this building. While we will expand on this topic in a future article, I learned yesterday that when the Lantern Square Apartments are torn down as part of Phase 2 of Ramblewood’s development (timing is still TBD), the population density of the area is supposed to decrease, so traffic shouldn’t be much of an issue (at least in the Ramblewood area).

Has anyone else visited the condo model here? What did you think?

Ramblewood Pictures

Click the thumbnails below to see larger versions of some pictures I took of the stacked flat condos and the Ramblewood area and construction. To see more pictures, check out our Ramblewood Picture Gallery.

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What: The 2008 ASID Designer Show House at Ramblewood is now open. Tour two local townhomes and see the amazing designs of 25 local ASID interior designers. Each room features work by a different designer.

When: The townhomes are open now through June 1. The Designer Show House is open daily.

• Monday – Saturday: 10am – 4pm
• Sundays: Noon-4pm

Where: 3611 and 3615 Rolston Drive, Raleigh, NC 27609

Tickets: $15 in advance (purchase at Kane Residential Sales office at North Hills between Firebirds and Charlotte’s) or $20 at the door. For only $30 you can get a ticket that grants you repeat access for the entire duration of the event. All proceeds from ticket sales go to Hospice of Wake County.

Who: The Women’s Club of Raleigh is working with ASID and Kane Realty on this event to raise money for Hospice of Wake County.

This is the second recent event in North Hills Raleigh that features a charity tie-in (Strut 08 also did this). It’s nice to see that this area is not just attracting unique events; but the events are also giving something back to the community.

Stop by the ASID Designer Show House at Ramblewood and let us know what you think.

For more information visit http://www.asidshowhouse.org/

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For those who are considering moving to the North Hills area (or just want to see some great new homes), there will be an open house for two garden homes at Ramblewood at North Hills this Saturday and Sunday (March 1-2) from 1pm – 4pm. Ramblewood is just a short drive from North Hills, and will be a neighborhood with town homes, stacked flats and garden homes.

Built by Dixon/Kirby & Co and designed by kdkdesign, these garden homes are the nicest properties in Ramblewood; there are only 18 home sites, and each starts at 3,000 square feet (and $900k). You can see more details about the homes here. The two homes featured this weekend each have hardwood floors, 10-foot ceilings and master bedrooms downstairs, and double-car garages.

Directions to Ramblewood:

From North Hills, take a right on Six Forks Road.  Stay in the far right-hand lane and after you cross over the beltline (be watchful of merging cars), take your first right on Bellevue and an immediate right onto Ramblewood Drive.   Rolston Drive will be your first left.

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