My New Blog

Heather Garrett is an interior designer with a showroom and shop in downtown Durham.

How would you describe your decorating style?

Nearly every client knows when something's not right with their interior space. They'd like to squeeze more life out of what they have, realize some things probably have to go, and have an image in mind of how they'd like things ultimately to feel. Beyond that, it's easy to feel overwhelmed about finding the right mix that will repurpose your own things, make the most of your budget on needed new pieces, and land you in your dream room! I want the process to be an exciting collaboration between clients and designer...I'm careful to look through as many images as possible with my client, gathering specifics on style and sensibilities, and am also very interested in understanding what's not currently working about their space at home. Understanding at the beginning is the key to success! I communicate best through my hand drawings, which I find is extremely helpful for clients trying to imagine a new room.

Do you collect anything, if so how do you display it?

I have a treasured collection of stones and shells, collected by my children and me, gathered from beaches in CA and NC. I love piles. At my shop, they're often loaded in tall glass vessels, and in the loft where I live they sit together on little pearl plates or in small glass boxes.

What inspires your decorating sensibility?

I'm very dialed in to the priority of scale and balance in a room. I'm in constant search of new and beautiful lighting. Beyond that, I love the mixing of style periods, the use of strange color combinations, and the amazing textures and shapes which can only be found in nature.

Any recommendations for our readers on quick things to do to improve their home decor?

Pare down! Remove everything from a room and start by putting only half of it back. Once you're scaled back, think about using one color which you'll repeat in various tones throughout the space (including on the walls). And don't forget about the windows...when in doubt, a thick metal rod with rings and inexpensive linen panels (try West Elm) at the sides of a window solves more problems than once could imagine!

Favorite Local NC Spots & Things to Do:

http://www.my-nc-home.com

http://www.mtgbuy.com

http://www.1-prop.com

Did you ever wish you had the time to cook all your food from scratch? The wholesome appeal of freshly made food is more popular now than ever.

Phoebe Lawless is the baker behind Scratch, a Durham start-up that is garnering widespread attention (see recent mention and recipe in Bon Appétit magazine). And deservedly so, as she creates some of the best pies and pastries I've ever had. And it's not just the extraordinary crusts, it's the fillings too. Think dark chocolate and sea salt pie, butternut squash and sausage empanada, or vanilla carrot crème tart. You absolutely can't go wrong. Scratch sells at the Durham farmer's market, in local Whole Foods stores, and for the truly converted (all it takes is one bite), through her pie-a-week subscription plan. Check out her website for details.

http://www.my-nc-home.com

http://www.mtgbuy.com

http://www.1-prop.com

Local Points of Interest in Raleigh, Greensboro, Winston Salem NC

Lily and Brian Booth at their home studio in Raleigh. A husband and wife team of artisan jewelry designers, they are passionate about pursuing their craft and it is evident in their stunning work.

When Brian and I met in San Francisco, I had a studio downtown in an 11-story landmark building. There I worked on my own designs and was contracted for occasional repairs (skills I obtained in jewelry school). I had attended the Revere Academy in the same building and there was a strong sense of community amongst jewelry school graduates and trades people. Other artists in the building and I met for design meetings, where we shared our direction and sought critique. During the couple years I had the studio, I explored metalworking in terms of texture, color, and composition through different media. It was exciting to make things spontaneously and let the materials show their characteristics during the processes of forging and fusing glass to metal surfaces (enameling). These years were formative for my craft. Slowly, the cost of living in an expensive city and the stresses of a full-time job began to take their toll. My creativity drifted and I decided to drop the studio. I met Brian in the manufacturing sector and I began seeing an exciting new path for my ideas through the processes of mold making and reproduction. Working in wax was a far different from my familiar metal fabrication technique. It could be melted and edited easily; processes that lead themselves to sculpture rather than surface treatments. Brian and I have a symbiotic and perpetually inspiring relationship. Our interests overlap and yet our skill sets are relevant to our education, experience, and mentors. Color and texture are elements that seem endless to me. These are aspects that Brian appreciates greatly and uses in his own work, but his direction tends to be less free and more technical. When I make pieces we discuss the structural and cost viability, and in a way, I feel like sharing this with someone else allows me to be freer with my work.

People ask us at least weekly how we like it here. I feel like the work speaks for itself. Our work and ideas are thriving in hours that used to be overshadowed by exorbitant rent costs and a longing for what we have now. We have been here for nine months and have felt embraced by Raleigh and the Triangle area. Brian is originally from Raleigh, but I was born in San Francisco and grew up mostly in Southern California. Even though the seasons and weather have inspired us both, I am experiencing the change as new rather than nostalgic. The skies at sunset or during a wicked storm have made my Carolina experience electric and worthy of new color combinations in my latest enameled pendant. Just the other night I noticed the most unreal pattern on a moth, an unlikely place for me to find neon orange mixed with the colors of iridescent blue. My goal with Shop Luella has been to create an affordable and contemporary line of jewelry in enamel and metal. In the process, I have absorbed a new life of winters, springs, and summers far different from that of California, both northern and southern. Brian's family all live fairly near to us now and share their summer crop of vegetables and herbs. I feel like we live more sustainably here. We are connected to the weather as it crashes down us in a brief summer storm at a lake retreat, but also as we slice the first heirloom tomato, covered in more color and pattern than memory seems to allow. No matter how thick the summer humidity can be, I feel like our souls can breathe deeper in Raleigh.

When we first moved here, we knew I would be developing a collection. Brian was queued to work as a tradesman for local stores and hit the pavement cautiously. As a contracted metal smith and stone-setter, we felt like the flexibility of a per-job basis would work well both for us and for jewelry stores we may work for. The local jewelry store scene was grim. Most do not realize the amount of extraordinary jewelry talent in the Triangle area. Locally, stores focused mainly on employees instead of contractors. Of the few stores that had an opening for a skill set like Brian's, the compensation was under what we were accustomed to. I feel that this realization is what pushed us to see the opportunity for our unique skill set. Brian continued his work for a couple designers across the country, including his previous employer to put food on the table and we set out to build a website. Boothcustom.com represents a niche we feel is under-represented in the jewelry industry. We have combined our skill-sets for a one-stop-shop for wholesale customers and the public. Since building the website we have worked on many of projects including the obvious custom jewelry, but also ranging from chocolate molds for a local handcrafted chocolate company to a production-worthy jewelry line for a local designer. We are seeing the need to adopt a strict code of ecologically responsible practices and have started using a metal source with 100% recycled material that is refined in a process with zero discharge into valuable water supplies. To use the local designer as an example, we are a bridge for those who have wonderful ideas but do not have the manufacturing background. We have taken a concept and aesthetic, researched the origins of the concept and its vital elements, and created prototypes which have brought reproducibility and predictability to a line of high-end jewelry. We could not think of a place where designers would go to find prototypes/CAD design, model/mold making, casting/reproduction, high-end finishing, product development, web services, logo design, and marketing concepts all in the same company. Working on all these elements allows us to control the quality and integrity of the final product, and that is where our interest lies, whether it is for our designs or the brainchildren of others.

This whole process is a juggle, but it is logical to us because we are passionate about our craft and the processes involved. At the beginning and end of each day Brian and I are a team. He chops while I sauté. I polish jewelry while he prepares the shipping labels online. Being together allows us to complement one another. We have separate work benches but many of the tools are shared. It's fun to crank up the music with someone else in the studio and laugh at their goofy chair dances and amateur falsettos. Did I mention its part of our job?

http://www.my-nc-home.com

http://www.mtgbuy.com

http://www.1-prop.com

I keep hearing the reasons why the "Mortgage/Foreclosure Crisis" took place and it seems as though no one really "Gets It"

No, it is not because of home price devaluation as this was a symptom and not the cause.

No, it is not because of bad mortgages and subprime loans as this too is a symptom and not the cause. There are MORE conventional loans in foreclosure as there are subprime.

The real reason or cause of this started about 9 years ago when wages went flat due in part to effects of Nafta and other free trade agreements; couple that with China's insistence on artificially low value of their currency. Wages have been flat for over 9 years. Now with even very low inflation 3.5% over 9 years compounded annually you have a 9 years negative impact on wages of over 35%. What that means is that the prices of everything goes up year over year and wages stay flat or the same that after 9 years it takes 35% more money to pay the same bills. This can only be sustainable for so many years before you can't afford to pay your mortgage and if Mama loses her job for only three months>>> you could never catch up.

What is The Problem?

The solutions presented thus far for the mortgage crisis are all flawed in that they all include a "writing down" of the value of the troubled asset. Our 30 year fixed interest rates are determined by the free market at this time from the sale of 10 year bonds. Typically foreign investors have supported this as it has historically been a safe haven in uncertain times. If the value of US wealth is allowed to be written down further by a factor of 10% to 30% then this will make foreign investors think twice about buying this investment vehicle and our 30 year fixed interest rate could quickly and easily go to double digits furthering the crisis exponentially.

100% Occupancy Goal

The problem that exists when you do that is that you are ignoring the chief engine of our economy for the last 10 years>> the "Rising Value of Our Homes". Since returning to an economy that supports itself without this aid will take another generation of investment and prudent policy, to ignore its main engine NOW shows a lack of understanding. I have put together a 6 point plan from the perspective of a "Financial Adviser" that will fix this crisis without writing down our personal and national wealth. From a strictly business point of view, would you invest in a "company" that told you in advance that they were writing down the value of their stock by 30% or more? The goal must be 100% occupancy of all homes. This will drive prices and American wealth back up and give you some breathing room to create new industry.

A six-point solution

The economic/mortgage crisis goal, must be 100% occupancy of all US homes

This primary goal of 100% occupancy of all US homes must be the goal in order to restore rising equity/wealth to US home owners. I believe the following six steps can help to fix the mess we're in:

We already have the infrastructure to implement this plan. It's called FHA.

1. Reform Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans: I believe that a standard FHA loan should guarantee 30 percent instead of the 20 percent it guarantees today. Today's risk models call for the larger guarantee. So-called FHA loans are overlaid with lender requirements. This basically changes an FHA home loan from a program that's friendly to first-time homebuyers to a hybrid, conventional loan that isn't open to as many as 60% of past qualified borrowers. Under this plan, lenders that use FHA-guaranteed programs would be required to follow true FHA guidelines. This requirement by HUD to follow true FHA guidelines IF the lender is to continue to keep their FHA license will be the TEETH that seem to be lacking to free up lending. Relying on the banks to open up the waters of lending on their own has obviously proved fruitless. This includes restoring the recently eliminated down payment-assistance programs and no minimum credit scores. Risk based models can be used to set the "Up Front FHA MIP” for higher risk loans. An FHA loan program must also be created for construction loans as there are literally no construction loan programs available at this time. There should be both an FHA construction loan program for homeowners as well as contractors where the contractor can use this program for up to 5 homes at a time.

2. Help distressed homeowners: For homeowners who are already in trouble with their mortgage but not yet in foreclosure (i.e., 30 to 90 days late), this plan would require the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and FHA to guarantee 40 percent of the mortgage. This effectively refinances the would-be foreclosures. Any FHA-approved broker or lender would be able to refinance these troubled loans, thus they get refinanced as quickly as possible.

3. Assist foreclosed-upon borrowers: Similarly, for homeowners already in foreclosure but still in their homes, HUD and FHA would guarantee 50 percent of the mortgage. When the homeowners refinance again or sell their homes, FHA would then receive an equitable exchange of value or refund from any of the homeowners' profits, starting at 50 percent for the first year and decreasing to a minimum of 25 percent after five years. The equity-sharing model would apply to the 40-percent and 50-percent guaranteed loans only.

4. Amend bankruptcy laws: Bankruptcy laws should be amended to allow all nonmortgage debt to go into fast-tracked Chapter 7 bankruptcy and to allow all such debt to be eliminated to a total debt of 7 percent of the participant's total income, which the mortgage industry considers a manageable revolving debt load. This will help borrowers accomplish personal liquidity and keep their mortgages intact in the future. Borrowers must undergo debt counseling to take advantage of this program.

5. Buying the millions of foreclosed homes: For the millions of foreclosed homes needing homeowners, HUD & FHA will guarantee 50% of loans to families who have already been foreclosed upon. These individuals will be given a choice of only other foreclosed bank owned homes that are more affordable. The homes will be sold for full price of either the appraised value or the last loan amount whichever is greater including any fees associated with the program that helps to offset the risk of these loans (see below). All who take part in this program will have a hit to their credit the equivalent of a bankruptcy & foreclosure (assuming they have not already filed such). This allows for the families to take part in a mandatory credit counseling program from which they will pay for, helping them to see where they went wrong in the use of credit. This will help to stabilize the market and keep home values where they should be. American wealth and a general feeling of well being are generally expressed in the equity of their homes. All FHA licensed lenders & lenders who have accepted TARP funding will be required to participate in this program or forfeit their FHA licenses and or TARP funds.

6. The problem that created this crisis must be manually maintained. Wages were flat for 9 years. This problem can be fixed by tying the minimum wage to the inflation rate. This will accomplish the nudging of the overall wage rate to keep pace with the inflation rate

This six-point plan will create a higher demand for the millions of homes already foreclosed upon. Due to this higher demand we likely won't have to worry about home values dropping and banks making huge write-offs that will bring further financial instability. You will also not further contribute to lower home valuations or depreciation because these special home purchases will be based on value or loan amount, whichever is greater. I believe these initiatives can fix the economic engine. When the economy is again on firm ground, these provisions can be reined in as needed.

Why This Plan Will Work

To fix the problems in our economy, we must recognize where they originated. Although the mortgage industry has indeed contributed to them, the problem actually started about eight + years ago, when jobs started to disappear and wages went flat. Over the course of 9 years if you take into account a 3.5% inflation rate American's spent at least 28% more year over year for the same items over that nine year period that wages stayed flat. If a spouse lost their job even for 3 months, they were then never able to catch back up.

Shared-Risk Based Solution

This "shared-risk based solution" can keep the government from taking on all the risk and responsibility of failed mortgages. By sharing the risks and benefits of the risk, you could take the $700 billion bailout and expand it tenfold.

If the bleeding doesn't stop on foreclosures, then the $700 + billion infusion will look like a small down payment on the problem, and the U.S. could be headed for junk-bond status when it's looking to borrow money in the future. Not to mention having foreign investors watching our country's wealth erode at an unprecedented pace makes future investment less likely. America's ability to attract foreign investors to buy our 10 year bonds have kept our 30 year fixed rate mortgages at a low rate. Think of how much worse things would be if the bond market collapsed and long term interest rates (30 year mortgage rates) were again in double digits.

Implementing Our Proposal

Our proposal is that HUD, show their teeth on lenders who use their FHA programs by demanding that true FHA guidelines are followed or lose their license to sell their product. Then through either FHA or even a Non Profit (NGO) be set up that will allow public and private sector funds from both the government (local and or national) and banking institutes so that this plan may be implemented immediately. The government can set up a $5,000.00 tax on all foreclosed homes applied to the lender who forecloses on the property and due and payable at foreclosure. This will create a disincentive for banks to foreclose. Then when these homes are fixed up by FHA or a non profit's (NGO) oversight, the cost to fix and another $5,000.00 dollar tax will be added to the original payoff, not a ballooned payoff, and added into the price that is charged to the new buyer and financed into their new mortgage. The $10,000.00 will go into a fund that will help to offset the costs of the program and the layers of risk that HUD will be taking on. This program will create jobs and create demand for housing driving up the value of homes once again.

John Shaw is a financial strategist, author, mortgage broker & Realtor. He has served in the mortgage, real estate and service sector for more than 25 years and has owned and managed his own companies during that time.

 Reach him at (336) 345-9306 or john@mtgbuy.com.

http://www.my-nc-home.com

http://www.mtgbuy.com

The Rock & Shop Market is moving to a bigger venue in downtown Raleigh