Get lessons on blending art, kitchen design

Beauty and function can be powerful partners in the hands of a skilled designer.
A chair, a table or an appliance can serve a purpose well and look stunning doing it.
If you’d like to see ideas for making art the focus of design in your home, visit the Hans Krug kitchen showroom on Saturday, Oct. 5. The free 12 Hours of Design event will begin at 10 a.m. You’ll pick up tips for bringing art into cooking and kitchen design.
“We’re reaching out to an audience of people who appreciate good design,” said Elayne DeLeo, event director for Modern Atlanta, which promotes innovative design. “To us, design is an art form. Just as art is emotional, architecture and design are emotional.”
Designers will decorate the showroom’s modern and transitional kitchens according to different themes. Chefs from the Art Institute of Charlotte will create food displays.
Architect and designer Borek Sipek will display his glass work, one example shown above, and answer questions. Design Within Reach will showcase modern furniture and lighting in an outdoor lounge.
Organizers say this is a chance for designers to share ideas with people who might be planning a project for their homes.
“We’re trying to elevate the discussion about design,” DeLeo said. “Design affects you every day.”
Sullivan: home@charlotteobserver.com; @sullivan_obs on Twitter

Festival in the Park: entertainment and also art

I’m paying more attention to the bare spaces on my walls now that Festival in the Park is back at Freedom Park.
The annual event, running through Sunday, brings music and other entertainment, but it’s also about art.
There will be 180 artists selling pottery, paintings, sculptures and other pretty things for the home. Jewelry and other crafts will be on sale, too.
North Carolina has its share of fine potters, so I always look forward to seeing the clay work. This year even more so.
“Sixty percent of our artists are new this year,” said David Dalton, Festival in the Park president. “That really brings a fresh look.”
Most pieces will go for $50 to $500. Organizers host Kings Drive Art Walk in spring for those who are comfortable with higher prices.
At Festival in the Park, you’ll often see paintings and photography with images of the mountains or the coast. That’s because the Carolinas have such breathtaking landscapes, Dalton said.
The photo above, "Sunset at Pawley's Island," is by Jae Williams. The one below is by Araik Minasyan. Both will be exhibitors this year.
With lots of families expected, some artists also bring pieces for a child’s room or nursery.
For me, Mountains or coastland would be much better than these bare spots.

Take a peek at this year’s progam.

Sullivan: home@charlotteobserver.com; Twitter: @sullivan_obs

Find garden treasures at Charlotte-area plant sales

Fall is a fantastic time for planting perennial herbs and flowers, cool-season vegetables, shrubs and trees.
So every year you’ll see a series of plant sales in the Charlotte area where you can find extra-special treasures. Among the reliable locations are Wing Haven Gardens, UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens and Central Piedmont Community College Horticulture Building on the Cato Campus.
See dates and times for this year’s sales below.
If you are interested in growing lavender, fall-blooming salvias and ornamental ginger plant as sorely needed bright spots for autumn, consider adding one more location as you mark your calendar: The Lavender Farm Shop, also called La Bastide des Lavandes. It’s in York County, S.C.
Landscape designer Chris Pinard’s Mediterranean-style gardens will inspire you as you make a plan for fall planting. You’ll see lots of ideas that you can borrow.
Tours of Pinnard’s 9-acre property are available in September and October. He’ll also take orders for lavender plants that grow well in the Piedmont and offer growing tips.

Register for tours here.

Sullivan: home@charlotteobserver.com; Twitter: @sullivan_obs

Fall Plant Sales

• CPCC Horticulture: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20; 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Sept. 21. Details: www.cpcc.edu/horticulture.
• Wing Haven Gardens: Members preview 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Oct. 9. Open to the public 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Oct. 10, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Oct. 11 and 12. Details: www.winghavengardens.com.
• UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens: Members preview 3-6 p.m. Oct. 17. Open to the public 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Oct. 18 and 19. Details: http://gardens.uncc.edu.

Huntersville tag sale will aid Habitat

Jack Hart comes from a family where worn and aging things are seldom thrown out.
The stash has become unwieldy, so Hart is inviting the public to his 50-acre farm for a tag sale. Visit from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at 13029 Asbury Chapel Road in Huntersville.
The money he raises will go to Our Towns Habitat for Humanity. He could win the contest title for Biggest Cheese in Town if he raises more than the other nine contestants.
He’ll sell housewares, toys, tools, cameras and more, said Nancy Baldwin of Nancy Baldwin’s Tag Sale Treasures. She volunteered to organize the sale.
Hart, a former FBI code breaker and longtime family fix-it man, has been a volunteer at the ReStore in Cornelius since 2006, said his daughter, Carolyn Hart. The contest is a way to lend more support.
Each contestant will host individual events and has pledged at least $1,000. The winner will be announced Nov. 7.
After hosting a hot dog sale and then a sale of his watercolor paintings in previous years, Hart, 95, thinks he might just clinch the title this year – based on the volume of goods.
“It was originally in my grandparents’ home and then my parents’ home,” Carolyn Hart said of the sale goods. “I’m descended from a long line of hoarders.”