Esezele Payne has a refreshingly direct style, which might be out of necessity. Like most moms, she is very busy. Esezele is the Vice President of Operational and Environmental Services at Atrium Health and is active in several charitable organizations…
A roundup of advice from our Parents to Know.
In my book Our Neurodivergent Journey, I write about how important it is for your home to accommodate your child’s needs. Kids need a space that elicits feelings of calmness but also leaves room for rambunctious behaviors. Our library allows…
When Taylor Silverstein and her husband Eric moved from New York to Charlotte in 2018, they fell in love with a 1946 bungalow in NoDa. At just under 2,000 square feet, the home was cozy, but that was hardly a…
Q: I have a weird problem. My 4 yr old was at a play date at her friend’s house who has a pet hamster. She got really excited to hold the hamster and squeezed too hard…and now they don’t have…
When Whitney Sturge’s clients hired her renovate their dated two-story colonial in Barclay Downs, they wanted room to entertain guests and host sleepovers for their three young children. For their 7-year-old daughter’s bedroom, Sturge had to come up with a…
As parents, it's common to worry about what our children are eating. We want them to enjoy a wide range of nutritious foods and to develop a healthy relationship with food, but getting children to try new flavors and eat…
When Tamara Leicester’s clients hired her to design the interior of their two-story modern craftsman in Dilworth, they needed it to function for their growing family, which included three children under age 6. Just off the kitchen, they budgeted for…
Neely Verano’s lifelong passion for the arts led her to serve in various nonprofit leadership roles at the Mint Museum, McColl Center for Art + Innovation, and The Arts Empowerment Project. She’s also a co-founder of LaCa Projects, Charlotte’s contemporary…
Jacy Painter Kelly has designed plenty of children’s rooms over the last decade, but a recent project for a 12-year-old girl schooled her on an emerging design trend among tweens and teens. “She wanted her room to have a lot…
Lauren Clement designed nearly every room in her client’s 6,000-square foot home in the The Enclave at Longview, a gated community in Marvin. “Their style is pretty modern, and you don’t get a lot of that in Charlotte,” she says.…
Alexis Warren’s client was pregnant with her second child when she hired the designer to transform a space above the attic into a bedroom for her 2-year-old daughter. She wanted it to be fun and youthful, but it also needed…
Tell us about your family. How many children do you have and what are their ages? My family consists of my global son, Brock Montgomery (16) (he has friends all over the world); my intelligent beyond-her-years daughter, Charli Ana (14)…
When Traci Zeller’s clients bought their Myers Park home, they decided to turn an upstairs room, originally budgeted as a guest room, into a place where their two kids could have sleepovers. The sloped ceilings didn’t leave much space for…
When the owners of a lakefront home in Cornelius wanted a designated play place for their three young daughters, the team at Aguilar Design Studio in Cornelius came to their rescue. Aaron and Laura Aguilar, the spouses and owners behind…
When her longtime clients wanted to update their children’s bedrooms, Hadley Quisenberry was already familiar with their Cotswold home. The owner and principal designer of West Trade Interiors had worked alongside her mother and business partner Lisa Britt to renovate…
Lily Barnes is our 10-year-old resident kid baker. Each month she shares an original recipe that kids can make at home with their parents, plus a few behind-the-scenes tips and tricks to make your treat extra special. Here is…
Designer Cheryl Luckett had worked with the owners of this Davidson home in 2018, not long after they moved in. The young couple, both in the medical field, didn’t have much time to focus on design. They left those decisions…
Crystal Nagel’s clients had a 2-year-old son and a baby girl on the way when they hired the designer to decorate their new build in Eastover. The homeowners wanted to convert the guest room into a nursery, but with supply…
Skip the all-day cookie baking marathon and get to the fun stuff with these take and decorate cookie kits. Bake My Day Starting Friday, November 26, Bake My Day holiday cookie kits are available via Facebook or Instagram @bakemydayCLT. Each…
Hectic and holidays go together like turkey and stuffing. This Thanksgiving, skip the long grocery lines, messy kitchen, and endless prep time and leave the cooking to someone else. Here are 11 local restaurants that can help you make this…
Charlotte Lucas isn’t afraid to use bold colors and whimsical patterns, and that’s exactly why clients across the city hire the designer to add some pizzazz to their homes. When it came to her own midcentury modern house in…
Michelle Castelloe spent more than 20 years working corporate jobs before she opened Moxie Mercantile, the lifestyle boutique with locations in Plaza Midwood, Davidson, and Matthews. She fills her stores with apparel, jewelry, and home décor by local artisans, and…
Melissa Lee’s clients had lived in their SouthPark Tudor for close to 10 years when they hired her to transform the upstairs playroom. Their daughters, now 10 and 13, wanted a more mature lounge space where they could do schoolwork,…
