Staying at a resort for a few days can be restorative and restful, so what would it be like to wake up every morning in resort-like surroundings?
There's a 5-acre property at 5118 Duguid Road in Manlius that may hold the answer to that question. The property, home to Lisa and Mike Muraco and their children for over 20 years, is on the market for $995,000. An unspecified amount of additional land is also available.
Dubbed "Cheshire Farms," because it is said to resemble the green hills of Cheshire, England, the estate's brick and wrought iron gated entry swings open to reveal a dramatic, oak tree-lined private drive, flanked by expanses of rolling lawn. The view of the property from the road is reminiscent of the Southfork ranch from the "Dallas" TV show or of Kentucky horse county estates.
The 7,600-square-foot brick and cedar-sided Colonial home, built in 1963, has five bedrooms, four full bathrooms and three half-baths, central air and five wood-burning fireplaces.
The formal dining room, illuminated by two walls of windows, has crown molding, a marble floor and a 15-foot-high ceiling. A butler's pantry, hidden behind a swinging door, is tucked between the dining room and kitchen.
The adjacent family room feels like a ski lodge with its cherry cathedral ceiling, clear pine judges paneling, slate floor and floor-to-ceiling limestone fireplace built with stone gathered on the property. Cherry cabinetry divides the family room from the gourmet kitchen and breakfast nook.
French doors in the dining room and family room open to the expansive cement and brick patio and the L-shaped salt water pool with diving board and recently replaced liner.
The pool and patio, hidden from the driveway by a tall, brick privacy wall, combine with a huge rock garden and a deep back yard to provide a 3-acre, fully fenced play area for adults, children and pets. There is also a bocce court, bordered with landscape timbers and shaded by arborvitae, next to the pool.
An 1,100-square foot pool house is connected to the main house by an underground tunnel. The pool house offers many spa-like amenities, including a well-appointed room in which to relax and change clothes, and has a coffered ceiling, judges paneling, a water closet and sink. The pool house gym offers plenty of space for exercise equipment, and has a ceramic tile floor, exposed brick, ceiling fans and windows with transoms overlooking the pool and patio. A huge granite-walled walk-in shower and steam room awaits exercisers and swimmers.
The resort-like atmosphere extends to the front-to-back formal living room and the marble foyer with its sweeping staircase at the front of the home. A first-floor mahogany-paneled library with quartersawn pegged oak floors and a wood burning fireplace provides a sumptuous spot for study or contemplation.
The second-floor master suite features French doors that open to a balcony overlooking the pool, and a spacious master bath with marble floors, walls and countertops. The room has a jetted tub, separate water closet and walk-in shower as well as a double-sink vanity and heat lamp.
An adjoining combination walk-in closet and dressing room has built-in shelves, drawers and racks, recessed lighting and a cedar-lined ceiling.
Lisa described the property as a lovely, peaceful and safe setting to raise children, to let the dogs run free and to enjoy nature and the seasons. Some of her fondest memories include hosting holiday celebrations for friends and family members, watching the children play hide and seek in the dark, and sledding and snowshoeing.
"Our family feels very blessed that our children had the opportunity to grow up here," Lisa said.
2011年10月23日星期日
2011年9月7日星期三
Commercial Market 2011 - June 2011
The commercial flooring industry grew last year, following two years of losses, though growth was modest and spotty. Some sectors were actually down last year. However, the biggest sector, corporate, showed some growth and that was enough to pull the market up.
According to Market Insights/Torcivia, commercial flooring sales were up 1.4% last year to $4.151 billion. Last year’s growth was fairly insignificant in the grand scheme of things—it’ll take a lot more than 1.4% growth to offset the losses of the past two years. However, the fact that the commercial market turned positive so quickly, recovering ahead of the residential market, is great news for the industry and holds a promise of greater gains in the next couple of years.
A strong rebound in corporate earnings has been central to the recovery of the commercial flooring industry, and pent-up demand cycling through different sectors at different rates is also helping push numbers up. In general, everything that was trending up in the second half of 2010 has continued to trend up this year.
Refurbishment is generally a larger part of the commercial flooring business than new construction, and as the economy emerges from the recession, the ratio is even more pronounced. In most commercial sectors, there’s very little new construction. The economy is still too fragile, confidence is still too low and banks are still maintaining high hurdles for borrowers.
Pressure on Manufacturers
When demand for products falls and it becomes a buyer’s market, manufacturers have to contend with all sorts of pressures. This time around, everyone from designers to end users is demanding an extraordinary level of service. They’re looking for an immediate response on everything from samples to lead times, and manufacturers have had to dig deep to find ways of getting product out as quickly as possible.
While the market seems to be stabilizing, raw material prices are rising at unprecedented rates. It’s as though every element that influences raw material costs—be it crude oil prices, refinery capacities, droughts, floods, demand from China—is acting to add cost to the equation. Worst hit are the flooring categories with the highest polymer use, like carpet and vinyl flooring, but every type of flooring is getting more expensive to produce at the very least from material transportation costs, facility operating costs, specialty chemicals costs and, almost universally, competition from China.
Squeezed at one end by raw material costs and at the other end by the pricing pressure of a buyer’s market, manufacturer margins are getting thinner and thinner. There’s only so much a manufacturer can do in terms of reducing product weight, lowering overheads and streamlining operations. With demand still below par, they can’t pass through high enough price increases to meet their increased costs. And too often, clients come looking to spend what they spent before, and when they trade up from lower quality goods they are not trading up as much as they used to.
The good news is that several manufacturers report increased activity at the higher end—the same trend is taking place in the residential market. And while high end buyers are more price conscious than before, it’s nothing like the battle taking place at medium and low price points.
Global Market Update
The financial crisis, global in scope, had a huge impact on the world’s largest economies. And while the U.S. market is still struggling to find its legs, many of the emerging markets are already in full rebound. Though there are several European countries still in crisis, much of Europe has been recovering faster than expected. However, it’s still a region in turmoil, with several nations facing staggering problems.
In general, developed nations like the U.S. and much of Europe are expected to emerge from the global recession with slow, modest growth compared to the vigorous rebounds of emerging markets. Smaller economies, which felt the impact largely through trade, have by and large recovered already.
The focus of many U.S. exporters is on the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China), the four strongest emerging markets. Together, those four markets account for nearly 2.9 billion people, or 43% of the global population. Not only are the long-term prospects good among the BRIC economies, but they’re also rebounding quickly, so there’s plenty of business going on right now. And a lot of that is in new construction.
Commercial flooring producers report that foreign business has picked up faster than U.S. business. Firms with large global operations showed higher growth in 2010 than did those more reliant on the domestic market. Interface Inc., for instance, which does nearly 50% of its business in foreign markets, saw 6.3% growth in the U.S. and 17% growth in foreign business. Shaw reports that its overseas business fell faster and has come back faster than U.S. business. Overall, the Asian market is most robust.
Flooring Categories
Carpet dominates the commercial market, with a nearly 70% marketshare, followed by ceramic tile at just over 13%, then resilient at 11.2%. Then there’s a huge gap before hardwood at 3.8% and laminates, half that size, at 1.9%. There was no significant shift in share last year among the bigger flooring categories. With total commercial flooring sales up a hair, carpet took a tiny bit of share, and both ceramic and resilient lost a little.
The only real action was in the hardwood and laminate categories, which together account for less than 6% of the market. Both categories have limited application in the commercial market and they do best in parts of the retail sector. Last year, commercial hardwood business was down an estimated 8.1%, while laminates were up an impressive 26%.
In the carpet category, the story continues to be gains by carpet tile, largely at the expense of broadloom. The top ten mills, which account for over 90% of the industry, all sell carpet tile. And for half of them, carpet tile is bigger than broadloom. Most of the smaller mills that don’t sell carpet tile are specialists in the hospitality sector, where broadloom still dominates.
Broadloom sales were down last year, while carpet tile was up. Carpet tile’s share is strongest in the institutional market, where broadloom can’t match the performance and maintenance characteristics of tile, and the corporate market, where it’s ideal for workstation applications and over raised access flooring. Carpet tile also has a strong share of the government sector where GSA (General Services Administration) guidelines favor its environmental attributes.
Commercial Sector Overview
Industry experts, from economic analysts to designers to manufacturers, break out the commercial sector in various ways, combining market sectors into different categories. Distinct sectors include leased office space (tenant improvement), owner occupied office space, acute care, assisted living, K-12, higher education, government, retail store planning, public space (everything from airports and stadiums to libraries and churches), hospitality guest rooms, and hospitality public space, which includes casino carpet.
The common categories are: corporate, which includes tenant improvement and owner-occupied offices; healthcare, which includes acute care and assisted living; hospitality, combining guest rooms and public space; retail; and institutional, which includes government, public space and, often, education. Many experts break out the institutional sector into its component pieces.
No matter how you cut it, the biggest sector by far is corporate, with over 40% of the market, followed by institutional (in its broader definition). Retail and healthcare are close in size, and the smallest piece of the pie is hospitality.
According to Market Insights/Torcivia, commercial flooring sales were up 1.4% last year to $4.151 billion. Last year’s growth was fairly insignificant in the grand scheme of things—it’ll take a lot more than 1.4% growth to offset the losses of the past two years. However, the fact that the commercial market turned positive so quickly, recovering ahead of the residential market, is great news for the industry and holds a promise of greater gains in the next couple of years.
A strong rebound in corporate earnings has been central to the recovery of the commercial flooring industry, and pent-up demand cycling through different sectors at different rates is also helping push numbers up. In general, everything that was trending up in the second half of 2010 has continued to trend up this year.
Refurbishment is generally a larger part of the commercial flooring business than new construction, and as the economy emerges from the recession, the ratio is even more pronounced. In most commercial sectors, there’s very little new construction. The economy is still too fragile, confidence is still too low and banks are still maintaining high hurdles for borrowers.
Pressure on Manufacturers
When demand for products falls and it becomes a buyer’s market, manufacturers have to contend with all sorts of pressures. This time around, everyone from designers to end users is demanding an extraordinary level of service. They’re looking for an immediate response on everything from samples to lead times, and manufacturers have had to dig deep to find ways of getting product out as quickly as possible.
While the market seems to be stabilizing, raw material prices are rising at unprecedented rates. It’s as though every element that influences raw material costs—be it crude oil prices, refinery capacities, droughts, floods, demand from China—is acting to add cost to the equation. Worst hit are the flooring categories with the highest polymer use, like carpet and vinyl flooring, but every type of flooring is getting more expensive to produce at the very least from material transportation costs, facility operating costs, specialty chemicals costs and, almost universally, competition from China.
Squeezed at one end by raw material costs and at the other end by the pricing pressure of a buyer’s market, manufacturer margins are getting thinner and thinner. There’s only so much a manufacturer can do in terms of reducing product weight, lowering overheads and streamlining operations. With demand still below par, they can’t pass through high enough price increases to meet their increased costs. And too often, clients come looking to spend what they spent before, and when they trade up from lower quality goods they are not trading up as much as they used to.
The good news is that several manufacturers report increased activity at the higher end—the same trend is taking place in the residential market. And while high end buyers are more price conscious than before, it’s nothing like the battle taking place at medium and low price points.
Global Market Update
The financial crisis, global in scope, had a huge impact on the world’s largest economies. And while the U.S. market is still struggling to find its legs, many of the emerging markets are already in full rebound. Though there are several European countries still in crisis, much of Europe has been recovering faster than expected. However, it’s still a region in turmoil, with several nations facing staggering problems.
In general, developed nations like the U.S. and much of Europe are expected to emerge from the global recession with slow, modest growth compared to the vigorous rebounds of emerging markets. Smaller economies, which felt the impact largely through trade, have by and large recovered already.
The focus of many U.S. exporters is on the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China), the four strongest emerging markets. Together, those four markets account for nearly 2.9 billion people, or 43% of the global population. Not only are the long-term prospects good among the BRIC economies, but they’re also rebounding quickly, so there’s plenty of business going on right now. And a lot of that is in new construction.
Commercial flooring producers report that foreign business has picked up faster than U.S. business. Firms with large global operations showed higher growth in 2010 than did those more reliant on the domestic market. Interface Inc., for instance, which does nearly 50% of its business in foreign markets, saw 6.3% growth in the U.S. and 17% growth in foreign business. Shaw reports that its overseas business fell faster and has come back faster than U.S. business. Overall, the Asian market is most robust.
Flooring Categories
Carpet dominates the commercial market, with a nearly 70% marketshare, followed by ceramic tile at just over 13%, then resilient at 11.2%. Then there’s a huge gap before hardwood at 3.8% and laminates, half that size, at 1.9%. There was no significant shift in share last year among the bigger flooring categories. With total commercial flooring sales up a hair, carpet took a tiny bit of share, and both ceramic and resilient lost a little.
The only real action was in the hardwood and laminate categories, which together account for less than 6% of the market. Both categories have limited application in the commercial market and they do best in parts of the retail sector. Last year, commercial hardwood business was down an estimated 8.1%, while laminates were up an impressive 26%.
In the carpet category, the story continues to be gains by carpet tile, largely at the expense of broadloom. The top ten mills, which account for over 90% of the industry, all sell carpet tile. And for half of them, carpet tile is bigger than broadloom. Most of the smaller mills that don’t sell carpet tile are specialists in the hospitality sector, where broadloom still dominates.
Broadloom sales were down last year, while carpet tile was up. Carpet tile’s share is strongest in the institutional market, where broadloom can’t match the performance and maintenance characteristics of tile, and the corporate market, where it’s ideal for workstation applications and over raised access flooring. Carpet tile also has a strong share of the government sector where GSA (General Services Administration) guidelines favor its environmental attributes.
Commercial Sector Overview
Industry experts, from economic analysts to designers to manufacturers, break out the commercial sector in various ways, combining market sectors into different categories. Distinct sectors include leased office space (tenant improvement), owner occupied office space, acute care, assisted living, K-12, higher education, government, retail store planning, public space (everything from airports and stadiums to libraries and churches), hospitality guest rooms, and hospitality public space, which includes casino carpet.
The common categories are: corporate, which includes tenant improvement and owner-occupied offices; healthcare, which includes acute care and assisted living; hospitality, combining guest rooms and public space; retail; and institutional, which includes government, public space and, often, education. Many experts break out the institutional sector into its component pieces.
No matter how you cut it, the biggest sector by far is corporate, with over 40% of the market, followed by institutional (in its broader definition). Retail and healthcare are close in size, and the smallest piece of the pie is hospitality.
2011年6月1日星期三
Celebrate McDowell with gold panning, livermush tossing
This weekend, McDowell County will celebrate its heritage of both gold mining and livermush making.
The eighth annual North Carolina Gold Festival will be held Friday and Saturday in Old Fort while the fifth annual Livermush Festival will be held Friday evening in downtown Marion. Admission for both events is free.
North Carolina Gold Festival
The eighth annual North Carolina Gold Festival promises to be bigger and better than ever, said organizer Don Markum. Breaking from tradition of past years, the festival will be held this year at the Mountain Gateway Museum in Old Fort.
“We’ve been working toward a combined Rutherford-McDowell-Mitchell festival,” he said, bringing all of the region's historical association with gold prospecting into perspective.
For the first time ever, the gold festival has the support of the Gold Prospectors Association of America, a national group with lots of interested amateur and professional gold bugs.
With the growing interest in recent years, he explained, more has been learned about the early experiences in gold mining in the area, confirming what Markum has known all along.
“People settle in places for a reason,” he said. “History shows people settled here for gold.”
To help gather and organize as much information as possible about the local history of gold prospecting, this year’s event will feature an oral history booth. Those with lore to share of family history in the gold business can tell their story for a video and audio archive.
Among all the attractions will be one original Bechtler coin -- a $1 gold coin minted near Union Mills. Markum said the emphasis is on fun, food, entertainment and “lots of laughs.” Co-organizer Liz McCormick said the schedule is packed full. The fun starts at noon Friday and resumes at 9 a.m. Saturday, continuing through 5 p.m. both days. There will be karaoke and live bands, such as Old Fort’s own Possum Creek.
“We’ll have live demonstrations of panning, dredging and new mining equipment,” she said. “We’ll also have a new technique of smelting using your microwave oven -- this is definitely a ‘don’t-try-this-at-home’ technique.”
Of course it's not a festival without inflatables, and Bouncing Kids will be there to keep the tots happy and help them burn off the calories from all the “festival-style food.” There is a fee for the inflatables. Watch for door prizes, gold nugget raffles and a “nugget race” in the creek, which is basically a ducky derby. The first and last over the finish line will win a gold nugget.
Markum said he also looks forward to gold assaying and gem panning demonstrations as well as faceting, the art of gem cutting.
There are vendor spaces still available. Those interested should call Markum at (800) 939-9033.
Livermush Festival
Friday evening, folks can come to downtown Marion and celebrate the local livermush heritage with bluegrass music and inflatables for the youngsters.
The Fifth Annual Livermush Festival will be held from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the courthouse lawn on Main Street. The free event celebrates the livermush heritage of Marion and McDowell County. Hunter’s Livermush, founded in 1955, is one of the sponsors of the event.
Like last year, the festival will feature bluegrass music provided by the Moore Brothers. Jacob Moore is a 13-year-old who enjoys playing the mandolin, fiddle and guitar. He currently studies the mandolin with Wayne Benson of IIIrd Tyme Out and the fiddle with Alan Johnson, formerly with Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver. Isaac Moore is an 8-year-old who plays the mandolin and a few songs on the guitar. Together, they play in as the Moore Brothers, which also includes their dad, Jeff Moore, on rhythm guitar and their mom, Patti Moore, who helps with the vocals. Richard Penland is the lead guitarist, and Johnny Pons plays bass.
“The band loves to perform bluegrass, gospel, blues and spread lots of smiles,” read a news release from the Marion Business Association. “They have been playing together for the last two years. The Moore Brothers bring a high energy show to the stage.”
The festival will also feature the annual livermush cookoff. Entries must contain livermush and be provided in an 8-inch by 8-inch disposable pan. Dishes and written recipes have to be presented by 6:15 p.m. Friday at the entrance of MACA. Winners will be announced later that evening and the winner will get a $25 grand prize. For more information about the cookoff, contact Bobbie Young at 652-2215.
The festival will also feature the livermush toss contest. Free livermush sandwiches will be available.
“Any homage to livermush is welcome and encouraged, such as a costume or poem,” read the MBA news release.
MACA will sponsor the sidewalk chalk art. Hospice of McDowell County will hold a bake sale. Hula hoops and inflatable bouncies will be available for the kids.
The eighth annual North Carolina Gold Festival will be held Friday and Saturday in Old Fort while the fifth annual Livermush Festival will be held Friday evening in downtown Marion. Admission for both events is free.
North Carolina Gold Festival
The eighth annual North Carolina Gold Festival promises to be bigger and better than ever, said organizer Don Markum. Breaking from tradition of past years, the festival will be held this year at the Mountain Gateway Museum in Old Fort.
“We’ve been working toward a combined Rutherford-McDowell-Mitchell festival,” he said, bringing all of the region's historical association with gold prospecting into perspective.
For the first time ever, the gold festival has the support of the Gold Prospectors Association of America, a national group with lots of interested amateur and professional gold bugs.
With the growing interest in recent years, he explained, more has been learned about the early experiences in gold mining in the area, confirming what Markum has known all along.
“People settle in places for a reason,” he said. “History shows people settled here for gold.”
To help gather and organize as much information as possible about the local history of gold prospecting, this year’s event will feature an oral history booth. Those with lore to share of family history in the gold business can tell their story for a video and audio archive.
Among all the attractions will be one original Bechtler coin -- a $1 gold coin minted near Union Mills. Markum said the emphasis is on fun, food, entertainment and “lots of laughs.” Co-organizer Liz McCormick said the schedule is packed full. The fun starts at noon Friday and resumes at 9 a.m. Saturday, continuing through 5 p.m. both days. There will be karaoke and live bands, such as Old Fort’s own Possum Creek.
“We’ll have live demonstrations of panning, dredging and new mining equipment,” she said. “We’ll also have a new technique of smelting using your microwave oven -- this is definitely a ‘don’t-try-this-at-home’ technique.”
Of course it's not a festival without inflatables, and Bouncing Kids will be there to keep the tots happy and help them burn off the calories from all the “festival-style food.” There is a fee for the inflatables. Watch for door prizes, gold nugget raffles and a “nugget race” in the creek, which is basically a ducky derby. The first and last over the finish line will win a gold nugget.
Markum said he also looks forward to gold assaying and gem panning demonstrations as well as faceting, the art of gem cutting.
There are vendor spaces still available. Those interested should call Markum at (800) 939-9033.
Livermush Festival
Friday evening, folks can come to downtown Marion and celebrate the local livermush heritage with bluegrass music and inflatables for the youngsters.
The Fifth Annual Livermush Festival will be held from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the courthouse lawn on Main Street. The free event celebrates the livermush heritage of Marion and McDowell County. Hunter’s Livermush, founded in 1955, is one of the sponsors of the event.
Like last year, the festival will feature bluegrass music provided by the Moore Brothers. Jacob Moore is a 13-year-old who enjoys playing the mandolin, fiddle and guitar. He currently studies the mandolin with Wayne Benson of IIIrd Tyme Out and the fiddle with Alan Johnson, formerly with Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver. Isaac Moore is an 8-year-old who plays the mandolin and a few songs on the guitar. Together, they play in as the Moore Brothers, which also includes their dad, Jeff Moore, on rhythm guitar and their mom, Patti Moore, who helps with the vocals. Richard Penland is the lead guitarist, and Johnny Pons plays bass.
“The band loves to perform bluegrass, gospel, blues and spread lots of smiles,” read a news release from the Marion Business Association. “They have been playing together for the last two years. The Moore Brothers bring a high energy show to the stage.”
The festival will also feature the annual livermush cookoff. Entries must contain livermush and be provided in an 8-inch by 8-inch disposable pan. Dishes and written recipes have to be presented by 6:15 p.m. Friday at the entrance of MACA. Winners will be announced later that evening and the winner will get a $25 grand prize. For more information about the cookoff, contact Bobbie Young at 652-2215.
The festival will also feature the livermush toss contest. Free livermush sandwiches will be available.
“Any homage to livermush is welcome and encouraged, such as a costume or poem,” read the MBA news release.
MACA will sponsor the sidewalk chalk art. Hospice of McDowell County will hold a bake sale. Hula hoops and inflatable bouncies will be available for the kids.
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