Nest: High Point in bloom

Monica Peters, board member of High Point’s Southwest Renewal Foundation and event coordinator of High Point by Design, is hard to keep up with during our phone interview this past weekend. She enthusiastically goes over the details of BLOOM, an event showcasing six designer-created outdoor living spaces featuring products from High Point’s home furnishings showrooms and retailers in the Johnson Street National Register of Historic Districts.

“It’s very exciting because all of the proceeds go directly toward restoring the neighborhoods in the Southwest quadrant,” says Peters.

The Southwest Renewal Foundation mission is economic revitalization through environmental enhancement. The stretch of crumbling buildings that used to house much of High Point’s furniture and textile factories has and will continue to be the recipient of their outreach efforts, which includes attracting new business as well as encouraging new uses for the old buildings that once sustained High Point’s economy.

Says Peters, “Due to some of the Southwest Renewal Foundation’s efforts, we’ve already succeeded in attracting BuzziSpace, a manufacturing company out of Belgium who’ve relocated and restored the old Pickett Cotton Mill, which now employs over 200 employees!”

The foundation also seeks to create an interlocking greenway throughout the district, connecting residents and employees to schools, work, shopping, parks and recreation while helping to insure clean water in Richland Creek, preserve open space and encourage alternative forms of transportation, such as walking and bicycling.

“Southwest Renewal Foundation created High Point By Design to host biannual events,” says Peters. “One in the spring and one in the fall, to promote High Point as a year-round destination for all things design”

BLOOM — The Art of Outdoor Living, is the first of these fundraising events, and will bring together local designers, showrooms and historic gardens to showcase outdoor rooms on three walkable blocks of Johnson Street. The tour will feature six different themes: outdoor wedding, child’s birthday party, Bohemian garden cocktail party, al fresco dining, a glamping site and a tiny home with an outdoor room.

“One new exciting twist is that local designer, Lisa Sherry Interieurs will be designing the “glamping” (glamorous camping) tent. Lisa teamed with Skyland Retreat for the first Luxe Life camp in the fall of 2013 at Skyland Camp, so we were thrilled when she agreed to design our tent,” says Peters.

Homes and designers participating in the historic Johnson Street district include:

• John Paulin of Alan Ferguson Interiors and Grassy Knoll will present a wedding theme at the 1908 Queen Anne-style Ecker House, 901 Johnson St.

• French Heritage will display an outdoor dining theme in the gardens of the 1926 JE Marsh, Jr. Georgian Revival Home, 909 Johnson St.

• Sami Price of Just Priceless will design a garden in the theme of a child’s birthday party at the 1919 Foursquare Victorian Dunbar-Whitener House, 1001 Johnson St.

• Brianne Verstat and ClubCu will feature a Bohemian cocktail party in the garden at the 1923 historic Rectilinear David L. Bouldin Home, 1006 Johnson St.

• A locally-crafted glamour tent and furnishings from a Lisa Sherry Interieurs at 1105 Johnson St.

Perch and Nest Builders will show off the Pecan, a tiny house at 1002 N. Main St.

“The tiny house will be arriving in High Point on Wednesday the 11^th to also be transformed by local designers,” says Peters.

Gardens will be marked with large outdoor wooden animals from Antiques & Interiors of High Point.

“Although most of the big showrooms are only open for furniture market, High Point is filled with hidden gems that are open year round, these are the ones we want to promote,” says Peters.

Visitors can tour the gardens at BLOOM: The Art of Outdoor Living on Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m.  Tickets are $25 for the entire garden tour and will be sold at each garden location. For more information about the event, contact [email protected], visit the Celebrate the Old North State! website at theoldnorthstatehp.com or like High Point by Design on Facebook at facebook.com/HighPointDesignCenter