Real Estate By Design

Real Estate By Design We are agents with passion and integrity that love this industry! We believe that client care is the most important aspect of our profession.

Advice by Design How to Buy a Home While Balancing Retirement SavingsA lender can tell you what you qualify for. It can'...
09/05/2026

Advice by Design
How to Buy a Home While Balancing Retirement Savings

A lender can tell you what you qualify for. It can't tell you what that payment does to your retirement contributions, your emergency fund, or the next twenty years. This week's Advice by Design looks at how buyers can weigh a home purchase against a retirement plan already in motion: how much home actually fits the rest of your goals, what a bigger down payment costs you elsewhere, whether to touch retirement savings for a down payment at all, and why the maximum budget you can get approved for is rarely the same thing as the right one.

Read the full post: RealEstatebyDesignNC.com/LearnMore

Weekend Event HighlightLabor of Love Weekend10 Years of Beats n BarsBeats n Bars is marking ten years with a two-day sen...
09/04/2026

Weekend Event Highlight
Labor of Love Weekend
10 Years of Beats n Bars

Beats n Bars is marking ten years with a two-day send-off, billed as "10 Years of Sound, One Final Durham Takeover." Saturday's Labor of Love Fest takes over The Fruit from 4:30 to 10:30 PM with a day party and concert built around Black music, creativity, and community, with a lineup expected to include DJ Mayor, Flauce, C.Shreve the Professor, Carlitta Durand, and Gavin Maestro. Sunday moves to The Durham Hotel for Music Trivia Night, centered on hip-hop, soul, and R&B.

Whether you've followed Beats n Bars from the beginning, discovered it somewhere along the way, or you're just looking for a good reason to be at The Fruit this weekend, this is a real chance to be part of a Durham institution's biggest chapter yet. Bring your trivia knowledge if you're back on Sunday.

Saturday & Sunday
The Fruit (Saturday) & The Durham Hotel (Sunday)

See more weekend events at RealEstateByDesignNC.com/WeekendGuide

Just Sold601 Blackwood CourtDurham, NC 27705Buyers represented by Sharon CarterCongratulations to Sharon's buyers on the...
09/04/2026

Just Sold
601 Blackwood Court
Durham, NC 27705
Buyers represented by Sharon Carter

Congratulations to Sharon's buyers on the purchase of their new Alexander plan home, a five bedroom, four bath Farmhouse elevation with a first floor bedroom and study built right in.

The Coastal Chic interior package brought white cabinetry, quartz countertops, and a farmhouse sink to the kitchen, with gold hardware for contrast and RevWood flooring running through the main living areas. Upstairs, the primary suite shares the level with three more bedrooms and a loft, and a mudroom off the two car garage keeps everyday comings and goings organized.

If new construction in the Triangle is on your radar, Sharon Carter would love to help you find the right fit.

Weekly Home Maintenance TipReview Your Home Safety PlanWith school schedules and household routines shifting back into g...
09/03/2026

Weekly Home Maintenance Tip
Review Your Home Safety Plan

With school schedules and household routines shifting back into gear, it's a good time to make sure everyone in the house is still on the same page about what to do if something goes wrong.

Walk through the house together and talk through two ways out of every room, then agree on a specific meeting spot outside, a mailbox, a tree, a neighbor's driveway, somewhere everyone can find quickly. Test each smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector by pressing the button, and swap out any batteries that sound weak or haven't been changed in the past year. If anyone in the house is new to the plan, or young enough to need a refresher, walk them through it out loud rather than assuming they remember from last time.

A plan everyone actually knows, rather than one written down and forgotten, is what makes the whole household easier to keep safe.

Five minutes of conversation now means everyone already knows the plan, long before it's ever needed.

Just Listed323 Oxfordshire LaneChapel Hill, NC 27517Listed by Lisa EllisSet on nearly half an acre in Southpoint Manor, ...
09/03/2026

Just Listed
323 Oxfordshire Lane
Chapel Hill, NC 27517
Listed by Lisa Ellis

Set on nearly half an acre in Southpoint Manor, 323 Oxfordshire Lane backs up to protected U.S. Army Corps of Engineers land, wooded views and real privacy behind a fenced, level backyard, plus access to the neighborhood pool and playground. A rocking chair front porch with brick pavers and double wood entry doors welcomes you in, and hardwood floors carry through the main level.

The foyer opens to a formal dining room with a coffered ceiling on one side and a living room or office with built-in bookcases and crown molding on the other. The family room centers on a gas log fireplace framed by custom cabinetry and opens straight into a fully updated kitchen: new quartz countertops, freshly painted white cabinetry, a glass subway tile backsplash, and a Wolf four burner cooktop, wall oven, microwave, and refrigerator. A quartz topped island, a butler's pantry with glass front cabinets, a second pantry with double doors, and a sunny breakfast area round out serious storage and gathering space. A separate first floor office with a built-in desk and cabinetry adds flexibility as an oversized overflow pantry, and a drop zone with hooks and cubbies keeps things organized right off the garage.

Walls of windows fill the sunroom, and newly replaced French doors lead out to a low maintenance Trex deck overlooking the wooded backyard and playset. Front and rear staircases lead upstairs to four bedrooms, three full baths, a bonus room, and a well equipped laundry room with tile floors, built-in cabinetry, a utility sink, and a Samsung washer and dryer on pedestals. The primary suite brings a double tray ceiling, crown molding, two walk-in closets, and a bath with raised height vanities, a jetted tub, and an oversized walk-in shower with bench seating. A third floor walk-up attic adds real extra storage, and new carpet upstairs rounds out a long run of updates.

See every room, plus a full walkthrough video, at www.323OxfordshireLane.com.

Reach out to Lisa Ellis to see it in person.

"Home is people. Not a place."Robin HobbEvery neighborhood around here has one street that throws the same block party e...
09/02/2026

"Home is people. Not a place."
Robin Hobb

Every neighborhood around here has one street that throws the same block party every year, folding tables end to end, somebody's grill going, three generations of the same family showing up because they still live four houses apart. Ask anyone on that street what actually makes it feel like home, and the address is rarely the first thing they mention.

That part, you can't really buy.

Just Sold612 Phar Lap LaneBahama, NC 27503Buyers represented by Amy GretensteinCongratulations to Amy's buyers on the pu...
09/02/2026

Just Sold
612 Phar Lap Lane
Bahama, NC 27503
Buyers represented by Amy Gretenstein

Congratulations to Amy's buyers on the purchase of their new home on 1.8 private acres in Bahama, no HOA, just minutes from Durham, Hillsborough, and Roxboro.

The updated kitchen brought shaker-style cabinetry, granite counters, and stainless steel appliances, and the primary suite's renovated bath added a freestanding soaking tub and a walk-in shower. A whole-house generator and water softener rounded out the practical extras.

Amy Gretenstein knows the appeal of country living outside Durham. Reach out if that's calling your name.

Johnston County's inventory held right near its recent high in July, 1,408 homes, and months of supply stayed at 4.1, am...
09/01/2026

Johnston County's inventory held right near its recent high in July, 1,408 homes, and months of supply stayed at 4.1, among the most room buyers have had here in years. Prices eased back a bit and closed sales dipped slightly, but here's the interesting part: the number of homes going under contract actually grew. Demand hasn't backed off, it's just showing up in next month's numbers instead of this one.

Get the full breakdown at RealEstateByDesignNC.com/JohnstonUpdate.

Just Sold602 Picnic PlaceHillsborough, NC 27278Sellers represented by Theresa OlsonCongratulations to Theresa's sellers ...
09/01/2026

Just Sold
602 Picnic Place
Hillsborough, NC 27278
Sellers represented by Theresa Olson

Congratulations to Theresa's sellers on the sale of their townhome in Collins Ridge, a former model home lived in for just two years. Upgraded cabinetry, lighting, and nine-foot ceilings carried through the whole house, Mohawk laminated wood floors ran through the main living areas, and the kitchen brought granite counters, a tile backsplash, and Energy Star appliances with a gas range. Upstairs, the primary suite added dual vanities, granite counters, and a five-foot shower.

A sunny front porch overlooking the yoga lawn and a private back patio gave this one real outdoor living in a quiet spot with no street traffic, and Collins Ridge brings a saltwater pool, pickleball and tennis courts, and close access to the Eno Riverwalk trail system.

Curious what your home could sell for today? Theresa Olson would love to help you find out.

Durham Highlight:Paperhand Puppet ProjectPaperhand Puppet Project started in 1998, when directors Donovan Zimmerman and ...
08/31/2026

Durham Highlight:
Paperhand Puppet Project

Paperhand Puppet Project started in 1998, when directors Donovan Zimmerman and Jan Burger met and decided to build something out of papier-mâché, cardboard, bamboo, old house paint, and whatever else most people would call junk. Nearly three decades later, that same scrappy, one-of-a-kind approach to giant puppetry has grown into a full annual tradition across the Triangle, and this year marks their 26th production.

This year's run of "The Wild Wisdom of the World" at the Forest Theatre is about halfway through, towering puppets, masks, stilts, and a live original score from the Paperhand band, all built around questions about staying connected to the natural world and to each other. This year's production folds in original poetry from Durham's own Khalisa Rae, a hometown thread running through the show even though the stage itself sits in Chapel Hill.

The season runs weekends through September 27, and it's the kind of show that's genuinely fun for kids and adults alike.

Forest Theatre, 300 South Boundary St., Chapel Hill, NC 27514
Weekends through September 27 | Shows at 6:20 PM

Address

5003 Southpark Drive, Suite 110
Durham, NC
27713

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 5pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 5pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 5pm
Thursday 8:30am - 5pm
Friday 8:30am - 5pm

Telephone

+19193819456

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