triangle.com | Home

Artful refinishing

Joseph Rosario Torrisi’s workspace is filled with furniture. Some of it is broken and scratched. Nearly all of it is glorious. There’s the solid mahogany bedroom set lined with cedar from the 1940s, the dresser from the early 1800s, and a dining table from Denmark made of luxurious rosewood. The owners of these pieces have brought them to Torrisi, a master with wood when it comes to refinishing, repair and touch-up work. Updated: May. 2, 2008 3:00 PM | Full story

Bringing back to the glory days

There’s something about an old house. Whether you grew up in one during that period between two world wars, or pretend you did, it touches your heart. You sit on the front porch overlooking the street and wonder about the families that lived there and knew everyone else in the neighborhood. Then you imagine life without television, computers and cell phones, and you’re in no hurry to leave this retreat. Updated: Apr. 25, 2008 12:54 PM | Full story

Details seal the deal

Be glad you live in the Triangle. In some areas of the country where scads of unsold houses flood the market, homeowners fret over ways to lure a home buyer. Not to worry. Triangle home sellers don’t have that kind of problem; our real estate market, although slow, is touted as one of the strongest in the country. Nevertheless, many Triangle Realtors are doing more than simply advising sellers to clean, paint, repair, de-clutter and deodorize. Those basics from Homeselling 101 might suffice in a sellers’ market but when it favors buyers, many Realtors and homeowners do more. Updated: Mar. 28, 2008 8:28 AM | Full story