real estate/homes
With care, Persian rugs last a lifetime For those looking for exquisite rugs in the Birmingham area, Nilipour has it covered. Hossein Nilipour had been in the rug business with his father in their native Iran. He came to the University of Alabama at Birmingham as a fulltime student in 1970, but he missed the rug business so he started selling fine rugs again and decided to take classes at night. He graduated and his wife, Susan, joined him in the business. Their daughter, Soraya, also owns and manages the store, making it three generations in the rug business. Susan Nilipour said the Homewood store imports rugs mainly from Iran, Pakistan and India but also China, Turkey, Russia and Romania. “We’re a full-service oriental rug dealer. We buy, we trade, and we sell. We also clean, restore, repair and appraise rugs as well,” she said. Nilipour said distinguishing superior quality rugs from others centers on the knot count. “The higher the knot count, the better. The strength of Persian rugs makes them last a long time,” she said. When asked how they appraise rugs, Nilipour said it’s about craftsmanship. “I can take a rug and determine where it came from and the quality to come up with a value when they bring them in,” she said. Nilipour said they did a lot of cleaning of rugs that were severely muddied or damaged in the 2011 tornadoes that ravaged Alabama, as well as the devastation that followed Hurricane Katrina. She said rugs can last decades, even centuries — she once sold a rug that was more than 200 years old. Nilipour advises regular cleaning of the rugs to help ensure a longer life. “Clean them often. If you have animals, clean the rugs at least yearly,” she said. “Don’t wear rubber-soled shoes. They’re like car tires gripping and pulling on the wool knots. Instead wear leather shoes or go barefoot. Also, keep the rugs out of direct sunlight. It can damage rugs and make them fade. Be sure to get your windows treated and cleaned.”
Upscale apartment living at redone Retreat at Mountain Brook Technology and nature commune as one at the Birmingham area’s new upscale apartment living community, The Retreat at Mountain Brook, which offers everything from a community garden to resident coffee lounges equipped with Wi-Fi and nearby hiking trails. Located on 80 acres neighboring Mountain Brook, the community started a $7 million, 18-month renovation after it was acquired by California-based development community Heller Stone. “The intent was creating an upscale environment for residents wanting to have it all,” said Arlington Properties Regional Manager Tami Stertmeyer. “The Retreat offers a plethora of modern amenities for our residents that include a community garden, three saltwater resort-style pools, two stateof-the-art fitness centers, two resident coffee lounge areas equipped with Wi-Fi, championship-modeled tennis courts and walking trails.” Stertmeyer said that not only is The Retreat at Mountain Brook pet-friendly, but the community features a 6,500-square-foot dog park equipped with agility stations to “keep our beloved pets happy and healthy.” She said the apartments’ interior space features spacious living and dining rooms; open kitchens with stainless steel appliances; electric fireplaces, designer plank flooring; an entertaining/bar area; oversized balconies; sunrooms and terrace level apartment homes that have fenced-in yard spaces. When the community was originally built years ago it was known as the grand community of its time. Later, a gas station, convenience store and a nursery school were built on the borders of the community. Today, the community has regained its grand status, the community garden and dog park are located where the gas station and convenience store were located and the new clubhouse is located where the nursery school once operated. Stertmeyer said The Retreat and Mountain Brook team is happy to provide community and apartment tours to interested parties, and virtual tours can be taken online.
Looking for a modern kitchen? Berman Group relies on NeedCo Cabinets by Lee J. Green NeedCo Inc. Cabinets and Gil Berman continue to build upon their successes. Berman, an involved member of the Birmingham area Jewish community and owner of The Berman Group Inc. home builders, land developers and remodelers, said the central Alabama cabinet maker has been the perfect fit on several of his projects. “They provide a wide variety of cabinets; they do custom and factory cabinets well and they have experienced designers who are great to work with,” he said. NeedCo Owner David Harrison had been in the HVAC business for 25 years. He started doing woodworking as a hobby and decided to follow his passion by opening up NeedCo in 2000. The company would expand to Tuscaloosa and Homewood in the ensuing years. NeedCo General Manager Chrissy Bushnell said the goal is to be a “onestop shop. We have talented designers on staff and we focus on service plus customization.” Bushnell said today homeowners want to be more involved in the process. “They want to be more hands-on. By that I mean they want to know more about the products, process and service,” she added. As far as trends in cabinets, tile and countertops go, Bushnell said “simple, streamlined and grey colors are in right now.” She also said that today’s kitchens are more high-tech and things such as electrical chargers can be implemented into the cabinetry, making everything more space- and user-friendly. 32 Southern Jewish Life • June 2016
NeedCo also employs technology in its showrooms to show customers the 3D designs of their renderings. “We pride ourselves on our showrooms. We want designers and customers to really be able to see how a project will turn out,” said Bushnell. Berman was born for the building business. His father, Floyd Berman, was a homebuilder and land developer for many years, and Gil grew up in the business. He started developing and building in Miami then moved back to Birmingham in 1991 and formed The Berman Group. “In the 1990s, much of what I did was speculative homebuilding and land development, but starting in the 2000s we transitioned into custom homebuilding and remodeling to complement the neighborhood development projects,” said Berman. “And I agree with Chrissy’s assessment that more people today seem to want modern, simple, sleek designs versus the traditional.” Berman said that many of his customers want to stay in their current house but expand, add on or update. He referenced a job in 2015 for Nitu Caplash, modernizing a ranch-style house in the Mountain Brook area. The sleek styled cabinetry used in this project was custom built by NeedCo. Berman said he is happy to offers individuals advice on how much they should invest in a remodeling/expansion project based on the value of the house and how long they plan to remain living there, or if they want to sell the place relatively soon. “My whole philosophy is that communication and teamwork are the key to a successful relationship with every customer,” he said.