Best of Lifestyle

Retiring in Style

Presbyterian-sponsored retirement community Glenaire, voted Best Active Adult Community, is gearing up for 20 years in business. Opened in 1993, it will celebrate its 20th anniversary in July of 2013. And about 20 residents have called Glenaire home since day one! Average age at move in for Glenaire residents is 74 years old. Current residents range from 57 to 102 years old. In total, more than 850 people have lived in Glenaire’s apartments, cottages and two free-standing homes.

A Place to Call Home

“We’ve never met with a client that didn’t emotionally want more than what they’d choose to spend financially,” said Jon Rufty, founder of Best Home Building Company Rufty Homes. But that’s not a problem for him. “By working with the clients extensively on the front end and really listening to what they’re wanting, we’re able to identify how to assemble and design the house to make it meet their goals and also meet a defined budget. That takes a lot of experience to understand what the clients are asking for and how things can be assembled so that they get the maximum for their money. We’re good listeners.” Rufty has been building homes since 1988, with a current blend of roughly 65 percent new construction and 35 percent remodel work. Rufty Homes maintains projects throughout the Triangle.

Strong Beginnings

“The love of books, the love of learning — we light that fire early on. It grows throughout their lifetime,” said Rhonda Blades, who owns Apex-based Primrose School of West Lake with her husband, Elliott. Voted Best Preschool, Primrose has been in the Cary community for 18 years, and children who have been through Primrose programs are now graduating high school and continuing on to higher education. Primrose has locations in Cary, Apex, Holly Springs, Morrisville and others in the greater Raleigh area.

Not Just a Store

Known for its wide array of home décor and accessories, Best Interior Design Company Ivy Cottage Collections also offers professional interior design services. Consultations are
available for window treatments, bedding, floor and wall coverings, furniture and accessories. The process involves two meetings. In the first, consultants travel to your home and discuss the desired look and feel, along with taking applicable measurements. Then, homeowners visit the store to discuss a range of looks that would work with existing decor to choose what feels right. Clients who follow up with purchase of $1,000 or more are refunded the consultation fee.

A Dose of Culture


When visitors come to town, Cary Magazine readers like to take them on an educational outing at the North Carolina Museum of Art. Through Jan. 22, the museum will house the widely acclaimed Rembrandt in America exhibit, featuring 47 pieces of work by Rembrandt or previously attributed to the infamous painter. However, numerous other remarkable exhibits are also on display.

Through May 27, Presence/Absence exhibits a range of photographs from the museum’s permanent collection that imply human presence without showing any figures. “These photographs suggest the mysteries of where we have been, the remnants of what we leave behind, and the promise of what is soon to come,” according to the museum.

Written by Tara Croft

Best Active Adult Community

Glenaire

HM: Carolina Preserve at Amberly

The Manor Village at Preston

Best Charity

SPCA of Wake County

HM: The (Jimmy) V Foundation

Hospice of Wake County

Best Coffeehouse

Starbucks Coffee Company

HM: Caribou Coffee
The Wake Zone Espresso

Best Fitness Club

Life Time Fitness

HM: Cary Family YMCA

O2 Fitness

Best Preschool

Primrose School

HM: TIE: The Goddard School for Early Childhood Development 

Resurrection Lutheran Preschool, Resurrection Lutheran Church

Best Golf Course

Prestonwood Country Club

HM: MacGregor Downs Country Club
Knight’s Play Golf Center

Best Home Building Company

Rufty Homes 

HM: KB Home 
Pulte Homes

Best Music Venue

Koka Booth Amphitheater at Regency Park
HM: Time Warner Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek

Durham Performing Arts Center

Best Neighborhood

Lochmere

HM: MacGregor Downs
Preston

Best Principal

Matthew Wight, Apex High School

HM: Dr. James Hedrick, Green Hope High School

Jason Curtis, Cardinal Gibbons High School 



Best Place to Go for a Run

American Tobacco Trail

HM: William B. Umstead State Park
Lake Johnson

Best Place to Ride a Bike

American Tobacco Trail

HM: William B. Umstead State Park

Bond Park

Best Place to Take Children

Marbles Kids Museum

HM: North Carolina Museum of Life and Science
Frankie’s Fun Park

Best Place to Take Visitors
North Carolina Museum of Art

HM: Raleigh Farmers Market

Downtown Raleigh

Best Yoga/Pilates Studio

Triangle Pilates & Cary Yoga Center
HM: Life Time Fitness
Cary Family YMCA

Best Interior Design Company

Ivy Cottage
HM: Southern Studio Interior Design

Cooper’s Furniture