Greetings!

The start of a new year brings to mind new beginnings and the thought of many exciting opportunities to come. I am especially looking forward to 2005, as it promises to be an exciting year for me, both personally and professionally. On a personal note - my fiancé, Wes Stearns, and I will be getting married this month and are very excited about starting our life together.

Professionally, I am committed to providing my clients with an innovative flair that combines their personal tastes with their lifestyle. I will also take full advantage of the home's surroundings, both inside and out.

This year, I will continue to evolve my interest in designing "Healing Homes," which include my interest in energy efficiency, solar, universal design, sustainable, feng shui, green building, etc. These principles help create a total package for long term functionality and comfort. I have always had an interest in alternative building methods to help the environment and to help make people feel more comfortable in their homes and have taken many workshops throughout the years on these topics to increase my knowledge. It will become a stronger emphasis for me this coming year and my team is committed to bringing these concepts to life for the client through continuing research and education.

Please take a look at the energy efficiency tips that we have included in this edition of your newsletter. It is our sincere hope that you will find these and the other tips in the months to come helpful in transforming your house into a home - your place of comfort and refuge. Create 2005 as your year of prosperity. If I can ever be of assistance, please call or e-mail me.

Jennifer B. Pippin, CPBD; Owner, Pippin Home Designs, Inc

Pippin's Projects: CREATIVE SOLUTIONS AT WORK

Rick and Jeanelle Sorenson wished for a home that not only met the needs of their lifestyles, but also the needs of their parents' lifestyles as they age. When they convinced Jeanelle's parents, Mary and Allen Priester, to move from their Miami home of 35 years to be closer to their children and grandchildren, they sought the services of Pippin Home Designs to make their wish a reality.

The Sorensons wanted to add an additional living space for their parents on their Lake Norman lakefront property and wanted to ensure that the project was first class. Faced with many challenges along the way, due to the many county building codes and regulations, the Sorenson's were limited in the size of the structure that they added to their property. Jenny Pippin faced the challenge head on and created a design that effectively optimized the space, yet was still customized with personal touches to fit the needs and vision of the homeowners and their parents. And what would a Pippin Home Deisgn be if it didn't incorporate the breath-taking view of Lake Norman. "Everywhere in the house has a view," Jeanelle Sorenson said.

During the design phase, the biggest challenge was the building regulations that prohibited them from developing a structure larger than 650 square feet. "This was a huge downsizing for my parents," said Jeanelle Sorenson. Jenny Pippin's talent in creative solutions helped them achieve just that.

She addressed the challenge of the small space by including wide open spaces, vaulted ceilings and a vast amount of glass in her design. "She utilized every square inch of space," Jeanelle said.

Even though Jenny effectively addressed the challenge of small space, she was still able to customize it with personal touches to fit the needs of the Priesters and their lifestyles. "To help my parents adjust to the cooler weather, she added heated floors throughout," Jeanelle said. Jenny also included accessibility into her design by designing wider hallways and doorways and raised the appliances, to better meet the needs of the Priesters in the years to come.

Many families looking to add on to their homes to accommodate the needs of multigenerational living will likely run into similar challenges with building codes and regulations. "Every project is unique, though," Jenny said. "I love to use creative solutions to ensure that both the client and the building officials are satisfied."

»

Feng Shui: Simplify Your Life

I read an interesting little article recently in O Magazine, about simplifying your life, which is one of the goals of feng shui. One of the questions it challenges us to ask of ourselves was, "how much is enough?" We've probably all asked ourselves this question at one time or another, but have we ever stopped to really listen for our answer? Maybe not, because we know that we may not like what we hear.

We live in a consumerism society that places high emphasis on things (also known as "stuff"), and it's this stuff that complicates and bogs down our life. We hear and see every day on radio, TV and billboards that we are "less than" unless we have such-and-such product, and ads these days are so sneaky that they can really make you believe it's true. So we feed our ego and forget to nourish our spirit. Then one day we wake up, take a look around at all the stuff we have and ask, "why am I still not happy?"

Feng shui teaches that in order to flow through our life it's important to be unencumbered by stuff. So the next time you're out shopping and find something you think you can't do without, ask yourself this question: Is this a need or a want? If it's a want, put it back on the shelf. Your spirit will thank you.

- Valerie DeLong, Feng Shui Concepts, (704) 502-8814, valdelong@earthlink.net.

Learn more about feng shui from a professional... »