Green Architectural and Interior Design, Asheville, NC- Shelter Ecology, Inc.

Architectural and Interior Design • Healthy Home Consultation

Architectural and Interior Design

Shelter Ecology, Inc. specializes in a comprehensive approach to healthy homes. Cindy prefers to start working with you at the conceptual stage of your designs. At this point she is best able to educate you and your family on the most budget minded green and healthy options for your new home, according to your families needs.

Cindy's ability to combine healthy and green into a design is vital to the success of your homes indoor air quality. A healthy home should perform as a system that breaths fresh air in and out while maintaining low and balanced indoor humidity levels through all seasons and is absent of chemical, heavy metal or other inorganic pollutants.

Teaming up with other professional affiliates to make your home as healthy as possible is important. This usually includes an HVAC specialist, a reputable: building science -oriented contractor, an engineer and a landscape specialist focusing on healthy alternatives to things like pest control and low maintenance planting. Cindy can recommend many of these team members due to her work in the WNC community over the past 12 years.

Satisfied Customers
& What They Have to Say

"Cindy's ability to use color, unusual materials, and the natural environment to create a sense of place is why I've used her talents previously and why I will choose her again for our next home."

–Beck Anderson
Owner, Handmade In America,
Asheville, NC

"Cindy is creative, energetic, professional and personable She is customer focused, listens will, and gives her undivided attention to the task at hand.
In spite of her busy schedule, she has a way of letting us know that our project is the most important, most exciting project on her agenda."

–Nancy Stricker,
Brevard, NC

"Cindy is a true master of the art of design. After doing design work at both my house and office, I am simply in awe of her eye for color, placement, lighting, or whatever the situation calls for. By working with Cindy, you are choosing to live in a beautiful and healthy space!"

–Jody Held, CMT,
Asheville, NC"Cindy's extremely personable knowledge about how to make my two homes environmentally safe was a saving grace! Her hands-on experience with all the materials she specified for my homes accentuated her genuine concern for my health and well being."

–RoseAnne Carroll,
Williams Island, FL
& Tennessee Ridge, TN

Cindy holds a Bachelor's degree in Interior Design, which gave her extensive drafting and architectural design experience as well. Continued studies in architectural design have prepared Shelter Ecology, Inc. to offer residential design services. Cindy is not a licensed architect. Instead, she offers hand drawn (not CAD (computer aided design) architectural designs based on your concepts for your dream home. Because of her strong background in interior design, Cindy designs your home from the inside out which offers a design based on your families needs.

Shelter Ecology, Inc. prefers to work with folks who already have some idea of what they desire in a home design and are choosing to create a healthy home based on their concepts. Once this is known, Cindy takes a very practical approach, fulfilling your needs according to your budget and health concerns.

Fees are as follows:

Architectural (residential) and Interior Design Services: $75 per hour
Healthy Home Consultations: $75 per hour
Healthy Home Tours: $75 per hour

"God sends no one away empty except those who are full of themselves." Dwight Moody

SNEAK PREVIEWS

Below are some residences that Cindy designed with the Healthy Home concept in mind. Clicking on either the name at the top or the photo will take you to a page with an informative description of the projects, including before and after photos.

Baker/Schulz Residence	Stroud Residence

HEALTHY HOME CONSULTATION - Creating the Truly Healthy Home

Shelter Ecology, Inc. consults with individuals and families all over the United States via telephone and is able to develop a protocol specific to the person(s) involved in the unhealthy situation. Cindy asks specific questions that allow her to go straight to the indoor air problems. She then consults about the environmental pollutants involved, which are causing the problems - and prescribes specific products and methods for "do it yourself" clean up. Shelter Ecology, Inc. offers a "first aid tool kit" for maintaining healthier existing homes or offices (old or new) as well as for new construction.

This does require an investment in the specified tools. However, these up front costs are minimal in comparison to what you would spend on testing and remediation through an industrial hygienist. If Cindy feels that your problem requires clean up beyond what you can do yourself, she will recommend other professionals to carry out the work needed in order to create a healthier existing home or a healthy new home (or office).

Cindy’s approach to creating a healthy building is not based on science, but on her own life experiences with mold and other biological / chemical pollutants common in 90% of all homes and office buildings in the south and north east. Most buildings that are 5 years old or older are not constructed to "dry out" resulting in mold problems. And many existing tightly constructed buildings contain toxic indoor materials along with a lack of fresh air infiltration. These are common problems that can be fixed or improved upon.

A written prescription for creating a healthier building for you, your family or co-workers is prepared by Cindy after the consultation along with any product or methodology literature to back it up. This comprehensive service is offered @ $75/hr. Most consultation and prescriptions require 1-3 hours of time depending on the size of the project and the number of issues to be addressed. For more information on Shelter Ecology’s philosophy for creating a healthy home or office, go to the Background page and the Healthy Home Tour, describing in detail – her own healthy home, which Cindy designed.

Fees are as follows:

Healthy Home Consultation: $75/hr
Architectural (residential) & Interior Design services: $75/hr
Healthy Home Tours: $75/hr

Also check out WNCGBC (Western North Carolina Green Building Council) at: www.wncgbc.org

43 Pine Ridge Road, Asheville, North Carolina 28804
For more information on the location of Shelter Ecology, Inc. - please go to the Contact page
Phone:828 225-2829 • Cell (alternate number): 828.713.4500
Fax: 828-252-0692 • Email: sheltereco@gmail.com

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policies & ordering • do-it-yourself • Sneak Preview • TOUR

Articles

Christian Spirituality Writings:
• Finding Truth • How are You Today?

Healthy: Green Building Writings:
• Bridging The Gap Between Solar & Healthy Home Design Methods • Moisture Control in Buildings: Putting Building Science in Green Building • Global & Regional Impacts of Building Green • Environmentally Friendly Revolutionary Wood Resources • Build My Home to Stay Dry, Please! • Appropriate Whole House Ventilation Strategies for WNC Homes