Treating customers like family

By CHRIS BURRITT

NW GUILFORD – Some days, Jared Corry eats as many as six eggs. The convenience of gathering them from his own backyard is a plus, but he raises chickens for other reasons, too.

One afternoon last week, he gently pressed a pale brown egg near the ear of his young daughter, Jo Jo. From inside the shell could be heard the chirping of an unborn chick, one of about 40 biddies Corry is raising at his family’s home in northwestern Guilford County.

“It is amazing; it is a miracle,” said Corry, showing the slight cracking of the eggshell from the movements of the bird inside. “It’s going to be a brand new world for you, little chicky.”

Soaring egg prices in supermarkets have provided an additional incentive for people to raise chickens. But across northwestern Guilford County, several families who own chickens said as much as they like saving money, they’re moti- vated as much, if not more, by the connection to farm life and activities caring for chickens provides for their children. continued on page 20

A few months after moving to Oak Ridge a decade ago, Cody Kampen said she decided “we’ve got to get chickens” as part of the “homesteading light” lifestyle she and her husband, Andy, wanted to build for their family.

Besides raising their three children, the couple has since been raising a flock of hens and a rooster named Johann Sebastian Bach (as in the “bock, bock, bock” clucking of chickens).

“The chicks are fun to hold,” said Ellie, 9, one of the Kampens’ three children. She has emerged as the egg entrepreneur of the family.

While she and her brother, Simon, 6, and 11-year-old sister, Clara, sell eggs at the end of their driveway to neighbors, Ellie recently distributed a flyer in the neighborhood offering eggs for sale. They go for $5 a dozen.

White and light-colored subway tile is still popular, especially in kitchen backsplashes, but is finding its decorativeness in the way it’s laid – such as with a herringbone pattern as shown in the picture above – rather than with vivid color and designs that won’t stand the test of time.

By ANNETTE JOYCE

Whether you’re planning to build a new custom home, undertake a major remodeling of your existing home or simply update a room or two, you might want to tune in to the latest home trends before you get started, and consider incorporating some of the innovative ideas that are increasingly in demand. To find out what’s in and what’s on its way out, we spoke to some of the home builders in our area and asked what features homebuyers are most often requesting.

Farmhouse, traditional, modern – or a combo?

Over the past few years, the modern farmhouse style has been hugely popular. It marries the coziness of a farmhouse with the sleek, clean lines of contemporary design to create a refreshing take on the rustic country look.

Typically, the modern farmhouse sports a white exterior with black shutters. Large, covered porches, vaulted ceilings, unpainted wood and lots of windows are also distinctive