This month’s Employee Spotlight is Ann Paduda (now Ann Hulen as of recent), EYA's Design Consultant. For our homeowners, Ann needs no introduction. She has the important job of helping our homeowners select options for their new home. This includes everything from cabinets and faucets to hardwood and carpets. Not only an EYA employee for almost 18 years, Ann is also an EYA homeowner, and couldn’t be happier with her life within walking distance®.
Ann (Paduda) Hulen
Current Role: Design Consultant
1) How long have you worked for EYA?
18 years in March!
2) What do you enjoy most about your current position at EYA?
The interaction with the people who are buying our homes. We laugh, we have fun…there are a lot of details to cover and I like making it less complicated and easy. One of my favorite things to hear is, “I was dreading doing this, but you made it easy and fun!”
3) What is your best advice for homeowners when selecting options?
Browse the selections room, review the options sheet and ask questions. Getting an idea of what you don’t like is just as helpful as knowing what you do like. Once you get one or two things that you do like, don’t worry…the rest just falls into place. Also, trust yourself. You know more than you think!
4) What are some of the latest trends?
People are more drawn to contemporary styles and cool colors now. I’m starting to see technology integrated more and more into the homes, from wiring for music and sound to controlling your entire home from an ipad!
5) You not only work at EYA, but also live in an EYA home. What do you like best about living in an EYA community?
First and foremost it really is "life within walking distance." It changes the way I live, which changes my life. There is a whole new world to discover walking around on my feet instead of riding around in a car. I’ve discovered nook and cranny shops, which restaurants are doing fun things on what night and an ease of getting wherever I want to go either via metro, bike, ferry or foot! Being on foot more also means being outside more and connecting with the people in the neighborhood.
Inside, I have an efficient design layout that not only wastes no space, but is beautiful to the eye. I feel not only very fortunate to work at EYA, but very lucky to live in one of our homes as well.