great design ideas for mobile, manufactured, and model homes
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Shaw Living Debuts New Area Rug Introductions
Sep 4th
Today is an absolutely perfect day The weather has cooled off to where I’m thinking about changing my home decor to suit the cooler temperatures. – it sounds like a lot of work, but a few changes can make all of the difference in how you enjoy your home. One of my favorite ways to warm things up is with area rugs.
One of my designers with Shaw Living just sent me a copy of their 2010 introductions and they are stunning! Whether you are looking for a bold, urban look or a more classic pattern they have something for you and the colors are right on trend.They also have rugs in their Ever-Touch yarns which feel amazing underfoot or make a great place to lay down and watch the football games.
With hard flooring surfaces becoming more popular every day, and area rug is a great way to add color and warmth. This is a model home for American Custom Builders that was Lifestylist® Designed, and you can see what a difference it made adding this Shaw area rug. It was a long, narrow space and the rug helped add color and define the space. In The Home Idea Factory I have summer rugs that are lighter and in more coastal textures, and in the fall I bring out my area rugs that are in deep, rich colors. Add a few new pillow covers and a throw on the sofa and I’m ready to go!
Z Gallerie: From Soap to Sofas
Aug 31st
Finally! The cooler weather is almost here and the stores are filling up with beautiful new accessories and goodies to seasonalize our homes with. As a Lifestylist® I like to constantly be on the prowl for what’s new and exciting, and get an idea of what people are really buying for their homes.
I love Z Gallerie – they are my favorite “go to” source when I am working on a new model home. They are masters at offering personality pieces that help make a room or home memorable, and they also stock those big exciting works of art that you can never find when you need them. But on a recent visit they made me think of them for something I hadn’t purchased from them in the past – furniture.
Z Gallerie started out in 1979 as a family run poster shop which has quickly grown to include 54 locations in 18 states! Their beautiful stores have expanded into becoming a one stop shop which make it easy for consumers to get everything they need for their home in one place. The stores are organized into different color stories which make it easy to find everything you need. They offer great accessories and furniture that are so unique people would think you had them custom made.
Speaking of personality pieces, as soon as I walked in the store I fell in love with two chairs I think I’m going to have to have – “Eddie” and “Bella”. Eddie was just stunning in leather that was the perfect shade of teal, and Bella was a pearl grey fabric that was just sexy. You know you found something you must have when you can’t stop thinking about it, and that’s the case with these two chairs.
Make Z Gallerie a destination for your next shopping trip, and let us know what you fall in love with.
Cleaning Out The Clutter
Aug 1st
It’s hot as heck here today – the 1st day of August and it’s supposed to reach 106 degrees! So today instead of even trying to do anything outside I decided to work on one of my new goals and start simplifying my life and style.
Have you noticed how easy it is to make impulse purchases now and how things just start piling up? I think I inherited a little of my parents recession-fear mentality and it’s hard for me to pass up anything free like the little soaps and shampoos that you get in hotels. As a Lifestylist® I’m always picking up cool and unusual items that I plan on using for staging or merchandising a model home – thanks heavens the Home Idea Factory has lots of storage or I’d be in big trouble!
Last week I was fortunate enough to be invited to The Family Place – an amazing resource for abused women and families. I serve on the board for HomeAid / HomeBuilders Care in Dallas and we just built new apartments, a clinic and a school room for them and it was so rewarding to see what we were able to accomplish. We were also able to meet some of the women who live there and what a difference the Family Place has made in our lives. As we toured we also found out what a great need they have for some of those things I’ve been collecting and today I’m going to start simplifying my life to help them with their fresh start.
Ronald McDonald House in Rochester, NY is another charity very close to my heart. A few years ago we did a home that was merchandised completely with items that had been donated to the charity, then auctioned off to benefit Ronald McDonald House. I’ll be forever grateful to the volunteers and Rochester community who donated such beautiful items to work with!
Towels, sheets, bath products, diapers… these are all things we may have an abundance of but don’t want to throw out the ones that we don’t use as much anymore. Stuffed animals that we tend to collect at fairs and in crane games would be cherished by a child that had to leave everything behind to get to safety.
It feels so good to clean away some of the clutter and know that these items are going to help someone else. The less you have to organize the easier it will be!
Color Spotting
Jul 30th
I do love being a Lifestylist®, and getting the opportunity to travel across the country meeting new people and spotting new trends. Recently I was up in the 1,000 Island area of NY and spent a day just driving and looking at the magnificent architecture and natural beauty of that area.
When I found this little cabin tucked by the river I fell in love – especially with the brightly colored Adirondack Chairs in the front of it. Of course I took a picture and never forgot what a great, happy look this was.
Then the other day I was walking through Home Depot and found these bright, happy chairs and I had to have them! Especially since they were only $12.00 each and maintenance free. I love what a difference they made in the backyard of the Idea Factory – even when I’m not out reading a book or birdwatching on them I love just being able to look out the window and seeing the burst of color.
It’s easy to use an accent of color to wake up any space. It can be done with pillows in a living room, towels in a bath or with plates in a dining room. Great, fun design doesn’t have to be expensive – you just need to be brave enough to try different ideas out.
I Want My Home to Look Just Like a Model Home
Jul 29th
Nothing makes me happier than when I hear these words from buyers – it means the model home that I merchandised is on target. And when it is a new homeowner saying this it’s music to my ears. This model is the one that I showed how we were inspired in the previous post – I think you can see where the colors and design ideas came from.
The new model home at Timber Banks is attracting traffic and buyers. Just yesterday I got an email from the @home Builders Design Center saying that a buyer wanted to replicate the model down to the furnishings and draperies! Fortunately with out new Lifestylist® Designed homes that’s possible. We have been working with the Ashley HomeStores and JCPenney to use merchandise in the models that people can buy themselves and make our paint colors available through the builder. Lifestylist® Design Inc. also provide training to the on-site sales team on why we used specific colors and played up a specific lifestyle so they will have lots of great speaking points to share with potential buyers.
If you are preparing to do a new model home or need to update your existing model to increase traffic and sales, contact us at: answers@lifestylist.com
Being Inspired by Your Surroundings
Jul 28th
When I work on a model home, my first priority is bringing the outside in – what’s going to make the buyer feel like what he experienced before he walked into the model continues into his model experience?
My son just gave me the perfect example – he is buying a new home in Florida, and was troubled after seeing the new model home because they didn’t like the colors or feel of the home after it was merchandised. It bothered them so much they actually considered canceling the sale. The colors and the lack of lifestyle felt like they could have been in any city in any community, but it didn’t have the warmth that they anticipated their home would have.
At Lifestylist® Design we focus on lifestyle, and what they buyer hopes to experience in his new life in your new home. We just finished doing a Lifestylist® Designed home for @home Builders in Baldwinsville, NY and I thought I’d share the thought process on how we came up with this home.
Timber Banks is a new incredible planned community near Syracuse, NY that features an 18 hole, Nicklaus designed golf course, river frontage with it’s own marina, clubhouse, and a stunning, natural beauty all around you that you can call home. It seemed only natural that I would bring this lifestyle and the colors I saw all around me into the design of the model. We went with some of the foggy greys, clear blue sky, river rocks and eco-greens that we discovered on our walks and as a result when you are in the home it truly pulls the outside in. Plan a visit to the Timbers yourself and see what we accomplished – contact Teresa Carpenter with @home Builders for more information at: 315-635- 6006.
Great Deals on Towels at JC Penney
Jul 26th
One of my favorite lifestyle items that many people don’t think about is towels. Think about how many times a day you use one, but when it’s time to make a purchase we spend more time worrying about cost and color than value. A typical family of 4 owns 15 towels, and we tend to hold on to them longer than maybe we should. My parents own a lake house and received 20 beach towels that were promotional items at least 10 years ago and we still use them!
My favorite store to buy towels from is JC Penney. They always have sales going on, but you can get a luxurious bath towel in beautiful current colors for under $10.00. As a Lifestylist® and model home merchandiser I buy a lot of towels for my job, and JC Penney is always my first stop for this purchase. Their sheets and bedding can’t be beat as well. Instead of buying all of your towels the same color, try buying coordinating colors. That way you can mix and match, and each family member or houseguest can have their own color so you’ll always know which is yours!
Great New Book on Manufactured Housing Being Published
Jul 12th
We found out today that Lifestylist® Design and articles by Lifestylist® Suzanne Felber are being featured in a new book – The Manufactured Housing Revolution. Published by mhmsm.com, this book will be full of great articles and information that you can use every day. Information about the Trailer Diva will be included as well – if you aren’t familiar with this personality you should be!
We also got a mention on the back cover so we are very excited! To get your own copy, check out mhmsm.com today.
BeauFlor – The Next Generation of Flooring Has Arrived
Jun 21st
As a Lifestylist®, one of the things I spend a lot of time on is sourcing and specifying products for the home. Flooring is especially important, and I’ve seen a movement lately from what we’ve always expected to see in a home to some really exciting, unexpected products. Your lifestyle should play a huge part in what you want in different rooms in your home – do you have pets, kids, allergies to be concerned about or do you lead an active lifestyle? All of these should be considerations as to what type flooring you have in your home.
The Home Idea Factory is a perfect example of this. Living and working in a 1940′s building has lots of different challenges – add to that all of the animals we rescue and grandbabies – what you end up with is a need for something that is easy maintenance & a lot of style as well to make this Lifestylist® happy. I’ve been looking for years to find the perfect flooring for my media room which is my favorite room at the factory and where I spend most of my time. It is large so tiling or wood was cost-prohibitive, I knew carpet wouldn’t last since the dogs enjoy this room as well. I also wanted something with some sound barriers since the photography studio is below. When I discovered BeauFlor I knew I had my answer.
Believe it or not, this is a resilient vinyl flooring that is available in wider widths which means less or no seams. It also doesn’t have the paper backing that many vinyl floors have which can add to mold issues, and it is “lay flat – stay flat”. The patterns are absolutely amazing – I have been in homes that have BeauFlor in them and I have seen customers get on their hands and knees to see if the flooring was real tile or wood – actually it looks better in some cases! Plus you get the cost savings of a resilient flooring and the savings on installation – what more could you ask for?
Champion Homes of Texas has been using this flooring in their homes, and the customers love the look and how easy it is to care for. If you get a chance, be sure to take a look at this product in the nearest Champion Homes to you, or contact Syntec Industries to learn more about this amazing product. I can’t wait to have it in The Idea Factory to spend less time cleaning and more time enjoying!
Lifestylist® Designed Homes
May 26th
What a busy, busy month so far! Three models and a design center for three different clients in three different states – it looks like the Lifestylist Designed concept is gaining momentum.
Yesterday I was out working on the new model home for American Custom Builders in Frisco, TX and was fortunate enough to have the very talented Lisa Stewart of LAS Photo join me to take some preliminary photos. The home isn’t done yet but we wanted to get an idea of what it would like like in photos. This has ended up being one of the more difficult homes that I’ve done, but I think it is going to also be one of the most successful. Using the Lifestylist Designed philosophy we have merchandised this home with items that can be purchased at stores within 10 miles of the home or online – all being within the budget of what a prospective homebuyer might want to spend. Drapes and rods are JCPenney or Bed Bath and Beyond, all furniture is from the Ashley HomeStores, and a lot of the artwork and accessories is from Wisteria – a great catalog resource. Pottery Barn Kids helped the children’s rooms come to life, IKEA helped us stay in budget, and we even found a very cool resource here in Dallas – a consignment pool table company that got us an incredible deal on the pool table and they even picked it up and installed it for us!
American Custom Builders will now be working with the Ashley HomeStores so that their customers can go in and purchase what they see in the model, and we will be providing purchasing information on most of the items in the home. More information and photos to come – I’d love to have your feedback on what you think of the home and our concept.