Bobby Flay Issues a Throwdown to Lifestylist® Designed Tucson Cafe
Aug 15th
I am so excited! I just learned that Bobby Flay traveled to Tucson and had a “throwdown” with the Matias family at Teresa’s Mosaic Cafe. This is a restaurant that we did the interior of, and as with all Lifestylist® Designed challenges we spent a lot of time getting to know the family and their needs before we came up with a plan.
Teresa’s is all about family and the wonderful handmade food so the interior had to have as much personality as the family does. To do this we designed tables made of handmade tiles – over 20,000 of them all that we made by hand. It was an extensive amount of work but the results were definitely worth it.
The episode airs on the Food Network - check out dates and times for your area.
How Dramatic Are Your Model Homes?
Aug 13th
As a Lifestylist®, I spend quite a lot of time touring homes in different cities looking for new ideas and trends. Last week I was in South Haven, MI meeting with a client and discovered a great store – Props – who’s slogan is: “Your Home is Your Stage… Add Some Drama”.
So many times the drama is missing from our homes, and the customer loses interest in the home before they finish their tour. Here are some inexpensive Lifestylist® Designed ideas that you can use to add some drama to your model homes.
Color Color can be a really easy way to wake up a home that has been sitting on your lot too long. Paint is one way, but you also do something as simple as changing out the pillows on your upholstery to give a room a new look. Artwork is also a very effective way to change the feel of a room and make it more memorable.
Emotion Do your homes pull at the potential buyer’s heartstrings or just leave them uninspired? Accessories and textures can add warmth and emotion to a home. One of my favorite staging tricks is setting the dining table and having it look like the new buyers are getting ready for a dinner party. Plates, napkins, and glassware can only cost a few dollars each but can give your home a festive feel that the buyers will remember.
Shake Things Up Have you ever noticed that by moving furniture around and changing out accessories you can make the room have a completely different feel? Freshening up your homes might not cost you a dime – it might take a little muscle.
These are only a few ideas that we would love to share with you. If you don’t have the time to work on your models yourself we would be happy to provide the services necessary to make your sales center more dramatic. The Home Idea Factory is All About You, and we would love to become your “go to” resource for all of your design needs.
Feel free to contact us to find out more about what we do at: info@lifestylist.com
Homearama Returns to Rochester, NY
Aug 9th
It’s hard to believe it’s already time for Homearama again – where does the time go? But this is the perfect time to visit Rochester – the produce season is in full swing, perfect weather and it’s also a great time to be thinking about decorating ideas to warm up your home with.
This year this annual event will be held at WaterSong in Penfield August 14th – 22nd. Sponsored by the Rochester Homebuilders Association this 9 days will not only highlight these 5 beautiful homes but there will also be an abundance of wine tasting, cooking demos and decorating seminars.
Lifestylist® Design has teamed up with @home Builders three different years to participate in this great event, but my favorite home was definitely the Ronald McDonald Show House we did a few years ago. We teamed up with the amazing group of volunteers from the Ronald McDonald House and merchandised a home using furniture, artwork and accessories that were donated to Ronald McDonald for their annual ABC Sale.It was truly a Lifestylist® Designed home - I spent three months going over images they would send me of new donations and digging through their warehouse to find the perfect items for this home and by the end we did!
It was a fun challenge to show how you can do a beautifully decorated home using only “gently cherished” items. The best part was @home Builders then did an online auction and visitors to the home could bid on each room. All of the proceeds then went to the Ronald McDonald House Charities. From this, the dinner auction prize and other events that @home Builders did with the home they were able to raise over $25,000 for the charity. To see photos and get more information about this show house, check out the website we designed for it.
Ashley HomeStores Make a Difference With a Click
Aug 3rd
As you all know, I love Ashley Furniture and consider it one of the best values out there for the money. I personally sleep on an Ashley bed, have an Ashley sectional in my media room and use Ashley furniture in many of my model homes. In fact, I just merchandised a complete home for American Custom Builders using only Ashley Furniture. I’ve loved them before, but today I got an email today that is making me love them even more.
The Ashley HomeStores are getting social! They have launched new pages on Facebook and Twitter, and to get these pages kicked off they are doing an amazing promotion. Just click the “like” tab on their Facebook page and not only will you be able to get great information about the latest decorating and furniture trends, but they will also make a $0.25 donation to City of Hope for each Like!
City of Hope is a cutting-edge research and treatment facility for cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases. Ashley Furniture has donated $4 million to this wonderful non-profit facility already and with your help they can continue to raise up to $10,000.00 for this worthwhile cause. To like the page, please go to: www.facebook.com/AshleyHomeStore. Let them know that the Lifestylist® sent you!
I Want My Home To Look Just Like The Model
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
Getting 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.
Something Old, Something New
Jul 24th
The Home Idea Factory received the biggest compliment the other day I could ever hope to get. I was speaking to a potential new client and after they reviewed the work and philosophies of almost every model home merchandising company out there they said The Home Idea Factory was the company who’s work stood out. They remembered our homes because of our unique way of blending new items with cherished antiques and accessories. The client said it really gave them a feel of who would be living in the home and in fact it did feel like home.
I take what I do very seriously, and that’s why I became a Lifestylist® instead of just a traditional designer. Helping a buyer visualize how amazing their life can be in their new home when they move into a new community can make the difference between them buying my client’s home or buying a pre-owned home or a foreclosure. Introducing the buyer to the new schools, neighborhood activities and other reasons why this would be the perfect place for them to live is a great reason to have a merchandised model – unfortunately not many builders take advantage of this opportunity.
What makes your models stand out from the rest? I hope this will give you some new things to look for when you are anticipating doing some new model homes.
Champion Model Homes are XTreme!
Jul 9th
We did it! With a lot of help from the wonderful team at Champion Homes of Texas, Lifestylist Design Inc. was able to complete 4 model homes in a week’s time. And the response has been tremendous – retailers have been flocking to the Champion Sales Center to see these amazing new XTreme floorplans.
This week really proved to me what a difference a great management team and leadership can make in the success of a company. I can’t say enough about how everyone stepped up and did whatever needed to be done. Even though we had to work on Saturday and Sunday in 100 degree weather there wasn’t one person who acted like there was any place they would rather be. The loyalty to their company and attention to detail really shows in every home that they build as well. No matter what price point the home was, it was still XTremely well constructed and I would be proud to call any of them my home.
If you are looking for and XTreme Home to call your own you should check out these new homes. Contact Marc Medders at 800-414-2605 for more information and tell him The Lifestylist® sent you!
XTreme Model Homes Challenge Update
Jun 10th
We are making progress!
On of the toughest things to do when you have to merchandise or stage a home quickly is find the right furniture for the space. I don’t like to stock furniture because then you end up putting things that just aren’t quite right into a space because you have them. Lucky for me, there is an IKEA in the area so after having no luck even with being able to rent and make budget for this client, I decided to see what I could find online. IKEA is truly a lifestyle, and as a Lifestylist® I know this is a great resource for designing homes with lots of personality.
In the last few years, the IKEA website has become very user friendly. It’s well organized, easy to find what you are looking for by room, and they also have great inspiration photos which can be a huge help. A new to me feature is the Shopping List. You can add an item in your shopping list and by doing so and entering which store you’ll be picking up at the site will then prepare a list that not only has a photo and cost of the item, it will also tell you specifically where in the store that item will be! If you have ever been in an IKEA store you know that because of the size of the stores and all of the great room vignettes it can easily take you an entire day to shop. But you’ll never go hungry -they all have a great cafe that is as reasonably priced as their furniture in them and also a take out area if you are eating on the run.
With the help of the website I was able to make out a very detailed plan for each home and know exactly where I would find it and if it was in stock. When I arrived at the store I was able to pull everything and get it to the delivery window in 2 hours so I was thrilled! I think that was a record for me but I stayed focused and only bought what I knew I needed. When you are working on XTreme Homes with XTreme budgets the key is to only buy what you know you need or your budget can go off target in one shopping trip.
For you all not used to the IKEA experience – be warned – their great pricing comes at a cost. Most of their merchandise is “Flat box” which means it is designed to take up the minimum amount of space when it is being shipped. After you purchase the item most of it will have to be assembled, even the sofas so keep that in mind if you aren’t especially great with a screwdriver. They do have outside companies you can contact to put your items together though but this would drive up your costs. The other thing is that you are literally shopping in a warehouse, and you have to pull the merchandise from the shelves and bring it up to the check out lines. This may not be a problem if you are only buying a wicker chair, but if you are buying houses of furniture be sure to bring help and a truck to take it home in. I used their delivery service but didn’t have a great experience so I’d only use this as a last resort.
Everything got delivered yesterday, they are finishing up the houses today and hopefully I get to start making them look like home tomorrow! Can’t wait to see how they end up.
XTreme Model Home Challenge
Jun 9th
I love a challenge, but when I got a call this week from Champion Homes of Texas I may have gotten one that is even more than I can take on.
They are introducing their new XTREME Home Value Series, and they are so excited about it they didn’t want to wait for the normal time it takes to put together a home show to introduce it to their buyers – they decided since these are factory built homes and they could get them built in a week, they would have a home show in a week! This means putting together 4 furnished model homes with Xtremely tight budgets in 7 days.
Can Lifestylist Design Inc. get this done? Check back in a week or so and find out how we did!