Home Decorating Articles

Happy Fourth of July! With all that is going on with COVID we decided to stay home this year and stay safe. It was the perfect excuse to get some things down around the house and to organize some of family photos from past years.

Hoping that your Thanksgiving is full of great food, friends, family and love.

The things you learn. Five years ago I enjoyed wine, but I had no idea that my love of the vine would totally change the direction of my brand. It's OK to just enjoy a glass of wine, but I'm fascinated about how the grapes are grown and where, the people behind the labels, and lately I've been learning about how to properly store your growing wine collection.

When I met winemaker Jean-Charles Boisset I had no idea about how my world was about to change, but it did - in a wonderful way. Charming, passionate about his craft, and one of the best storytellers I have ever met. It was such a treat to interview him for CandysDirt.com and our article about wine storage.

Adding the Lifestylist touch to the new SKS Experience and Design Center was a dream come true. The new Signature Kitchen Suite wine preservation columns are the ideal way to not only showcase but to store your wines correctly - we think that you will love them as much as we do!

This Labor Day weekend I'm laboring - but it's a labor of love. We just got floorplans for 5 new Lifestylist® Designed model homes for SE Homes of Texas so I'm busy looking through catalogs, websites and magazines looking for inspirations.

One of my favorite new places to go and look for new ideas is Houzz - a website that features the work of professionals and proud homeowners as well as showcasing cool new products for the home. Unlike other sites you won't find recipes or beauty secrets here - just great ideas on how you can create the home of your dreams.

I really like the people behind the scenes here as well - they featured a room that we LifeStyled in The New American Home, and afterwards I was fortunate enough to have a phone conversation with some of their marketing team. They won't share exactly how many subscribers they have to their site, but I can personally say I've been thrilled with how many people have discovered the Lifestylist® Brands there and have added some of our images to their Ideabooks.

If you need your own Design Intervention and are looking for some new ideas, take a look at out projects and Ideabook on our Houzz Lifestylist® page and let us know which images inspire you the most.

 

 

 

One of the questions I always get asked is exactly what is a Lifestylist®, and what is unique about the Lifestylist® Lifestyle. The second most asked question is what makes me a Trailer Diva!

The Lifestylist philosophy is about "Life Celebrating Style". Our clients life and style is what dictates how a Lifestylist® works with you. My favorite example is I had a client in Phoenix, Arizona that was a major Phoenix Suns fan, and their team colors are orange and purple. The client wanted their entire home done in these colors. What they wanted is what they got, complete with a child’s room with a hardwood floor striped like a basketball court. They wanted to stylishly celebrate their interests and love of their home team and we did!

I just spoke to a friend who’s dog just dug up their entire garden and her daughter slammed the door on the neighbor’s hand - all in about 30 minutes time. Her needs and lifestyle are completely different from my son - no kids, no dogs, and lives in front of his computer. What my style is wouldn’t work well for either of them which is why I need to understand the client and what their “hot buttons” are. It’s takes extra time and sleuthing to achieve this - many times the client has trouble putting into words exactly what they are looking for but they know it when they see it. I take the responsibility very seriously - a person’s environment can truly change their lives in a positive or negative way. If someone is happy in their home their quality of life improves.

Next to being a mother, becoming a Lifestylist® is one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done. I’m looking forward to expanding the concept and what it offers in the years to come. - we will be launching a new food line this Spring!

Today was a very exciting day. One of the ways as a Lifestylist I search out trends and try to understand what today's buyer is looking for is by being a part of the Great State Fair of Texas. Some years I enter the Creative Arts contests - especially cooking. You'd be amazed how much you can learn about people and their lifestyles by sitting with them and chatting while we wait for the judging to be over and those coveted ribbons to be handed out. This was a great day - my second red ribbon and a blue! I love giving back and sharing, so when my competitions are over I share my remaining goodies with the parking lot attendants, ticket takers and fair workers. Ribbon or not, they are always very appreciative of what I make.

This year has been more exciting than most because Oprah is taping at the State Fair and they have been doing a lot of taping in the Creative Arts Building which is where we hang out. We saw a lot of people walking around with crew passes today and I asked someone if I could take a photo of theirs - they actually let me hold it! Why was that important to me? I have so much respect and admiration for Oprah - I can't think of anyone who gives back as much as she does, and we have the connection of rebuilding the Gulf Coast after Katrina - I worked on over 2,500 Katrina Cottages and she made a huge personal investment of getting people back into homes after the storms. If you have spent any time there you know how important that work still is.

So as we were walking out of the building getting ready to pass out my remaining entries who should be in front of us but Oprah and Company! It was so exciting, and I ran up to her car to try to get a better look - she looks AMAZING in person by the way - I saw someone in her car so asked if I could give her my blue ribbon. They said that was very sweet but I should keep it, but I gave them some of my caramels. I believe in sharing with everyone. I was honored that they were so excited about my goodies, and now can't wait to see the show after they tape it. I didn't get to meet her, but you just never know what tomorrow might bring.