Home Decorating Articles

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.

The start of daylight savings is the perfect time for your home to "spring forward" with lighter accessories, accents and even window treatments. Slip covers for furniture and accent pillows are an easy way to change the look and mood of a space. Use a duvet on your bed and get a lighter color and fabric for the warmer months, and a darker, dramatic color for those cooler fall and winter days. These are easy to change out and store, and you'll feel like you are living in a new space!

Pottery Barn and West Elm always have great covers for pillows, and they are often on sale. They are sold with or without the pillow insert so when you aren't using them they don't take up a lot of space. I am also big on having my dining table set, and a pretty spring arrangement and fun napkins, placemats and plates can really put you in the mood.

There are advantages to working with all forms of housing - I get to see the best of all worlds. There are things that site-built homes do well, there is the efficiency of factory built and modular gives you the best of all types of construction. With all of the changes going on in our industry I'm always looking for a company to refer people to, and today I had the chance to find out what Champion Homes of Texas is up to.

The first thing that impressed me is that when you call their office a real person picks up the phone. I hate the "for xyx dial 123" answering systems -by the time I get through to someone I forgot why I called! They seem very in tune to customer service and these little touches can make all the difference.I went out to their Burleson Texas plant to see what was new, and I can't give away all of the details but there are very exciting times ahead for Champion. They have great people in place that are going to take the company to the head of the class. Their customers love them, they understand and listen to their buyers and they have done some very innovative concepts, including the "Suite Retreat". Everyone talks about doing a luxurious spa bath, but Champion is delivering it. With a fireplace, glass surround shower, and plantation shutters being included, this is a room that has the "wow" feature that customers are looking for. I got to merchandise a few homes with this retreat for Young's Factory Built Homes and they are even more beautiful in person.

If you are looking for a new approach to modular housing, check out what Champion has to offer - you won't be disappointed - tell them the Lifestylist sent you!

Earlier this year Pantone named blue, or turquoise to be exact the color of the year. I'm wondering if the winter Olympic committee had consulted with them because blue is definitely a color we are seeing a lot of as we watch the winter games.

I love the shades of blue and green that were chosen for the Olympics -it just goes to show how much of a difference the right colors can make in the appearance of an event, branding campaign or even a room. Using navy vs. aqua on a wall makes all the difference, even though they are both blue.

@home Builders hired The Home Idea Factory to merchandise a new model for them, and shades of blue were used in various rooms. This home was around the corner from the previous model which was in different colors, but the challenge was to use as much from the old model in the new one to keep costs down. Everything from the old bedroom was recycled in the new one but we added new bedding and headboards. The kids bath was merchandised with accessories from Target that were on trend and budget conscious. Buyers could actually go out and buy the items they saw and fell in love with in the model home. This new model home has character and personality and lookers became buyers - a community which only sold a few homes a year had 8 sales in snowy November and they now have a waiting list for the next phase.

Color  can affect your mood, and happy colors create happy customers.

As a Lifestylist, giving back is something I really believe in. I was in a board meeting the other day at HomeAid and was hearing about a special project that some of our board members did for an injured veteran. To them helping others isn't about "getting credit" it's just the right thing to do.

I found this quote on the Rent-A-Center Community page: "At the crossroads of sharing, caring and compassion is Community. It's a place where people come together with a common goal, to contribute resources and ideas in uncommonly generous and inspired ways. In a Community, compassion just comes with the territory whether that territory's a small town, a big city, or a gathering spot that's borders are only virtual. A Community is a place where no one is meant to go without and everyone belongs"

Rent-A-Center is very much this way, and I'm just beginning to find out how much so. When I travel coast to coast I've seen their stores and they are often in my neighborhood delivering. I've also seen their ads with their new spokesperson Troy Aikman so they were on my radar - great service and lots of value. But when I really took notice is when HomeAid needed some help and Rent-A-Center was the first to step up. And they are the strong silent type - not asking for their logos everywhere or even a mention - just doing it because it's the right thing to do. When a project was having problems keeping the utilities on because the homeowner couldn't afford the bill I saw someone with Rent-A-Center take the needed funds from his own pocket and help out without a word being said.

That intrigued me enough to do some research and I am blown away with how much Rent-A-Center gives back. Besides being a sponsor for the HomeAid Fairway to Haven Golf tournament, they also are very active with Feeding America, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, have their own Make a Difference Scholarship program and much more. Check out their RACommunity page for details on how they get involved on a national level and in the neighborhoods they are a part of.

Being a good neighbor is about doing the right thing no matter how large or small (or random) that act of kindness might be. If we all just did one small thing for a neighbor or a complete stranger every day, think about what a different place the world could be!

Using color is one of the least expensive, most terrifying but also most rewarding ways to change a room. When I'm designing a new model home most builders will encourage me to use memorable colors, but when they first paint the room and see it without any accessories or furniture I often get a call wondering if they have the right information.

These rooms are a perfect example. You can imagine the call the builder got from the superintendent the first time they saw these! This is a model for Canoa Homes in Tucson, and they trusted me enough to wait and see what happened. This is also a great example of designing for your buyer, not yourself - we were targeting families with school age children. A Lifestylist targets in on what the buyer is really looking for, even when they may not realize it themselves.Once we had a few families go through the home we found that almost every female from 2 - 50 wanted that room with those paint colors. It was something the buyer might not have been brave enough to try on their own, but when they saw it completed they loved it.

This is also a great example of Partnership Merchandising. The Home Idea Factory had a great relationship with Home Interiors and Gifts - a direct sell company that we had done styling and product development with. Many of the accessories and "wallies" - the decals on the bath wall - we theirs and we identified them as such so buyers could reproduce what they saw in the room at a price they could afford. The bedding was from Bombay and the furniture from Ashley so all could be bought at local stores or from a Home Interiors and Gifts consultant.

Let your child have a say in what they want their room to look like. It might not be a color you would chose or a style you would like but by letting them be a part of the decorating decision they'll take ownership of their decisions and be even more proud fo what they accomplished.

What a crazy week in Dallas! This town is all about the NBA All Star Game which is this weekend, but mother nature decided to steal the show and dusted us with over a ft. of snow!

The is the largest amount we ever had so we decided to take advantage of it and declared a snow day. The Lifestylists were all out playing in it trying to outdo each other with snowball fights and snow sculptures and when it got dark out I realized I had the opportunity of a lifetime to get some really unique shots of the Home Idea Factory. Fortunately I share the factory with the very talented Lisa Stewart of L.a.S. Photography and we headed out to see what we could find. After she used her magic and skills I love what we ended up with, and to me these really capture the personality of what The Home Idea Factory is all about - Your Life. Your Style. Your Way.