Manufactured Housing Life

You would think that finding a contractor or designer to do work on your home would be easy, but take it from this Domestic Lifestylist® it's not. When I decided to add a test kitchen to The Home Idea Factory I started thinking about having people in my home, and trust became even more important than the cost. Fortunately for me, I found Mike Clark and his team, and my test kitchen is closer than ever to being a reality.

Here's some tips for hiring a contractor.

t's looking like this Lifestylist® is going to be spending a lot more time in the kitchen this year, and we couldn't be more excited! Our test kitchen is coming along really well, and we have a lot of kitchens we are designing for clients which is always lots of fun.

January is going to be a month spent on the road. Besides working with all of our clients we have been invited to the beautiful Thermador flagship design center to see what's new as well as work on new appliances for the future.

The International Builders Show will be taking place in Las Vegas, and it is always a great source of trends in home design.

We'll have lots to talk about and share, and we are also anxious to know what you think about the new trend to brighter, whiter kitchens. Susan Serra, one of the premiere kitchen designers just did an article for Cultivate on Kitchen Predictions for 2013 that has lots of great information so we wanted to share. What do you think will be the top kitchen trend in 2013?

Another year is almost behind us, and I think most of us are looking forward to a fresh start in 2013.

Last year made it clearer than ever that nothing is more important than relationships. I feel so fortunate that I was able to spend time with my cousins I hadn't seen in years, had some great sister time and what was most important, got to spend a lot of quality time with my kids and grandkids.

Being around the grandkids reminded me how wonderful it is to always be looking forward to tomorrow and the opportunities it brings. The amazement of what a fantastic job my kids are doing as parents, and how talented their Jr Lifestylists are keeps reminding me how important it is to spend time with family.

Here's hoping that 2013 is filled with hope for all of us, and we remember what brings us joy.

Happy Holidays from The Lifestylist® Brands. Here's hoping that your holidays is shiny and bright!

Change can be a very scary thing, but when a company like SE Homes of TX - a division of Clayton Homes - can change people's perception of manufacturing housing it's exciting!

The recent home show that they had at their Ft. Worth, TX location shows why SE Homes of TX has emerged as a leader in design and lifestyle. All of the 5 Lifestylist® Designed homes were very well received, but the one that stole the show was definitely The Monarch. I've shared photos of this home with consumers living in very high end site built homes and with custom builders and developers, and none of them can believe that this is a factory built home.

I've never seen this floorplan before. It is perfectly in tune with today's home buyer and the lifestyle they are hoping to achieve. It's open, the master suite is in a separate part of the home and has access to the very cool patio that is enclosed on 3 sides and ships as part of the home.

The "pet parlor" has also been a hit - this space in the utility room featured a pet shower with hand held showerhead, and a feeding drawer that can be closed when not in use.

I'm excited about this positive direction for our industry, and think you will be as well. For more information, visit the SE Homes of TX website or email Ryan Blackburn at: ryan.blackburn@sehomes.com

There's nothing we love more than a positive story about factory built housing, and BobVila.com has a wonderful article about the history of factory built housing.  Lifestylist® Suzanne Felber was honored to be interviewed and quoted in the story, and what is really exciting is that the author of the story - Jane Dagmi - was so intrigued about what this form of housing offers she's continuing to learn more and visit communities on her own. I'm looking forward to more of her stories in the future.
One of the things that has always been a detriment to our industry was the perception the press has, so having writers not only like our homes but also want to know more is a step in the right direction.
Be sure to also take a look at the timeline that Jane did -it's one of the best I've seen.

 

There's nothing we love more than a positive story about factory built housing, and BobVila.com has a wonderful article about the history of factory built housing.  Lifestylist® Suzanne Felber was honored to be interviewed and quoted in the story, and what is really exciting is that the author of the story - Jane Dagmi - was so intrigued about what this form of housing offers she's continuing to learn more and visit communities on her own. I'm looking forward to more of her stories in the future.

One of the things that has always been a detriment to our industry was the perception the press has, so having writers not only like our homes but also want to know more is a step in the right direction.

Be sure to also take a look at the timeline that Jane did -it's one of the best I've seen.