Designed To Sell - Model Home Makeovers

We are so excited to have 2020 in our rearview mirror - here's to a creative and exciting 2021! 

Happy Holidays from our homes to yours!

This Lifestylist® is always amazed at how many builders and homeowners think that a home will sell better if they save money and don't have it professionally merchandised. Most of the time this hurts instead of helping sales.

With home interiors being so neutral right now, adding some rugs, artwork and accessories make all of the difference in how a home feels to buyers.

Buyers are looking for a home that offers a lifestyle that they want to enjoy, so having a home that has some warmth and personality can talk a looker into a buyer. These homes that were merchandised for Clayton Homes of Victoria definitely offer a lifestyle the buyers can relate to.

There is a huge difference between a decorated or a merchandised home - a merchandiser's job is to sell homes, not furniture. Which do your homes do?

Ali After

Ali Before

Happy Monday Makeover! Life has been wonderfully busy - we've been traveling coast to coast working on some very exciting projects we can't wait to share. The one that we are really excited about is our new series - Mobile Home Makeovers.

Pecos Before

Pecos After

We've been fortunate to have been asked to work on all sizes, shapes, and prices of housing, and manufactured homes have a special place in our hearts. Most people still think of a poorly built home sitting in a field with teh wheels still on, but today's manufactured homes are anything but that. Since 1976 these homes have been built to a national HUD code, and in many cases, they have to pass harder tests than a traditionally built home has to.

Lifestylist® Suzanne Felber has taken on this challenge and has been transforming mobile homes that have been overlooked into national design award winners while repurposing as much furniture and accessories as she can and keeping costs to a minimum. We think you will be as surprised as we are with the results.

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.

Traveling down memory lane - what a great trip this was! BeauFlor is still one of the best resilient floorings on the market - my first choice when I'm designing homes.

This is turning out to be a very busy summer - Patriot Homes is opening quite a few new communities with developers and I'm helping out with the merchandising of their models. My sister is getting married! We are all very excited, and it's going to be a wonderful family affair and really be about the kids.

But the big news is that I've been invited to Belgium by Beaulieu Flooring to work on a new flooring concept they are "rolling" out! It's a very innovative product that is being distributed in the States by Patrick Industries, and it's availability in wider widths means less seams and better wear. I'll be bringing back lots of information and photos, so stay tuned!

This development will truly make me an Internationally Acclaimed Lifestylist - accept no imitations!