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Change is a very scary word to most builders, especially when there is a cost associated with it. One of the objections I hear many times when looking at existing models and communities that aren't doing well is that because it's been slow they don't want to invest any more money into a community.

@home Builders is doing well in this economy because they understand marketing and their buyers. When sales slowed down to three in a year at The Preserve they realized it was time for a change. The Home Idea Factory did the first two models and as a Lifestylist I had done my homework on what these buyers were looking for. Entertaining at home, taking advantage of the four seasons living that took place around the beautiful pond, river, and forests in the community and families were definitely the focus.

The new model and sales center have been a huge success! Last month they sold 8 homes and now they are taking reservations in the next phase instead of having to offer incentives. If your sales have stalled, the right course of action might be to see if your model, plans, and lifestyle you are displaying are still on trend or if it might be time for a change. The Home Idea Factory can come in and help you with this evaluation to see what is the best approach at the right cost.

I've been reading a lot lately gathering information for my 2010 trend report. I've found it's a great way for me to focus on what's really going on in the market and to be able to share my research with my clients. In the process of doing this I've also found some great articles that aren't necessarily trends but best practices.
Barclay Butera has become a great fresh force in the design world, and if you are not familiar with him and his work you should be sure to take a look at his website. What is really fun is that I have know his mother Karen Butera for years and she was one fo the driving forces and inspirations that lead me into model home merchandising. Many, many years ago I met Barclay when I think he was in school when we spoke on a panel together at the international Builders Show. It's fun to be able to say I knew him when :)
Barclay has a great quote on his website: "Furnishings don't make a home. Life Does. And life isn't something that comes from a store. Design is the way you present your lifestyle to the world. And that's when the right furnishings make all the difference." He also stated that if when people come to your store or model homes and they have a nice experience they are going to remember you and come back if they aren't ready at that time to make a purchase. The sales person is such a crucial part of the buying process, but too often they forget that everyone that walks thru that door is a potential client or a possibility of a referral.

Builders, chefs, and community members teamed up today to start the “Home Sweet Gingerbread Home” competitions at NorthPark Center. Lifestylist® Suzanne chaired the event which looks like it will become an annual favorite.Chef and cookbook author Karel Ann Tieszen teamed up with Shared Housing board member Mona Lincoln and TX State Fair Celebri-chef Peter Clarac (he was a winner in the Oprah cook-off) to decide which of the houses would be awarded the coveted blue ribbon. Pastry Chef Instructor at the Art Institute of Dallas Nina Hunter amazed the judges with her beautiful victorian home complete with playful penguins enjoying the pool in the backyard and was awarded first place.
Thursday the “Builders and Bakers” competition will be taking place from 12pm to 4pm also at NorthPark. Teams comprised of members from the Home Builders Association of Greater Dallas will be creating homes on-site with celebrity chefs from Stephan Pyles, Sambuca, Old Hickory Steakhouse at the Gaylord Texan, DC’s Catering and The Cupcakery. They will then be judged and awarded various prizes in different categories.
The competitions will benefit two great organizations - Shared Housing Center and HomeAid / Homebuilders Care, both which break the cycle of homelessness and abuse in the Dallas area.

I went to a great event the other day at Gold's Gym in Dallas - August Dog Rescue had some beautiful rescue animals there that were looking for new homes. How could you not love these angels? I know at least one of them found a new home so it was a great day - they just need more homes so they can rescue more animals.

HomeAid Dallas is teaming up with Shared Housing Center this year to host "Home Sweet Gingerbread Home" at NorthPark Center in Dallas. There will be two separate competitions on which is the traditional contest where chefs will create their elaborate gingerbread houses in their kitchens and then bring them to NorthPark to be judged. This part of the event will be held on December 1st and the homes will be offered at a silent auction until December 3rd when they will go home with the lucky winners.

The other competition will be "Builders and Bakers". Ten celebrity chefs will team up with builders, Realtors®, and others active in the home building industry to create their gingerbread homes live at NorthPark on December 3rd. Celebrity Chefs will include executive or pastry chefs from Samar by Stephen Pyles, Old Hickory Steakhouse at the Gaylord Texan, and Todd Events.

Lifestylist® Suzanne Felber, Bob Cresswell - president of HomeAid/Homebuilders Care Dallas, and Sherry Turner of HomeAid/Homebuilders Care visited the Gaylord Texan to view in person the incredible display that Art Surman - Executive Pastry Chef of the Gaylord Texan created. Chef Surman will be participating in the traditional contest.

For more information on how you can get involved, please contact Sherry Turner at: Sherry.Turner@dallasbuilders.com

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.

As I’m sitting here watching my grandchildren, neices and nephews run around having a blast this week I’m realizing what’s missing from most of our model homes – life. Real Life isn’t perfect, and that’s what makes things interesting. It’s those special touches like a handwritten note from a 4 yr old or a handprint on the wall that make us remember how precious life is.

That’s why I love being a Lifestylist – it’s all about injecting those memories that make life exciting into living spaces that then become very personal.

Looking for the perfect place to spend an afternoon brunch with friends? If you are fortunate enough to be in Dallas I recommend Parigi. They not only embrace supporting local farmers and vendors – they actually let you know which farm particular items are coming from.

There was a great article I received today that tells why this establishment is so popular, but to truly understand you have to visit yourself. Chef Janice Provost and her talented team are featured at Savor Dallas and I’ve always been dazzled by the food and the presentation.

Every day I'm realizing how important the new ways of communicating are becoming. Think about how much "snail" mail you get each day and how it's changed from letters and handwritten envelopes to junk mail and catalogs. My handwriting has become awful because I'm always on the computer! That's what being a Lifestylist® is all about - zeroing in on how people's lifestyles are changing and how that effects that way they live, work and play.

As part of these changes , Twitter, Facebook, and my blogs are the first thing I do (besides pour a huge cup of Tim Horton coffee) in the morning. Then I read all of the emails that came in overnight and check my favorite blogs and online publications to see what's new in the world.

To address these changes I have a new Facebook page that anyone can become a fan of and I would love to have you join us! Some of the great features of this page will be the discussions and my Inspiration photos - you can see what I'm seeing visually as trends and changes.

I'm really looking forward to a new way to interact with my peers and clients and friends- I hope that you'll become an active part of the network.

Nothing can hurt or help more than words and they are something that's truly priceless.

I was checking my LinkedIn page today and saw that a few people had given me recommendations including Sam Weidner Jr who was the VP of Patriot Homes and who had written the following:

"I have had the honor and the privilege to see a true artist at work. I hired Suzanne Felber to help Patriot Homes take a new, innovative, and aggressive role in helping redefine manufactured homes as people knew them. Without question she tackled that task with enthusiasm, and a creative vigor unlike anyone had seen in our industry at the time. Suzanne has a brilliant mind for knowing design trends and how to present her designs in a way that attracts buyers from all walks of life. With her help Patriot was able to win over 9 housing design awards including an award for best marketing campaign awarded by the NAHB. If you want your products to look the best the hire the best, Suzanne Felber."
Service Category: Professional Lifestylist
Year first hired: 2002
Top Qualities: Great Results, Good Value, Creative

It's one thing when you think that you have given a job your all, but when you receive something like this out of the blue it makes you want to go out and work that much harder, and give that client a big hug!

I'm honored to have worked with Sam and his company, and I'm looking forward to working with him even more in the future!

Whirlpool has made a huge commitment to building green and the sustainable energy movement. As part of their Green Touch Program they recently awarded Centex Homes an Excellence in Sustainability Award.

"The method in which homes are built makes a major impact on the community and the world. While many builders are just learning sustainable building practices, Centex is acting as an excellent role model, representing the future of residential building," said Tom Halford, general manager of contract sales and marketing at Whirlpool Corporation.

Centex Energy Advantage homes include a suite of energy-efficient features installed as standard nationwide, including Whirlpool and KitchenAid brand appliances in the kitchen and laundry room. According to a study commissioned with the NAHB Research Center, these homes are up to 22 percent more efficient than comparable new homes built to the 2006 International Energy Conservation Code, the most widely used energy efficiency code. When compared to a typical 10-year-old home, as defined by the U.S. Department of Energy's Building America Program, the Centex Energy Advantage homes in the study were shown to be up to 40 percent more energy-efficient.*

Congratulations Centex!

As a Green Lifestylist® I'm in love with Whirlpool's Energy Star products and their exhibit at the IBS Show motivated me to start planning my own sustainable kitchen here in the Home Idea Factory.



Whirlpool Corporation Commends Centex as 'Excellence in Sustainability' Award-Winning Builder

So you say you want an evolution... well it looks like the Green Evolution is here, and here to stay. No matter what industry you are in, everyone seems to be getting on “The Green Train”. But what does this really mean to you, and the world you live in?

Defining Green is not an easy task, and the definition seems to be changing every day and mean different things to different people. It can be as simple as putting your trash in the appropriate container or as complex as an off-grid solar home. The important thing is that you do something and incorporate a green lifestyle into the way you live today and in the future.

I heard an excellent example this week at the Manufactured Housing Conference where we were blessed to have Mark LaLiberte as a speaker. He used the example of a green builder in Connecticut who was bragging about the great granite he was able to get inexpensively in China. Being that New Hampshire - the granite state - borders Connecticut Mark asked why he didn’t source the product there. Sometimes we have to look at issues besides price - think about all of the energy that was wasted getting the product from China as well as the jobs locally he might have saved - and those employees that might have become customers - and to me it puts a different spin on how we forgo value for price many times.

I see the greening of America as being an evolution instead of a revolution because it’s not going to happen overnight, but if everyone starts asking the question about what their choices are going to mean for ours and our families quality of life in the future hopefully we can start turning things around.

I have a favor to ask of all of you that really doesn't have anything to do with this blog but it does - my 10 year old nephew is learning an important lesson about marketing and the power of the internet.

Sam lives in Oklahoma City and is the ultimate sports fan - he is crazy about the OKC Thunders and goes dressed to show his support to almost every game. His parents have always been wise enough to let Sam find his own calling, so his enthusiasm (and his outfits) are all his idea. Because of this, Sam was nominated to be part of the Ultimate Fan Finale.

He is also a great well rounded child (and I am a proud aunt!),does very well in school and loves to cook with me - we entered the State Fair of Texas Cooking contests this year and Sam won two 2nd place ribbons!

If Sam wins this contest he gets to go to Boston and see his team play there as well as learn some valuable history lessons when he gets to tour the city.

Please help me encourage Sam to follow his dreams. The link for where to vote on the NBA site is here, and you can vote was many times as you would like. Most of the others that are up for this honor are adults so I'm even more proud of what he's accomplished. Please vote for Sam Davis and vote often!

I'm so excited that it's almost time for Savor Dallas! This is the 5th year for the event, and I'm proud to say that I've attended every one and wouldn't miss it this year for anything.

This two day event features the best in food and wine, and it's the perfect opportunity to sample those wines that you've always wanted to try. As a Lifestylist® I always view this as a great opportunity to find out what the latest trends are in food, wine and beverages as well. Last year there was a grapefruit infused vodka that they mixed with grapefruit juice that was fantastic - not too sweet, and the perfect option for a unique spin on a Mimosa.

Photographer Lisa Stewart is responsible for the photography of this event - be sure to take a look at her images from previous year and I promise you you'll wish Savor started tomorrow!

Alas, the event won't be held until March 6th and 7th in the Victory area, Arts District and downtown Dallas. If you can't wait until then to sample what will be offered this year be sure to take a look at th elist on the Savor Dallas site of who will be attending. There are also "Tasting Notes" by some of the wines that will be offered that will give you a preview of what to expect. Tickets can be purchased on the website for all of the events.