Happy Holidays from The Lifestylist

From our workshop to yours- Have a great holiday season!

Time For a Change

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.

Will They Come Back?

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.

It Takes a Gingerbread Village to Fight Homelessness

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.

August Dog Rescue

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 and Shared Housing build Sweet Houses

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

I almost met Oprah at the Texas State Fair

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.