Recycled Designs: Designing your Home with Character

It’s been a busy month! I’ve been traveling coast to coast to see the latest trends in housing, interiors, and furniture. I get lots of emails about the differences in decorating a manufactured home vs a site built one, but truly there shouldn’t be any difference unless you are dealing with a manufactured home that has board and batten walls instead of tape and textured drywall. What’s amazing to me is how often manufactured housing drives or starts trends that then are used in site built homes. Due to the sheer volume of how many homes we build there is more of an opportunity to try out new things and see how they work. One of the biggest trends I am seeing in manufactured and site built housing is islands in the kitchens that continue to grow in size and importance. Using a different stain or color on the island is a great way to make it stand out and to really add some impact and storage to a space. An area that manufactured housing has always offered more for your money is in the c...

Sometimes it really pays off to keep an open mind. I had the manager of the Rochester Country Curtains call me about the Ronald McDonald Homearama House I’m doing with @Home Builders , and express an interest in being included in the home. The name scared me because the home is anything but country, but I told them to send me a catalog and I’d take a look. What a pleasant surprise! The colors were right on trend, the styling was beautiful and the prices were great. They have been an absolute delight to deal with as well, and I’m looking forward to seeing everything installed.

Happy Memorial Day! This was a wonderful family filled one for me - I drove up to Oklahoma City to spend the day with my parents, sisters, and their families. This month I've been very busy doing model homes across the country for Patriot, and also working on my new Lifestylist Design products that will be launching in January. It's been really exciting to see the Lifestylist program come full circle, and to see how people have embraced the concept and made it their own. My sister is the perfect example of what Lifestylist Design is all about. It should be about you - your life, your loves, your discoveries, not some designer or other persons interpretation of how they think you should live. I was finally able to get up here to see the new home that she and her family have been working on, and it's spectacular! And the best thing about it is that when I walk in the home, or even when I drive up to the home there is no question that this is an active outgoing family who love...

It's Official! Lifestylist® Suzanne Felber is teaming up with the very talented team from At Home Builders to do a very special showhouse during the 30th Anniversary of Homearama in Rochester, NY. David Riedman of At Home Builders has always been one of my favorite builders and understands how important giving back to the community is. This year their Homearama home will be a partnership with the Rochester Ronald McDonald House, and all furniture, artwork and accessories used in the home will be donated items that community members have donated. The Ronald McDonald House hosts an amazing sale every year that's proceeds help fund the wonderful work that the organization does. Come back often to hear more about the home and to get a sneak preview of what we'll be doing in the home!