I just got back from a wonderful weekend in Cambridge, Ohio. It was my aunt's 80th birthday and it was a great reason for all of the cousins to get together and take a walk down memory lane.

Sunday we had the amazing opportunity to spend the day at one of the most beautiful residences I've ever been to Creekwood. Nestled on 6 acres, there is a summer home complete with a wrap around porch over-looking the swimming pond, a winter home with a library and reading loft that I never wanted to leave, and some of the nicest hosts I've ever had the chance to meet and get to know. Andrew had spent over 40 years renovating the property and collecting the artwork and items that made the house so special. Each treasure had a story behind it as did the homes.

Andrew has decided to sell the property because he's ready to tackle a new project, and when I visited he asked what I would change to help it sell. Most stagers would tell him to take out all of the personal items, but to me that would turn this gem into just a house and would remove the pride and character that makes this a home. The only thing I would change is moving my suitcase into to one of the spare bedrooms - I hated to leave.

For more images of this beautiful home, take a look at our Lifestylist® Houzz site.

Did you see the article recently about the Giant Paper Airplane Project? It was a project that was accomplished at The Pima Air Museum - a very cool place in Tucson, AZ.

When Lifestylist Design is asked to do a new model home, the first thing we do is get an idea of what hobbies, interests, etc. the new buyer might have, and where they might work. We did a model home a few years ago for Canoa Homes and found that many of the potential buyers would be coming from the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base or be employed by some of the local aviation companies. There is also an aviation "boneyard" that a lot of people don't know about but it's an amazing place where thousands of planes are stored around the air force base where they are used for parts or put back into service when needed.

We decided to go with an aviation theme and visited the Pima Air Museum - camera in hand. You have to visit yourself to appreciate it - they truly do showcase aviation history. They sell old plane parts in the gift shop so we loaded up on those and bought a flight suit for our jr aviator.

Take a look at how the home looked when it was finished. We definitely targeted the right demographics - most of the people who did buy in the community were military or in the aviation fields.

It takes a little bit more work to create a model home that has lifestyle and personality incorporated into it, but our clients will tell you that is what makes the difference between a successful model home that sells and just another pretty home.

One of my favorite calls to receive is from a manufacturer asking us to take a look at a new product. It's so much fun to be the first to see something and to then be able to share it with all of our clients and followers!

Last week was one of those weeks, and ODL - a manufacturer of amazing doors, door glass, solar tubes and other products that enhance the home asked us to take a look at ARRAY.

ARRAY is an innovative light control system that gives users control over the amount of light and privacy they desire. Two sliding panels of perforated powder coated aluminum provide users with a simple way to control privacy and light levels in a highly designed, fully assembled doorglass system.

With a turn of a knob, the panels move from open to closed, and anywhere in between. A simple, intuitive design that brings dynamic levels of light and privacy into the home.

You really have to see it in person to appreciate it, and ODL will be debuting this cool new product at The International Builders Show Feb. 8th -12th. They will be in booth W-2920, so be sure and stop by and see why this could be the door solution for you.

We were honored this week to be featured in a story on education in the Nation's Building News - a publication that goes out to the over 200,000 members of the National Association of Home Builders.

Our founder and Lifestylist^® Suzanne Felber has been active in the association for over 25 years and is a member of the Institute of Residential Marketing. She is also a national instructor of the IRM III course: Lifestyle Merchandising, Advertising & Promotion Strategies.

Attending classes and learning what's new is necessary part of being able to offer our clients the best in merchandising and marketing. We will also be attending the International Builders Show Feb. 8-12 to search out the latest trends in building and design. Join us on Twitter to get our reports directly from the show.

As some of you know our motto has always been "It's All About You". As part of that, we love reading and hearing about your experiences and sharing great sites we find that can help you on your journey.

Our Home Improvements is one of those sites. It's full of real life stories and information than can help you incorporate great design while save money on your next project. The author shares experiences he has had while renovating an older urban home in Cheverly, MD. Steven is also an animal lover and has some really fun ideas on how to incorporate their needs into his remodeling.

Take a look and let us know what you think. And if you have a blog or website we should know about we'd love to hear about it!

I made a great discovery today. The owner of a community named Rolling Hills in Battle Creek bought a home that I merchandised over 7 years ago has been begging me to do some more homes for him. He is such a wonderful referral - when I see him at various industry meetings and conventions he always tells everyone how pleased he was with the "Dog House" model home and when will I do another one. When I saw him at The International Networking Roundtable he talked me into it and we finally set up a project that we would work on together.

Today I FINALLY got to see Rolling Hills and I was amazed! It's a beautiful community in a wonderful part of Battle Creek - anyone would be proud to call Rolling Hills home.

What really impressed me about the community was the management. It was a snowy Michigan day, but the streets at Rolling Hills were cleared and plowed before the main streets were! Everything was spotless, and the manager was not only a delight to be around - she was organized and obviously knew her job.

We are going to be doing a makeover of the clubhouse and a new model home - all to be completed by mid-March. We have a great gameplan now, and as a Lifestylist I learned about the community and residents so it will be all about them. I can't wait to share the end results - stay tuned!

Champion Homes has taken buying a new home to to the next level with the introduction of DIVE IN– a way to design and customize your own home online or with a sales agent.

DIVE IN (Design Interactive Viewing Experience) offers a collection on plans that let you choose different lifestyle options, flex spaces, alternative kitchen designs and other choices that allow the customer to design a home that is truly a home of their own.

Kevin Flaherty, VP of marketing for Champion Home Builders said this is the perfect tool for retailers to help their potential buyers design their new home.  “When it is used with a tablet computer, the sales experience grows exponentially with the ability to provide the customer with all the information they need to make an informed buying decision in a unique, concise and captivating manner.”  We loved interviewing Kevin and Phyllis Knight – Chief Financial Officer of Champion at the recent MHI Congress and Expo, and their enthusiasm about the factory built industry is contagious.

We are proud of the Lifestylist® Designed model homes we have done for Champion, and we are looking forward to doing more in the future. This video can show you the difference a Lifestylist® Designed model home can make.

We all have our own version of what the American Dream is – for many that includes owning your own home.

My dream was to have my own Home Idea Factory – a place where this Lifestylist® could live and work, would have the character that would let me “practice what I preach” and have some room to garden. I was also hoping to have enough space to continue to help with the animal rescue groups I’ve joined. All of my dreams came true, and now I have a space that will never be “done”, but always evolving.

My father told my mother when they got married that some day he would buy her a place on a lake, and he did! Their Hideway Lake home has been the place that many of our family holidays, wedding, and birthdays have taken place, and it is full of wonderful memories.

There are people who are looking for an affordable place with a yard to raise their families, use as a second home or retire to and land lease communities can be a great solution for these people. Land lease communities are those where factory built housing are placed in communities where homeowners lease the land the homes are placed on in a community – many times with amenities such as pools, clubhouses, and tennis courts. I have always believed this is the perfect solution for affordable housing because it can be so cost effective, and I’ve been wanting to be a part of this solution hands on.

The time has come! Lifestylist® Design has been asked to re-brand and enhance the lifestyle options of two communities in Florida – Parkwood in Port Orange, FL and Countryside Village in Tampa. I can’t wait to get started – these communities are a great example of how affordable the American Dream can be. Be sure to get our updates on the progress at Parkwood and Countryside Village Facebook pages.

Have you ever wondered what you could do in your apartment to make it colorful and exciting without having to forfeit your security deposit? Lifestylist® Suzanne Felber visited The Hammocks at Orchard Park to LifeStyle the model apartment.This video highlights this beautiful Riedman Development community and shows before and after shots of the apartment. It’s a great example of what a difference you can make on a small budget.

The other new segment has the Lifestylist® discussing the changes she made and offers great decorating tips that can be used in any home.

Please “like” our new segments and let us know what you think!