The International Builders Show just ended in Orlando, FL and by the end it was apparent that the show home that attendees were buzzing about was the Net Zero Eco-Home by Palm Harbor Homes.

The home was part of the Professional Builder Show Village and was one of three that the Palm Harbor group brought to the show. Designer Tony Lucas out-did himself this year by creating floor plans and exteriors that gave builders another reason to take a look at factory built housing.

The Net Zero home was actually a "park model" which means that it is under 400 sq. ft. and is built to the RPTIA (Recreational Park Trailer Industry Association) building codes. Cavco Homes has always been a dominant participant in this type of building, and their acquisition of Palm Harbor last year has helped expand their presence in this market. It seems to be a team that is working - they delivered a home that was achievable to many of the attendees of the show and I heard many of them discussing how and where they would live in this home if it was theirs.

To see more images of this home, please check out our Facebook album at: www.facebook.com/lifestylelist and "like" us to let us know you want to see more!

What an amazing day! This has been one of the best International Builders Shows I've attended and today I had the chance of a lifetime - to hear our Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke speak.

I'm not one to spend a lot of time discussing politics, but I was anxious to hear what he had to say about the building industry and the housing crisis. IBS is the annual convention for The National Association of Home Builders and attendence is down by probably 50% from our record years. But there was optimism this year that I hadn't felt in awhile, and I think we are heading in the right direction.

I was impressed by Mr. Bernanke. He didn't make a lot of false promises or try to avoid the situation, instead he shared facts and figures with us that made sense. He also said that we shouldn't expect a quick fix, but I think none of us who really understand teh housing crisis do.

The show may be over for me, but my work is just beginning. I've got so many great new ideas, products and photos to share I don't know where to start! Until I can catch up I put some of my favorites on Pinterest. Take a look, and please "pin" your favorites - I'm anxious to see what you think!

The 2012 International Builders Show is almost here, and I decided to fly in a few days early to get a look at what goes on before all of the crowds arrive.

Today I was met in Orlando with blue skies and 80 degree weather - it's hard to believe it's February! I'm going to take it as an omen of great things to come.

Nationwide Homes - a division of Cavco Homes will have three homes on display and it was easy to see the benefits of building a modular home. There is no way a traditionally built home could be constructed (and then taken down) as quckly as these modular homes are. You could tell this team knows what they are doing -  they were already starting to put furniture in the homes.

Tomorrow I'm going to head inside and see how things are going on the show floor - I'll share what I find here.

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!