The Trailer Diva

With gas prices what they are, why not invest your vacation dollars into your own backyard? Prices have dropped on many items that can make your own home into a resort, and it’s a vacation your family can then enjoy all year long.

This home features a spectacular indoor / outdoor fireplace that is beautiful as well as functional. By screening in the porch area and using pavers for the flooring this will end up being one of the most used rooms in the house. The furniture was a vintage set that was taken to an auto body company and painted using auto paint. The result is one that will last for years and is very cost-effective. To tie into current color trends we went to Pier1 Imports and found some great colorful cushions and an outdoor area rug to complete the look.

Manufactured Housing is also tapping into the outdoor living trend, and Patriot Homes now offers some new models that come complete with outdoor areas that are ready to go as soon as the homes are delivered. Patriot Homes of Alabama showcased two homes at the Tunica show this year - one with a screened porch area that was large enough to house a bar and seating area, and another with a built-in sink and prep area, covered porch and optional grill. This area could have an additional deck area added on-site, but as offered there is lots of room for even the largest parties.

When considering an outdoor oasis of your own, keep in mind the following considerations:
*Utilities: Be sure that you have adequate water, electrical and gas if you’ll need it for your new area. If this is something you’ll have to add it can really drive up the costs.
*Screening: If you are in an area that tends to have lots of bugs you may want to think about screening in your new area to make it more comfortable all year long.
*Size Matters: Be sure when you are planing your space that there is room for whatever seating you plan on using as well as room to walk around. One of the mistakes I see the most is porches that aren’t wide enough when you add traditional seating.

Sadly traveling especially flying is no longer the enjoyable experience it used to be, so relieve the stress and enjoy your own back yard.

Summer is here, and with it come all of the housekeeping that has been neglected that can’t be ignored anymore. My garden is in, the windows have been washed, and finally the pool is painted (again). I can’t wait to take advantage of all of the outdoor areas here at The Home Idea Factory and continue my quest to have my home live up to it’s potential. One of the things that attracted me to my home is that it needed so much work I knew I’d never run out of projects!

After living in Tucson for 10 years I was anxious to give my green thumb a try and see if I could replicate some of the gardens that my grandmother was known for. She was a huge influence on me, and some of my fondest memories are of Silva working on our vegetable gardens at the lake that we planted Memorial Day weekend or her cutting gardens that were as unconventional as she was. On some of my visits back to the family farm in Erie, Pennsylvania I dug up some roots of her plants and brought them back to Texas to see if they would grow, and some of them have done well. Unfortunately the raspberry bushes that we used to spend hours in the middle of eating to our hearts content didn’t like the clay soil in this area and didn’t make it. But the hostas are thriving and the seeds that I gathered from her hollyhocks have helped me establish the garden that I’ve always hoped for.

The front garden that used to be a weed patch now boasts a riot of colors and includes hollyhocks and sunflowers that reach to the sky. Our latest patch of feral kittens uses it as a safe haven and I love watching them play hide and seek in the hostas.

I hope that you all are enjoying a beautiful Memorial Day!

Western New York is such a unique part of the country and is rich in history, especially in the Rochester area. It’s absolutely beautiful almost any time of year but I have to admit my favorite times are lilac and corn seasons.

Rochester is also the home of the Kodak corporation and camera junkie that I am when I’m in that area I try to go to as many flea markets and thrift shops as I can to find the perfect addition to my growing collection. At one time my collection was over 400 still and movie cameras but I’ve thinned it out a little and some of my very lucky builders got some very cool cameras in the theming of their model homes.

I’ve been keeping in touch with the wonderful Ronald McDonald House volunteers that have been gathering goodies for our Homearama house by @Home Builders and as luck would have it a wonderful woman donated a large collection of cameras and Kodak memorabilia that had belonged to her late husband Leonard Coleman.

When I collect I try to learn as much as I can about where the items came from or who they belonged to so when we were able to learn about Mr. Coleman I was thrilled.

Leonard Coleman was an avid collector and had a life-long love affair with photography. His collection had included over 2,000 cameras, most manufactured by Eastman Kodak and some manufactured as early as 1890. Mr. Coleman started his career with Eastman Kodak in 1948 as a messenger when he was 17 years old. He worked his way up through the company and retired as a vice-president in 1990.

Mrs. Coleman has been very generous with sharing the amazing collection that her husband had put together. Much of the collection was donated to the George Eastman House, and thankfully she has also decided to share some of the collection with The Ronald McDonald House ABC Sale and with us!

If you love photography and cameras as much as I do, the home and the fall sale will be one that you won’t want to miss. All of the collection will be either be included in the rooms that are auctioned after Homearama or in the ABC Sale. As soon as I have more information how you can bid on these items I’ll share it here.

As a Lifestylist®, I realize that there is a lot more to creating a home or office environment besides making it look pretty. Lifestyle, budgets, and what’s important to you and your family play a large part in what you should be considering when you are working on making your house a home.

Often when people decide to purchase a new home they think that to make it look as good as the model home that they fell in love with they’ll need a king’s ransom to be able to afford all new furniture, artwork, and personality pieces. To show how you can buy on a budget and recycle at the same time, I have teamed up with @Home Builders and the Ronald McDonald House to do an entire home that will be furnished and merchandised with gently loved items that have been donated to the Rochester, NY organization for their annual ABC Sale.

Always up for a great challenge, I wasn’t sure what to expect when I visited the warehouse that houses all of the donated materials until sale day. With it being so early before the sale, they have just begun to get donations so what I saw was just a preview of what there will be in October. It was amazing! The selections they had were so unique that hardest thing for me when I design the home is going to be making a decision!

Being green and recycling doesn’t have to just be about solar energy or spending a lot of money on fancy equipment. It can be as easy as giving a vintage rocking horse a new home or specifying new carpet like Shaw offers that is “cradle to cradle” recyclable. If we all made an effort to just buy one or two items for our new homes at a thrift shop or Salvation Army store, imagine what a difference that could make in our landfills.

I’m looking forward to sharing my @Home Builders showhouse journey with you but be warned - when you see the treasures that can be found at sales like this you’ll be joining me with UHaul in tow at the sale!

A mobile home by definition is a manufactured home that was built prior to 1976 when the manufactured housing changed from using their own voluntary industry standards to building using the HUD Code (Federal Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards). People purchased mobile homes because they were built to be moved - most were built as one unit - and they were very cost effective. Because of this many people used them in “trailer parks” - areas where they could lease their land and utilities and the homes were typically not put on a permanent foundation.

It amazes me how many times the media to this day talks about mobile homes, but in their minds they are discussing any type of manufactured housing. That’s why I’m here - to help change people’s minds and attitudes about todays manufactured housing.

I am crazy about IKEA’s new ad campaign - Home is the Most Important Place in the World, especially since it is exactly what I believe, build my life and my business around. The photography of the campaign as always is spectacular, and love that some of the images are of “trailers”.

So besides the possibility of it being someone’s most important place in the world, what is a trailer? My definition is that it’s probably one of the most misused terms in regards to housing, and technically describes a recreational vehicle more than a manufactured home. Todays manufactured housing is not made to be moved once it is in place, and should be set on a permanent foundation.

Trailer parks and house trailers became popular in the 1950’s when people who’s lifestyles were more mobile were looking for a way to take their homes with them. A hybrid of a travel trailer, these original units were inexpensive and in 1956 technology made it possible to build a 10ft wide unit offering the homeowner more space, and making the unit more spacious for spending longer periods of time in. A “trailer” was typically a home that could be pulled buy a car or truck, but the mobile homes that became popular in the 60’s had to be pulled by a professional truck company.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. The winds of Katrina brought a new version of the trailer into our lives - the FEMA trailer. They were everywhere in the news, and it was our government’s answer on how to house the people who had lost their homes. The manufactured housing and recreational vehicle companies stepped up and did everything possible to provide the homes - it was a time in my life I’ll never forget. I worked with Patriot Homes to furnish 2,500 homes, and I only hope that whoever received them is enjoying them.

Now two years later there is a lot of discussion about Formaldehyde in the FEMA trailers, but the homes that they are discussing aren’t to my knowledge the manufactured homes, but the recreational vehicles. Just another example of how much difference a name can make.

I love trailers - that’s why I’m the Trailer Diva. But my idea of the ultimate trailer is an Aluminum bullet from the 60’s that I have lovingly restored, not a manufactured home. My dream manufactured home will be the one that is on some land in Arizona - stay tuned!

The great news about deciding to build a new home these days is that you have options and choices like never before.

Current technology has made it possible to build “Factory Built” housing that not only meets the quality that site built housing offers, but in many cases can exceed the quality and value that is available.

For the next few weeks I’m going to go more in-depth about the different choices, and how they compare. The building types that I’m going to review are the following:

Trailers
Mobile Homes
Manufactured Homes
Park Models
Double Wides
Modular Homes
PreFab Homes
Panelized Kit Homes
SIPS Homes (Structural Insulated Panels)

Please let me know if you have interest in other building processes and I’ll be happy to do the research and share it here.

This has been an interesting week - lots of battles being fought and on the good side reconnecting with great role models.

After getting an SOS from my sister that’s building a stunning home in Oklahoma I headed up 35 to see how I could help. From the beginning it’s been obvious that we are sisters - she and her husband didn’t want a home that was like every one on the block. They wanted one that embraced old and new, had character just like their family definitely does, and was full of the love and craftsmanship our parents brought us up in. This wasn’t a project they took on as a whim - finding the right lot and the right components has been a decade long search. They were also looking for partners in the process that could share their passion and to be honest they had no issues with compensating people for their time and involvement. As a person and as a professional there isn’t one thing that I would have done any differently than they did.

When interviewing builders they spent over a year talking to other consumers that had built in the area, visiting homes built by various builders and almost gave up on being able to find the right partner. Finally they found one that said the right things and was as anxious to get started as they were.

Fast forward almost two years, and my sister is still waiting for the home to be completed. It’s become the nightmare that we all hear about - the builder is never around and with subcontractors that have no supervision or guidance my sister is having to take on pretty much the builders role to move the house forward.

So much comes down to attitude - her family is very sensitive to smoke and they discovered one day that the trim carpenters had been smoking in the house… a lot. They asked then not to smoke in the house because of the health issues and yet the contractors continued to - never even stepped outside to indulge in something that has been proven to be a health hazzard to them as well as everyone around them. Plus the fact that the painters were working in the house with very flammable stains and lacquers. If the builder had been around to see this it should have been his responsibility to handle this with HIS subs and to be sure that the work was being done on time and with the craftmanship that was promised.

As someone who makes their living in the home building industry, I’m embarrassed to have people like this call themselves professionals, and it’s people like this who hurt all of us. My sister and her family are ending up paying a very heavy price - instead of getting to spend as much time as she would like to with her family and her husband’s business she is having to manage subs and do the work that they have paid others to do. Sadly, I think if they knew how much building a home was going to affect their quality of life for this many years they might not have ventured down that road.

Fortunately there have been bright spots. It’s a family trait / curse that we don’t ask people to do anything that we wouldn’t do ourselves and many times we work right along side the people we’ve hired and frienships evolve. One of those is a soul that there aren’t even words to describe -someone who has given his time, his sources, and his treasures to make my sisters home as special as they had hoped. He has understood their vision (unlike their builder) and has discovered architectural components that have been around for hundreds of years and will continue to have a place of honor in their home. Their stone work is a masterpiece and you can tell it is a labor of love as is the pool complete with it’s own grotto.

I’m sure I’ll be adding to this subject in the future. What this has taught me is that it doesn’t matter if your new home costs $20,000 or $2,000,000 - every family and every home deserves to be treated with respect and with the quality we would expect if we were building it for ourselves.

When people walk model homes I’ve merchandised often I get the comment that their own home could never look as great as the model. Not true! Everything that I use in a model home is available to anyone - the “trick” is to develop your own group of sources and to search out things that appeal to your own lifestyle and tastes.

As a Lifestylist, a lot of my job when merchandising model homes is to do the research on who the potential buyer is for that home, and discover what their needs and dreams are. That often takes me to amazing places - national parks, museums, missions, estate sales and flea markets. Finding things that are unique to the area are what give a model personality and make the potential buyer feel at home.

I’ve launched Lifestylist Design to be able to design products for anyone that are similar to the one of a kind objects I’ve found for my homes.

I saw this quote in a wonderful ad by Brandon homefurnishings. It shows a photo of a chameleon and talks about adapting to furnitures’ new retailing environment. With as quickly as our world is changing these days, our ability to adapt and evolve can mean the difference between being successful or extinct.

Today’s consumer has an increasingly short attention span. If your product doesn’t offer them what they feel they need and are looking for was well as being an exceptional value, they’ll keep looking until they find someone that does.

Make time every day to search out emerging trends and “what’s hot” in your market. One of my favorite tools is Google’s Alert service. This is available at no charge and is an easy way to be in the know on any subject that is important to you. It’s also a wonderful way to monitor what is being written about you and your company. A company has numerous times has used my trademark Lifestylist without my permission. By using the Google Alert service I’m able to see when my trademark is being used by someone other than me many times.

It isn’t always about how much you spend, but how much you think. Learn to use the resources available to you and success will follow.