New York – Fans of Martha Stewart who snapped up her towels and sheets will soon be able to live in a house designed by the domestic maven.
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. and KB Home, one of the nation’s largest homebuilders, announced Wednesday they are teaming up to build a line of new houses that are inspired by the domestic queen’s three homes in New York and Maine.
The first jointly designed community – to be named KB Home Twin Lakes: Homes Created With Martha Stewart – will feature about 650 homes in Cary, N.C., an up-and-coming suburb of Raleigh, the companies said in a news release. Model homes, which will come in eight variations, are scheduled to be completed in early 2006.
Bruce Karatz, KB Home’s chairman and chief executive, said his company and Stewart plan to build similar developments in Houston and Atlanta.
The deal, whose financial terms were not disclosed, allows Stewart and KB to expand into new areas.
“This will not only extend our brand but broaden our scope,” Stewart said in a phone interview with The Associated Press.
She added, “My homes are wonderfully constructed, beautifully designed and useful for the modern-day homeowner.”
Stewart is also aiming to use the partnership to further market her collection of home furnishings and other products. The model homes will be furnished with her furniture collection and other products, and customers will be able to buy flooring, faucets, light fixtures, cabinetry and countertops.
For KB, the deal allows the homebuilder to expand into the higher-end market. The average size for a typical KB home is about 2,000 square feet, Karatz said. In comparison, the Stewart-inspired dwellings will range from 1,500 square feet to 4,100 square feet and will be priced in the low $200,000s to the mid- $400,000s. KB builds homes that carry an average selling price of $280,000, Karatz said.
The pact with KB is the latest in an avalanche of new projects that the New York- based multimedia company is pursuing to put the spotlight back on Stewart, who was released from prison in March after being convicted for lying about a stock sale. But whether Stewart – who stars in two TV shows and is reaching out to new customers with a radio show – is spreading herself too thin remains to be seen.
