• by Sara Guaglione , February 11, 2020

Meredith Corp.'s Southern Livingis building its annual “Idea House” in Asheville, North Carolina, for the first time. It will be ready for public tours in June.

The custom show house will be featured in the August issue of Southern Living, on newsstands July 17, with additional content and video on southernliving.com.

Southern Living has been building its Idea Houses for over 30 years. It serves as a way to bring the magazine’s latest design, architecture and décor ideas to readers through a real-life activation, as well as provide inspiration to homeowners. 

The Idea House is also a source of revenue — tickets to house tours started at $22 per person last year. They will be available for purchase in late spring.

Tours will run from June to December 2020.

The home will be built and outfitted with a curated selection of products from sponsors, including: James Hardie Building Products, Marvin Windows and Doors, Royal Building Products/Zuri Decking, Sherwin Williams Paint, Sleep Number Mattresses, Southern Living Exclusively at Dillard’s, Southern Living Plant Collection, The Home Depot and Wellborn Cabinetry. 

The 2020 building and design team includes Buchanan Construction, interior designer Lauren Liess, architects Beau Clowney and Kate Campbell and landscape architect Greg Cloos.

The 3,600-square-foot property will be built in the mountains of The Ramble community, outside downtown Asheville, which has a “rich combination of natural beauty, creative energy and thoughtful design,” stated Sid Evans, editor-in-chief of Southern Living.

“Created in a style reminiscent of a traditional mountain retreat, the home is meant to be a nostalgic reinterpretation of a local vernacular cottage,” according to a release. 

Meredith Corp. conducted a recent "New Home Buyer Study" and found “having a home I am proud of” is ranked as the top priority among new, Southern women homeowners.

“Deciding what style or look I want” is the second-biggest decorating concern. 

The study also found Southern women, in particular, “want newer and larger homes,” with 51% saying they considered building a new home during the home-buying process. 

Southern Living is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.