Birmingham, Ala. – Southern Living magazine is partnering with upscale custom modular builder Haven Custom Homes and Looney Ricks Kiss Architects, Inc. to test the feasibility of Southern Living-branded factory built homes over the next two years.

"This partnership was born out of the success of our 2007 Southern Living Idea House in WaterSound [Fla.]," said Bill McDougald, vice president and executive director of the Southern Progress Homes Group. "The house totally belies the common perception of modular and was put together in a matter of weeks – not months. We believe this could quite possibly be the future of home construction and development, and we want to explore it further."

As part of the agreement, Southern Living is giving Haven Custom Homes licensing rights to construct 10 homes over the next two years in locations yet to be determined. The homes will be designed by Memphis, Tenn.-based Looney Ricks Kiss Architects, Inc., the same designers of the 2007 Southern Living Idea House in Florida.

"While Haven has enjoyed strong success with its quality homes in the Northeast, we believe this partnership with Southern Living and LRK will broaden the appeal of our building process to the large wave of discriminating buyers who are moving to the South over the next decade," said Jerome Smalley, CEO of the Haven Group, Inc. "Our unique approach to the homebuilding process, combined with the vision of both Southern Living and LRK, promises continued technological breakthroughs to enhance both speed and quality of construction."

Factory-built custom modular homes are usually built off-site, transported in sections to the home site and assembled on the foundation. Because the components are built inside a factory, construction time is not delayed by weather conditions and there is less disruption on the construction site. The result is a home that is finished in about a third of the time of conventional construction, and labor and cleanup costs are reduced as well.

Haven Custom Homes is a leading manufacturer of custom homes. Built in a climate-controlled factory and then shipped to the home site, our homes are known for their design, superior structural engineering, and quality craftsmanship. The efficiencies of a factory-built product allow Haven Custom Homes to deliver custom homes much faster than a conventional homebuilder. Our homes are found in some of the most prestigious and architecturally demanding communities along the East Coast including the Hamptons, Block Island, Fishers Island, Greenbrier, Hilton Head, Charleston, Savannah and WaterSound, Fla. The company is headquartered in Baltimore, Md., and is a portfolio company of Wind River Holdings located in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. More information about Haven Custom Homes can be found at its web site, www.havenhomes.com.

LRK is one of the foremost design firms in the nation, covering planning of new towns, to a broad spectrum of building types and disciplines. The Residential Studio is known for its timeless architecture and house plans, which are fully responsive to the lifestyle needs of today’s families. LRK’s experience and commitment to place-making, along with understanding client/market expectations, have created some of the most notable and desirable neighborhoods. For more information visit www.lrk.com.

Southern Living (www.southernliving.com), the premier lifestyle and entertaining magazine of the South and the 8^th largest monthly consumer magazine in the U.S. (based on readership), reaches nearly 16 million readers each month and enjoys a circulation of about 2.8 million. Published 13 times a year Southern Living celebrates the heart of Southern life.

A leader in lifestyle information, Birmingham, Ala.-based Southern Progress Corporation (www.southernprogress.com) publishes Southern Living, Cooking Light, Health, Coastal Living, Southern Accents, Cottage Living, and Sunset magazines, and books through Oxmoor House. It also operates a direct-selling division, Southern Living At HOME. Southern Progress is a subsidiary of Time Inc.