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Historic Stetson Mansion, A Must See for Holiday Decor Ideas

The Design Tourist Karen LeBlanc takes a Holiday Tour of the Stetson Mansion. www.TheDesignTourist.com

In this episode of The Design Tourist, host Karen LeBlanc travels to Deland, Florida for a tour of the historic Stetson Mansion, elaborately decorated for the holidays. Every year, owners Michael Solari and J.T. Thompson invite the public inside for a visual extravaganza of Christmas decor that J.T. single-handedly designs and creates to celebrate the season. Learn the fascinating history of Florida’s first luxury mansion built in the Gilded Age by the founder of the iconic Stetson Hat Company, John B. Stetson as his winter home. Next year, Stetson Mansion is calling on HGTV to stage a Designers’ Challenge bringing in high-end designers to adorn each room in a friendly holiday competition.

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Karen LeBlanc

Karen LeBlanc is a freelance writer living in Orlando, Florida with many published bylines in magazines, newspapers, and multimedia sites. As a professional lifestyle writer, Karen specializes in art, architecture, design, home interiors and personality profiles. Karen is the writer, producer and host of the streaming series, The Design Tourist (www.TheDesignTourist.com) that brings viewers a global dose of design inspiration with episodes featuring the latest looks and trends from the world’s premiere design events and shows. She also publishes a quarterly magazine on design travel that you can read by clicking the link: https://thedesigntourist.com/the-magazine/ Her journalism background includes seven years on-air experience as a TV news reporter and anchor covering a range of issues from education to politics. Her educational credentials include a Master of Arts in Mass Communications from Northeast Louisiana University and a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Louisiana State University. Throughout her career, Karen has written and produced dozens of documentaries and videos for educational, commercial, corporate, and governmental clients and appeared in many TV and video productions as a professional host.

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Karen LeBlanc

Karen LeBlanc is an award-winning travel journalist and storyteller, honored with two Telly Awards and four North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA) awards for The Design Tourist travel show. As the show’s host, producer, and writer, Karen takes viewers beyond the guidebooks to explore the culture, craft, cuisine, and creativity that define the world’s most fascinating destinations.

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