CARY, N.C. — What could be better than waking up on Martha Stewart sheets in a Martha Stewart bed, drying off after your shower with Martha Stewart towels, gardening with Martha Stewart tools, and ending your day with a Martha Stewart recipe served on Martha Stewart plates at a Martha Stewart table?

Why, doing it all under the tastefully gabled roof of your Martha Stewart home in a complete Martha Stewart subdivision, of course.

Back from a prison stay, the domestic diva has extended her brand yet again, partnering with developer KB Home to create a New England-style neighborhood of 650 houses in Cary, N.C., a rich Raleigh suburb.

There's no doubt that Stewart's name is popular with homemakers who buy her linens and chairs, and rely on her books, magazines and TV shows.

But can Stewart's cachet really extend to people's most important purchase?

"I certainly hope so," Stewart said this week while promoting the fourth collection in her Martha Stewart furniture line.

"That's what KB is hoping, too — that because of the Martha Stewart name recognition for high quality and good design, that it will appeal to a lot of people, and they will come in and notice that we've paid attention to the lock on the window, the finish on the cabinet, the surface on the countertops."

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. and KB said earlier this month that they would build Twin Lakes: Homes Created with Martha Stewart. Model homes are to be ready next year.

A KB Home spokesman said the company has already gotten about 650 "expressions of interest" from potential buyers. They will be able to choose from 12 models, ranging from 1,300 to 4,000 square feet, with prices from $150,000 to $400,000.

Three house designs are based on homes Stewart owns in Maine and New York, and options for interior features — from wainscoting and light fixtures to paint colors and flooring — were chosen by Stewart's design team. She also advised on floor plans, including large laundry rooms, well-organized closets and space for entertaining.

Mitzi Montoya-Weiss, a North Carolina State University marketing professor, believes the suburb is the perfect market.

Buyers will be "the newly well-to-do crowd," she said. "They are very aware of style, fashion in general. They've got extra income to spend."

KB Home and Cary officials say they're not worried the development will suffer from anything that might tarnish Stewart's image, such as her conviction and five-month prison term for lying about a stock sale.

Mayor Ernie McAlister said Stewart's handling of the matter will help it be viewed years from now as merely an aberration.

And Stewart herself believes that the reputation associated with her products will last even if her celebrity fades. She gestured to the showroom displaying her collection of furniture.

"When you're sitting on this couch, you don't know it's a Martha Stewart couch unless someone tells you," she said. "But you can be sure it will last, it's well made, it's covered in beautiful fabric, it's comfortable and it fulfills the homeowner's dream of having a comfortable, practical, usable piece of furniture."