Seattle Home Show starts next Saturday

SARAH JACKSON, THE OLYMPIAN

Originally published Saturday, February 9, 2002

SEATTLE -- All showed out yet?

Have you hit the 2002 GMC Tacoma Home and Garden Show and the Northwest Flower and Garden Show, which continues this weekend?

Well, in between shows, rest up.

The Seattle Home Show -- the nation's oldest and largest consumer home products showcase -- celebrates its 58th anniversary when it opens Feb. 16 at the Stadium Exhibition Center for a nine-day run.

You'll find numerous seminars by experts and more than 600 exhibits including model kitchen and bath vignettes, the newest in building products and materials, landscape displays, arts, crafts and home decorating ideas as well as the King County Department of Natural Resources "Northwest EnviroExpo," which recently joined the show after two years on its own.

Best of all you -- and 150,000 other people over the nine days -- will have all kinds of cutting-edge products and services all in one place.

"You've got so many comparisons. That's the cool part," said Mike Kalian, managing director of the show. "You can see everything that's out there and, a lot of times, you'll see it in its actually usage."

South Sound businesses at this year's Seattle Home Show will include Best of Health of Olympia, Northwest Home Improvement of Tumwater, Ocean Sales of Lacey, Paradise Studios of Olympia, Solar Gem Greenhouses of Lacey, The Swan Corporation of Lacey and World Famous Sign Company of Olympia.

Barbara Bratsberg, a spokeswoman for the show, said the EnviroExpo comes to the show for only the second time ever this year, highlighting the need to reduce waste and conserve resources -- with 16 exhibits, from recycling to organic gardening.

"The marriage of the EnviroExpo and the Seattle Home Show just makes a lot of sense," Bratsberg said. "Everything that they have there is just become of such major interest to everyone nowadays. Many of the things involved are actually energy saving, which is important to all of us."

Even if you're not wild about the EnviroExpo, these features might interest you:

- Seminars -- Local experts will offer free advice on a range of home improvement topics including "Planning Your Kitchen," "Borrowing Money for your New Home," "Remodeling The Right Way," "Ornamental Ironwork and Your Home" and "How to Create Your Own Outdoor Living Space." Seminars are sponsored by a number of organizations, including the Master Builder's Association of King and Snohomish Counties, King County EnviroExpo, Architects Institute of America, UBuildIt and Northwest Landscape Supply.

- Kitchen trends -- Kitchen designs in recent months have become more streamlined than ever before. Cherry and maple are among the top choices for cabinets, but designers such as Diane Foreman of Showplace Design and Remodeling are seeing a trend toward more exotic woods in the kitchen, such as bamboo or madrona wood.

Counters are moving toward matte, rather than polished stone finishes, with honed granite now one of the leading looks. Glass tiles and mosaics are another new material for counters that are gaining in popularity. Examples of these and related product trends can be seen in the Showplace Design and Remodeling, Norsk Remodeling and Kitchen Plus exhibits, among others.

Also making its Northwest debut is the new five-burner, self-clean, 30-inch professional style gas range from DCS. This five burner, self-cleaning range uses all-natural gas and is the winner of the 2001 Kitchen and Bath Business New Design Award. The DCS range is being introduced by Tri-State Distributors.

Sub Zero also will be introducing a new smoked glass front refrigerator at Seattle Home Show 2002. The refrigerator features the traditional glass front found in many professional refrigerators, but with a smoked glass front. The Sub Zero refrigerator can be seen in the Bradlee Distributors exhibit.

- Bed and Bath trends -- One of the latest trends in master baths is replacing whirlpool tubs with a "soaking" tub, which allows the bather to soak in water that comes up to his or her chin. Showplace Design and Remodeling will be introducing the new Kohler SOK Tub, a re-circulating overflow soaking tub that uses mini jets to create effervescent water in the bath.

Another trend in master baths is bath "furniture," which replaces typical porcelain fixtures with individual furniture and glass pieces. Showplace Design and Remodeling will be showcasing a new line of bath furniture in its display bath.

- Garden trends -- Seattle Home 2002 also will feature a number of display gardens by leading landscaped designers. Returning to this year's show with a display garden will be Ken Nesland of Nesland Enterprises, who has presented landscapes at the Seattle Home Show for more than 25 years. Nesland's "The Conservatory Garden" exhibit features a 17-foot-by-12-foot glass conservatory surrounded by a decorative landscape complete with a putting green and romantic pond with a statue and fountain.

Sarah Jackson writes for The Olympian and can be reached at 360-704-6871 or olyjax@yahoo.com.

The Olympian Copyright 2002

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