One-stop shopping for domestic bliss

Home improvement show to draw 15,000 people

The annual installment of the Spring Home Improvement and Decorating Show will again be held at the Cashman Center, 850 Las Vegas Blvd. North.

Billed as the largest and best attended such show of its kind, it will run from April 28-30. General admission will be $6 per day, or $5 for those ages 60 and older. Admission is free for persons under 18 with a paid adult, as well as all military personnel bearing proper ID.

The show, now in its fifth year, will offer literally hundreds of home improvement exhibits, featuring experts in the fields of decorating, remodeling, building, landscaping and gardening. More than 30 seminars and demonstrations also are scheduled. Subjects will range from faux finishing to feng shui.

The show will open at noon on April 28 and at 10 a.m. on April 29-30. Closing hours are 8 p.m. on April 28-29 and at 6 p.m. on April 30.

Produced by Thorsch Productions, of Carlsbad, Calif., the annual event is a virtual information center for every type of home improvement. More than 15,000 visitors are expected, said Chris and Brenda Meehan, spokespersons for the public relations firm of Meehan and Associates.

Attendees may expect to find an array of designer rooms, the newest in outdoor living products and services, spas, gazebos and pools, lawn and garden statuary all under one roof.

Among the 450 booths will be displays of garage doors and air-conditioning, barbecues and stained glass, room organizers and art supplies.

One lucky visitor will walk away with a home improvement prize package worth more than $7,500, the Meehans said. The package will include patio furniture by Toscani, a bedroom set by Visions Furniture, a chair crafted by Pacific Green Furniture and a billiard table from The Billiard Factory. To top it off, The Rug Guys will contribute an Oriental rug.

Only persons 18 and older may submit entry forms in the giveaway. The drawing will be at 5 p.m. on April 30. The prizes cannot be redeemed for cash.

The Art Institute of Las Vegas and the International Academy of Design and Technology will compete for scholarships through their efforts at creating one-of-a-kind celebrity designer rooms. Students from Community College of Las Vegas will demonstrate how to help make gardens grow.

The show brings together exhibitors from around the country, as well as Las Vegas' finest improvement businesses, allowing visitors to compare prices and shop for hundreds of products and services.

Among the key exhibitors, said the Meehans, are Desert Steel, featuring illuminated landscape art; unique artwork from Creative Palms; and Acme Elevator, offering home elevators and chair lifts.

Also featured will be Jabulani Interiors, offering handmade solid wood furniture crafted by Indian and Indonesian artisans.

Painted Earth Productions, operated by Las Vegas businesswomen Jackie Burrow and Gail Schomisch, will be on hand, featuring unique, hand-painted ceramic and Italian mosaic glass home accents. The two also run All Fired Up, a local paint-your-own pottery studio.

"Personalizing your living space and surrounding yourself with favorite colors, imagery and the things you love can make the difference between coming home at the end of a long, hard day, finding yourself tired, sluggish and uninspired, and coming home and feeling like you've made it to your sanctuary," said Burrow.

Also at the show will be the Cantera Stone Source, of Phoenix, which makes use of a stone derived from volcanic ash in central Mexico to create fireplaces, carved pots, columns and balustrades, mouldings and entryways.

Also featured at this year's show will be the University of Nevada, Reno Cooperative Extension master gardeners. The program is designed to offer the public objective, research-based information regarding various aspects of gardening in a desert environment.

Each volunteer in the program must complete 70 hours of horticultural education, pass a comprehensive examination and then agree to offer a minimum of 50 hours of public service each year.

The theme for the master gardeners at the home improvement show will be patio gardening and offer ideas on how area residents can create relaxing retreats even in small areas.