Check out the latest trends building, enhancing homes at this weekend’s Home Show
This weekend, Wichita’s downtown Century II is being turned into the area’s biggest home showroom, as more than 225 builders, remodelers, decorators and other vendors who offer products and services for building and enhancing homes both inside and out set up displays as part of the Wichita Area Builders Association’s 69th annual Home Show.
“We’ve got both halls filled up completely for the first time in a decade. We’re out of space,” said Wess Galyon, WABA’s president and CEO. The show started Thursday, March 2, and runs through Sunday, March 5.
This year’s show will also include a bigger focus on gardens and outdoor living, to pick up the void left by the discontinuation of the former Outdoor Living and Landscape Show after the pandemic. That show’s discontinuation also allowed WABA to move its show to the first weekend in March, the timeslot of the former outdoor show.
Outdoor living is among the show’s seminar topics this year, as well as a seminar on landscape and holiday lighting. Other seminar topics include remodeling 101, kitchen transformations and replacement windows, which are projects that have seen an uptick in recent years, according to owners of two home improvement companies. For a complete schedule of the 45-minute seminars — some of which are repeated during the weekend — download the show’s brochure from wabahome.com/home-show/.
A new, higher energy-efficient federal tax credit, which was part of last year’s Inflation Reduction Act, is helping fuel the increase in window replacements, according to Steve Hund, the second-generation owner of All Seasons Construction.
Kitchen and bath remodels remain popular as well, said Hund and Will Engle, owner of the 20-year-old company Honey Do Homes.
In the kitchens, homeowners are swapping out stained-wood builder-grade cabinetry for soft-close doors and drawers and specialty features like rollout trays or other specific storage spaces. In the bathrooms, owners are swapping out corner tubs for large walk-in showers, and vanities that look more like furniture.
One trend that Emma Schlittenhardt, owner of Hardt Studio, is seeing in kitchens and bathrooms is the mixing of metals. People are more comfortable in mixing colors among appliances, faucets, hardware and lighting, said Schlittenhardt, whose company has won the top award for interior design in The Wichita Eagle’s Best of Wichita for the past two years.
While open floor plans have been all the rage for a while, Schlittenhardt said some clients are opting for remodels that will give them some closed-off private spaces in addition to opening up other areas.
And if you’re wondering about color trends, yes, white and gray still remain popular in the Wichita area.
Some homeowners, who have decided to stay put in their homes rather than move into the tight housing market, are also adding extra square footage, noted Engle. Last year, Engle’s company did four room additions and he’s getting ready to soon undertake a large 19-by-35-foot addition for a client.
Along with seminars and more than 225 vendors, this year’s home show also includes a raffle for a greenhouse and building activities for kids.
Admission to the show starts at $10, with discounts for seniors and children. Active and retired military personnel, firefighters, medical professionals, police officers and first responders can attend for free on Friday, while teachers get in free on Sunday.
The free admission days are “our way of saying ‘thank you’ for making the world a better place,” Galyon said.
Home Show 2023
What: 69th annual show produced by the Wichita Area Builders Association featuring more than 225 exhibitors and daily seminars.
Where: Century II Exhibition and Expo halls, 225 W, Douglas. Free parking and shuttle service available from parking lots near the former Gander Mountain store on Water Street, just north of Kellogg. Shuttles will begin 30 minutes before showtimes and end 30 minutes after showtimes.
When: 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 3-4; and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, March 5
Admission: $10 for adults, $8 for ages 65 and older, $4 for children ages 7-12, free for children ages 6 and under. Available at the door or online at selectaseat.com/home23. Free admission days on Friday for active and retired military personnel, firefighters, medical professionals, police officers and first responders and on Sunday for teachers.
More information: 316-265-4226, wabahome.com/home-show/
