My wife and I recently purchased a home, and so when we saw that the Indianapolis Home Show was taking place a few weekends ago, we thought “Hey! We are now qualified to attend this!”
As first-time attendees, we were only slightly overwhelmed by the huge number of vendors hawking their wares – hot tubs, siding, marble countertops, more hot tubs, patio furniture, kitchen cabinets, shower heads … and for some reason, more hot tubs.
The main attraction was the enormous, full-scale “Centerpiece Home” built directly inside the Exposition Hall – complete with landscaping, multiple bathrooms, open concept kitchen and gigantic basement. We waited in line for a full 45 minutes to tour the house, wondering the entire time if it was going to be worth it.
Even though touring the 6,000-square-foot ranch only took about 15 or 20 minutes, it turned out to be worth our time. We don’t have any large-scale home improvement projects planned, but it was still helpful to check out the furnishings of the house and file away ideas for future reference.
Here are a few observations (granted, these are coming from a guy who doesn’t really “get” Pinterest and has to YouTube most home improvement tasks … so take these with a grain of salt):
- Navy is apparently a thing. The bathroom cabinets, family room walls, master bedroom décor and kitchen range were all navy.
- So is marble. We saw marble nesting tables, marble floors and countertops, and a marble fireplace.
- Soft-close drawers are still happening – and thank god, because those are awesome.
- Organic décor goes in any and all rooms. There were rustic wood furniture, stone features and potted succulents throughout the house.
- Food makes a house a home. Evidently the builders were hoping to convince all of us that people actually lived in the house (or, more likely, help us envision ourselves living in the house), and the best way to do that is to leave plastic food scattered about. There was milk and cookies in the kitchen, champagne and strawberries in the master bedroom, half-eaten fruit pies in the dining room and pizza and popcorn in the basement. I saw more than one person touching the fake food in awe, and I must say I don’t blame them – it was fairly realistic looking, all things considered.
We left feeling energized about all the possibilities for future enhancements we could make to our house (not counting the fake food, of course).
PS: If you missed the home show, don’t worry – the Indiana Flower & Patio Show is taking place March 11-19!