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All your home needs, inside and out

Tom Hasslinger | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 11 years, 8 months AGO
by Tom Hasslinger
| March 9, 2013 8:00 PM

COEUR d'ALENE - From picture frames to patios, from salad forks to sun rooms - everything that fits inside or outside a home took center stage Friday at the 41st annual Home and Garden Show, the first day of the weekend fair.

Landscaping tips, tree types, tiles, kitchen cutlery ... check, check and check.

Home buyers and green thumbs flocked to the Kootenai County Fairgrounds on day one to pick up tips on how to maximize their abode's allure.

The show isn't about impulse buying - it's more like brainstorming, vendors and guests said.

"Everything in general," said Steve Roaldson, on what was on his interest list at the show.

He and his wife just bought a home in Rathdrum, and are moving into the 10-acre spread slowly, so they have a lot on their to-do list before they're settled in. They don't have anything particular on their list, but on the other hand, nothing's not on their list, either.

"We want to see what we can do to fix this home up," he said.

Everything for the home means even the stuff homes don't want, like bugs, which is why weed and pest control is part of the fair. Tweak your back moving boxes? Chiropractors, too.

"I know, it's funny, I'm here with bathtubs and tiles," said Lacey Savage, assistant for River City Chiropractic, with a booth in the middle of the show.

But walk-through traffic helps pick up business, Savage said.

Other vendors agreed. In fact, the name of the game is just making contacts. People looking for contractors or anything else don't always know where to turn at first.

"They get to meet you, so you get the 'who do I call?' out of the way, that's the first part," said Bill Gabiou, of Building Ground Landscape in Rathdrum, who has used the show the last five years to pick up some 10 new business leads a year.

The second part, he said, is by setting up a display, potential buyers get a first-hand account of a product they might otherwise only see a picture of on the Internet.

The show put on by the North Idaho Building Contractors Association draws between 2,000 and 4,000 people.

And while it is about planning, there are sudden splurges.

Mike Lopez, who sells new wave outdoor fire pits said the sleek heaters whose flames can be lowered or stoked with a dial are becoming more popular for backyard patios.

"We get a lot of impulse buys," he said. "A lot of people say, 'I didn't even know those things existed.'"

Larry and Rita Zimmerman want to build a backyard patio. The Coeur d'Alene couple came to the show to see what they could incorporate into what they want to build.

"We're not creative or innovative people so we came to look," Rita said, of perusing the possibilities on display.

So, how about the fire pit as part of the future patio?

"I don't think so," Rita said. "Maybe a water fountain if we can afford it."

Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $5.

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