The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
NARI Home Improvement Show takes over I-X Center
One look outside makes most people wonder when, if ever, they’ll be able to enjoy their backyards again.
For those folks already experiencing cabin fever, there is hope at the 2018 NARI Home Improvement Show, which takes place Jan. 18 through 21 at the I-X Center in Cleveland.
The popular award-winning show, the largest of its kind in the Midwest, provides homeowners the opportunity to see the latest products and trends in home improvement and talk to local design/build remodelers, as well as see DIY Network’s “Stone House Revival” host Jeff Devlin and national-syndicated radio show host Gary Sullivan.
However, Land Creations Landscaping is recommending visitors check out its Ultimate Outdoor Escape. For the seventh year in a row, the Lorain County company has been responsible for setting up the centerpiece NARI attraction.
“The big thing we’re doing this year is trying to create a real contemporary theme,” Land Creations Landscaping coowner Jeff Rak said. “We’ll have a nice brick walkway going into the area and then we’ll have an overhead structure, like a pavilion area, that’s going to have an outdoor kitchen in it and a bar area. That’s going to be kind of cool.
“From there, you’re going to step out into a deck off the back where there will be a water feature. You can visit the brick patio, which will expand off to the side and go into a bocce ball court. We’re trying to show people they can have a little bit of fun with a backyard instead of it being just a basic, simple backyard.”
Planning for the 1,600-square-foot Ultimate Outdoor Escape began just over a year ago when Rak and his business partner, Teal Rickards, started looking around at industry trends. The process included visiting other trade shows and also just paying attention to what Land Creations Landscaping customers wanted to include in their backyards.
The display is designed in August and built in December at the Land Creations Landscaping shop before being shipped in sections to the I-X Center.
“Our No. 1 thing is trying to tie it into what’s going on out there in the real world,” Rak said. “A couple of things we’re seeing now is people are using their backyard to do more entertaining. That’s why we incorporated a bocce ball court.
“Another thing we’re seeing more coming in, and it’s not so much doing a full yard, are synthetic lawns. So it’s using synthetic turf more in cluster homes and condos where people don’t want to have to cut a little patch of grass. It’s a nice way to have a green lawn without having to worry about the maintenance issue.”
Regarding cost, some folks, with jaws dropped, will peruse the Ultimate Outdoor Escape but ultimately feel overwhelmed and cash-strapped. Rak said he’s found many homeowners on smaller budgets are approaching projects in phases.
“The first year we might come in and put in the patio,” Rak said. “The next year we might come in and put in the planting. The third year we might add a water feature or fire feature. So sometimes it’s a step process to get people to where they want to be.
“It can go anywhere. It’s one of those things that really anything you can do indoors pretty much you can do outdoors now. We’re doing outside sinks, a lot of heaters now outside so people can extend their seasons. I even had a request for an outdoor dishwasher, but I haven’t found that one yet. Maybe that’s next year.”