Design guru to grace home show.
Between series, Richardson keeps up tips
Sarah 101 may have taught its last class on HGTV and Sarah’s House has shut its doors for now.
But fans of designer dynamo Sarah Richardson, the celebrity headliner of the Edmonton Home and Interior Design Show, shouldn’t worry — she isn’t leaving the world of television behind.
“I’m in development mode these days, working on thinking up new ideas for a new show, and I’m not sure when it will air,” says Richardson, “or what exactly it will be. No more Sarah’s House in the works right now — though I’ve loved shooting every season — so the next step is still to be determined.”
Richardson is keeping busy working on a book and a number of other new products. She’s revamping her website and promises lots of new content, is working on more products and trying to make sure that there’s a wide range of her products — including a new line of designer fabrics — available across North America.
“I’m designing a line of fabrics for Kravet Fabrics, which will launch in summer/fall 2013.
“I’m super excited as I love fabric and I’m being given the opportunity to create my signature colour palettes in my own patterns — it’s so fun,” says Richardson.
“I just wish it were available today, but these things take time.”
Also guaranteed to be a big draw is Sarah Richardson, star of Sarah 101 and Sarah’s House.
“We are so fortunate to be able to have Sarah Richardson here. She’s a friend of our show and she’s been to Edmonton several times over the last few years with our shows, and she is back,” Young says.
Richardson says her presentation will be packed full of ideas to help inspire homeowners when it comes to design and decor.
“Edmonton audiences are always very engaged and interested, supportive and attentive. With so many people living in new homes, or building a home, I find there are always lots of questions related to the big-decision items in any home. And those are the tricky choices to make that you don’t want to get wrong, since they are permanent and costly,” she says.
EHIDS attendees might also want to try their luck at the Sears display, where not only will they be able to take a look at some of the latest and greatest in flooring and window-covering options, but they can also enter a draw for $5,000 worth of custom window coverings.
“The primary reason we’ll be at the show is to tell people more about Sears,” says Warren Kuchta, Sears’ regional sales manager for Western Canada. “Sears’ home services are one of our best-kept secrets. We do renovations, roofing, windows and doors.
“We want to let people know that Sears is more than the place to shop for their appliances. We want to let them know that they can love and trust Sears with all aspects of their home.”
Sears will be displaying some furniture at the show, along with things like blinds and draperies, but their real focus will be on Sears-installed home improvements, says Kuchta, adding that most Edmontonians likely don’t know that the department store is one of the larger roofing companies in the city. “We really take the worry out of home improvements.”
Kuchta suggests attendees visit an Edmonton Sears store in the days leading up to the event — specifically the Bonnie Doon, Kingsway, Southgate and West Edmonton Mall outlets, as well as the Whole Home store in South Edmonton Common — as Sears will be giving away free tickets to EHIDS daily during peak hours.
Meanwhile, what would a home show be without homebuilders? A number of Edmonton-area homebuilders, including Homes by Avi, will be on hand with booths.
“Sometimes people don’t have time to go to show-homes and sometimes people don’t know that we’re building in certain areas of the city,” says Sandra Young, vice-president and general manager for Homes by Avi Edmonton.
“Being at a home show gets our name out there.”
At EHIDS, Homes by Avi will have information on their show-home locations throughout the city — including Maple Crest in the southeast, Trumpeter by Big Lake (near St. Albert) and Glenridding, opening up just behind Ambleside in the southwest — as well as information on homes immediately available.
They’ll also be promoting their renovation division, along with what makes them stand out as a builder, Young adds.
“One of the major reasons why we entered the show is Homes by Avi has a renovation division that is not very well known and this is a way to promote it,” Young says.
“It started with basement developments — a lot of our customers were coming back to us several years after they bought their homes from us and wanted us to do their basements and we just didn’t have a vehicle. They loved their home or area and they wanted renovations at the quality level that our homes have.
“Many people go through our show homes to get ideas for renos and they really like how we develop our homes and then want the same finishes.”