Fort Lauderdale Home Design & Remodeling Show

Thanks to Blue I scored free tickets for the Home Design & Remodeling Show in a contest. Boy was I stoked for this event. I am one of these guys that can go crazy at the hardware store. The girlfriend is always complaining because when we go to Lowe’s and Home Depot we need to go for 2 or 3 things and I come out with 10 or 15 things and a 20 minute visit turns into 1 ½ hour visit. Not only because I like to shop for the house but I look around and try to get ideas since I am one of those «do it yourself «type of guys.
Upon entering I was somewhat shocked with the prices. While there were very good discount prices on décor items such as paintings and some furniture pieces, the complete body of work of kitchens, landscaping and bathrooms left me at awe. However, these are not some of your mom and pop places presenting the top of the line stuff, there some of the best interior and exterior decorators in the state.
So I was in full assimilation mode. From the landscaping with combinations of Bottle, Spindle, Fox Tail, and Sylvester palm trees with Bromeliads and Croûton plants or the Kitchens with stainless steel alliances with granite counter tops, carved wood cabinets and a center island with a wine cooler and storage the ideas and inventions were limitless.
There were vendors selling 1000 thread cotton bed sheets, Britto paintings, and designers furnitures. Very good deals for those looking to buy at reasonable prices
I stopped by the Unilocal table to say hello and make sure if they needed help they knew I was lurking and I would be around to assist. My mind gathered so many ideas that i was taking notes on my phone. Thanks Unilocal and Design Show!

I honestly have to say it did not live up to the hype. For many many years I always recall hearing the infamous «home and remodeling show» jingle on the radio and always wondered what it would be like. My
Boyfriend ended up winning tickets through Unilocal,I was totally game and thought it was about time to give it a whirl because I’m always down to try something new and one of the hotels I do the marketing for is down the street, so it was a good opportunity from a business standpoint to see if this event was indeed profitable for us. We picked up our tickets and then proceeded to the main entrance where we were able to pick up complimentary home décor magazines (one of the best parts) we walked in and it looked like a normal convention center atmosphere. There were vendors everywhere and some pretty cool displays. As my boyfriend and I were waking around I started to become underwhelmed and started to feel sleepy to the point of extreme boredom. It seemed like Lowes and Home Depot called their best people and had them on display trying to sell something like cheesy car salesmen. The second highlight were the people who were giving a away the free chocolate. There were a few booths that stood out to me which were the interior design booths which were breathtaking to look at and what I essentially thought the show was about. The kitchen booths weren’t too bad, I just wish there more of them. Oh, and the whirlpool displays. My boyfriend says we’re not getting one, but little does he know for our next house we’re so having one. Being a frequent watcher of HGTV one would think there would be appearances by the famous «Property Brothers» or the cast from «Love it or List it» being that home decorating is now moving to a more DYI /​
Budget thing, you would think this show would move with the times. If I didn’t know any better, I would think that I was at the Exhibition Hall at the famous dade county youth fair and at least there they have better things on display. Overall, this show needs a serious revamp to appeal to the younger and broader market. Times are changing and so are home improvement projects.

Maybe we just needed stuff or maybe the right mix of companies attended this year — all I know is we had a great time today!
We stopped by the Unilocal booth and got some Unilocal swag — thanks for the luggage tags and buttons! We saw some people walking around with Unilocal tote bags — like the ones given out at the Unilocal Burstday event — Unilocalers were everywhere!
We were in need of some things and found them at the show — we got a 21 foot long saw and cutter to remove palm fronds and berry clusters from our Queen Ann palms, a plug in air purifier that is guaranteed to work (it had better!), and a veggie cutter to make salads and veggies look as good as they taste… not to mention give us ability to make waffle shaped fries at home!
I got an email from the Fort Lauderdale Home Show a few days ago that included coupons for half price tickets so today’s event cost us $ 5 per ticket — well worth it!
We also arranged to have free home evaluations for products we need — that saved me from calling their companies as I had planned. I got discount cards at both booths so we may save some money.
This year’s event was fun. We’re glad we went!