Be Inspired By Innovative Home Design At The Great Big Home + Garden Show

Whether you're looking for inspiration to maximize the length of time you can stay in your home as you age or looking to create a high-tech entertainment space, The Great Big Home + Garden Show's Idea, High-Tech Entertainment, and Cedar Brooke homes are sure to give you lots of great ideas. Read on to learn more about each of the innovative home designs.

Idea Home

A 2,400 square-foot ranch-style home, the Winding Willow Lodge is an amazing open concept home that bridges the gap between lodge/rustic and traditional architecture. Large open spaces in the kitchen, dining, and family rooms, featuring 10 foot ceilings, connect to outside living spaces located off of the family room and master bedroom, making it the perfect space to entertain family and friends. Guests will enjoy relaxing by the stone fireplace in the family room or engaging in lively conversation around the large granite island with plenty of seating. Step outside onto the large deck off the kitchen or take a seat on the rear covered porch.

The unique aging-in-place design features larger hallways throughout the rest of this sustainable, three-bedroom, two-bathroom, ENERGY STAR efficient home. Additional aging-in-place features include wheelchair accessible doorways and easy bathroom access. The master suite is complete with a cozy fireplace, large walk-in closet, and a low slope walk-in shower with double sinks. The home also includes a large office off of the entry foyer, mudroom with lockers, spacious laundry room with laundry tub, and a walk-in pantry.

Xtend Technologies' High-Tech Entertainment Home

The fully constructed, 1,500 square-foot High-Tech Entertainment Home by Xtend Technologies will inspire visitors with ideas for their own indoor/outdoor entertainment and recreation areas. Designed with entertaining in mind, its home theater, indoor spa, beautifully landscaped patio with fire fit, outdoor movie theater with a 150-inch screen, and a large in-ground pool provides the perfect set up for having family and friends over for a party. Guests can sit in one of eight leather, power-reclining home theater seats and experience live demonstrations in Xtend Technologies' Home Theater. Special features include a 13-channel THX and Dolby Atmos state of the art sound system, a 100-inch 4k ultra high-definition screen, custom acoustical sound paneling, and a home automation solution that allows for complete control of all entertainment features, lighting, heating/cooling, door locks, and security cameras. Landscaping and the patio surrounding the outside of the home is provided by Morton's Landscaping.

Come to our pool party! Cleveland Aqua Pros will be featuring a kidney shaped pool perfect for most any home. Whether you are designing or building a backyard oasis or need repairs done on an existing pool, Cleveland Aqua Pros has you covered.

Cedar Brooke Home

A Cedar Brooke Home built by Weaver Barns will inspire the entire family. Whether you're in the market for a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home, or that cabin by the lake you've always dreamed about, Weaver Barns has the place for you! With rustic cedar siding and an open floor plan, cathedral ceilings, and loft area, you will find it's the perfect place to relax and feel at home. Amish craftsmanship specializing in quality, design, and the ability to customize your needs is what will make your Weaver Barns buying experience a pleasant one.

Plan to see each home in person by visiting The Great Big Home + Garden Show, February 6-15 at the Cleveland I-X Center. Buy your tickets early to get the best deals and avoid box office lines. Right now you can get 2-for-1 tickets on Facebook. Bring a friend or family member to the show - we can't wait to see you there!

FEBRUARY 6 - 15, 2015.
I-X CENTER

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Get Smart: 5 Awesome Ways to Make your House Smarter

How smart is your house? It might seem like a silly question, but with so many technological advancements over the past few years, our homes now have the capability to get smarter and smarter. While we’re not quite talking about a robot butler for every household, there are some new, neat ways to control the systems in your house. If you feel like getting a little space-aged in your home, check out the cool gadgets below.

1. Baffle burglars - Lock your door with your smartphone using the Goji Smart Lock. See who comes to your door, share key codes with guests (permanently or for a specified amount of time), and lock and unlock your door from anywhere in the world.

Image via Goji

2. Light up your life - Use your smartphone, tablet, or computer to adjust your lights with Philips Hue. Hue's wireless LED lights and multi-platform app let you take your home lighting to a new level. Turn your lights on, off, to a different setting, or to a different color altogether. The free app makes it easy to do from anywhere, so you can always set the mood.

Image via Hue

3. Be "thermosmart" - Heat or cool your home the better way with the Nest Thermostat. The Nest Thermostat learns your heating and cooling habits so it can anticipate the temperature you'd like, and power down when you aren't home. It boasts being able to, when properly programmed, reduce your heating and cooling bills by 20%. You can also access it remotely using your smartphone or tablet.

Image via Nest

4. Chill out - Cool your small space with the Aros smart window air conditioner. Aros works a lot like Nest, where it learns from your schedule and preferred settings, so it can quickly conform to your needs. You can also use it to not only save money by being more energy efficient, but also to stick to your budget - you can set it to stop cooling beyond a certain dollar amount.

Image via Aros

5. Lighten your load - Do laundry the better way with 6th Sense Live. 6th Sense Live lets you start and stop your laundry anywhere, anytime, with your smartphone or tablet. It will also advise you of the best times to do laundry based on energy prices, let you know whether or not you should be adding more detergent to your load, and notify you when your laundry is done. Whirlpool also offers 6th Sense Live technology for dishwashers and refrigerators. 

Image via Whirlpool

Need help keeping your home looking as smart as the appliances in it? Get inspiration at any Marketplace Events home show. Check out the shows coming up in your area - US shows and Canadian shows.

It's also a really smart idea to like us on Facebook. Not only will you get updates and information on our home shows, you'll also get access to exclusive ticket deals. Right now when you like us on Facebook you can get two tickets for the price of one to the home show of your choice. 

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