The Cleveland Home + Remodeling Expo Returns To The Cleveland Convention Center!

The Cleveland Home + Remodeling Expo is back for a second year at the Cleveland Convention Center! The expo kicks off at 12pm today and runs until Sunday, March 29th. Featuring new and innovative trends and products in home remodeling and design, it's the ideal show for consumers looking to make fresh updates around the house.

This year's features and attractions include:

• The J. Evans Custom Home Construction's Forever Home "Mini Mansion" - Learn how steel shipping containers can be converted into modern living spaces when you explore this innovative living option, designed to withstand challenging weather conditions and rising utility costs. The layout features one modified 20-foot shipping container and showcases a studio living space. An outdoor addition also provides fresh ideas for turning a shipping container into a detached extension of the home, such as an office or entertainment space. 
• Fully Construction Perrino Vignettes Built By Perrino Builders & Furniture - Featuring decorating tips for small living spaces that make them look exceptionally awesome. With the growing popularity of downtown living, visitors will be inspired by ideas for maximizing their living space. Combining the latest trends in furniture, accessories, and wall colors, these vignettes showcase a one-stop-shop solution for furnishing or decorating small spaces.
• The Arcadia GlassHouse Butterfly Feature - Visitors can walk among more than 500 beautiful butterflies and experience their natural habitat in this unique greenhouse, custom-made for the expo. This 12-foot-by-36-foot glass and polycarbonate greenhouse is outfitted with temperature and humidity controls to create an ideal environment for butterflies, orchids, and exotic tropical plants.
• The How-To Stage - Designed for the attendee who would like to be a DIY-er, experts with take to this stage to provide insights on home improvement projects.
• The Marketplace - Featuring products for cash-and-carry from artisans and vendors.
• Club Cambria - Guests can relax and enjoy a bite to eat or a beverage at this sweet spot.

Celebrity appearances on the Main Stage include:

• Hosts of HGTV's Fixer Upper, Chip and Joanna Gaines have been flipping, remodeling, and fixing up homes together for the past 12 years as owners of Magnolia Homes in Waco, Texas. They appear on the expo's Main Stage on March 27th & 28th. They have worked on more than 100 homes together, combining Chip's great instincts on real estate and Joanna's unique eye for design.
• Jeff Lewis, widely regarded as America's most well-known house flipper, is the star of Bravo TV's Flipping Out. He'll be appearing on the Main Stage, presented by Absolute Roofing & Construction Inc., on March 28th & 29th. He has created a brand of properties that are in harmony with and are exemplified by exterior and interior living spaces.
• The home decorating and organization sensation, Ursula Carmona, will be appearing on the Main Stage on Mar 27th & 29th. The DIY superhero behind the blog, Homemade By Carmona, knows it doesn't have to be expensive to be gorgeous.
• Matt Fox will return as this year's Main Stage emcee, to delight show visitors with his quick wit, home improvement knowledge, and special educational presentations. Matt is best known for creating and co-hosting the first and longest-running show to air on HGTV, Room By Room, as well as hosting and producing the public television series Around The house With Matt And Shari. 

This is just a brief list of the many things to see and do at the Cleveland Home + Remodeling Expo. The home and garden event of the season starts today! Don't have tickets yet? Get 2-for-1 on Facebook and treat a friend or family member to the show!

MARCH 27 - 29, 2015.
CLEVELAND CONVENTION CENTER 

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Shipping Containers: A New Trend In Office & Home Design

J. Evans Custom Home Construction (JECHC), a Lorain, Ohio based construction company bringing container-style homes, known as the "Forever Home", to Northeast Ohio and the Cleveland Home + Remodeling Expo, answered a few questions about this innovation new design. Get the inside scoop here and then make sure to check out their Mini Mansion at the show this weekend.

Q: How did you get interested in building container homes?

JECHC: "In 2010 the founders of JECHC set out to align with the White House's initiative to end homelessness by 2015. When met with great adversity, the non-profit venture seemed impossible. However, in the process of researching energy-efficient and cost-effective building materials, the founders stumbled upon a resource that would address the need for energy-efficient housing and could withstand shifting climate changes and help promote the gentrification and revitalization of distressed areas: shipping containers. With skyrocketing utility costs, intense weather systems devastating property owners, and the abundance of vacant and severely distressed properties taking over the urban landscape, this innovative technology with a real and viable solution."

Q: What are the benefits of using shipping containers for home construction?

JECHC: "Shipping containers provide a cost-effective, energy-efficient and modern alternative to conventional wooden built homes. Each container is fabricated with the strength of Corten Steel, providing two to three times the strength and life expectancy of wood. Shipping containers are fabricated in standardized dimensions creating faster construction timeframes. They are also built to securely travel in extreme weather conditions while sustaining damage and protecting the cargo locked inside. Additionally, over one million containers are available for purchase each year, ensuring the supply and demand needs can be met. These features make shipping containers a great fit for innovative building design and a viable option for the future of residential and commercial building."

Q: What types of design elements will people see in the Forever Home "Mini Mansion"?

JECHC: "The 'Mini Mansion' will center on comfort-oriented design, showcasing innovative and efficient use of space, maximizing total square footage, including the use of 'negative space'. Because all of JECHC floorplans are custom built for each client, the design possibilities are endless! The interior and exterior allure of the structures will feature energy-efficient and cutting edge renewable materials built to endure damage, normal wear and tear, and deterioration. Maximizing the life expectancy of the structure increases the value of the investment.

Q: What do you think people are most surprised by when they see this style home in person?

JECHC: "Most people can't believe that our structures are made of our shipping containers. The appearance of the structure can be as simple as a standard residential home or as unique as the owner can dream! Not to mention, most are blown away by the use of negative or dead space that other conventional building styles do not incorporate."

Q: Where in Northeast Ohio can container homes be seen?

JECHC: "JECHC will be constructing a full scale model home in 2015 with the location still to be determined. However, the "Mini Mansion" and the Outdoor Addition will be used as mobile model homes, available for viewing in early spring 2015. These structures can be delivered to any location for home buyers to experience the luxury and benefit of building with the highest quality product available in residential construction."

Can't wait to see the Mini Mansion at the show? Check out this video preview here! The Cleveland Home + Remodeling Expo takes over the Cleveland Convention Center March 27-29, 2015. Get tickets to explore the Mini Mansion and more! Right now you can get 2-for-1 tickets on Facebook. What are you waiting for? Grab yours today!

MARCH 27 - 29, 2015.
CLEVELAND CONVENTION CENTER 

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