Items you might not expect to see at the Pittsburgh Home and Garden Show
There’s no shortage of windows, doors, roofs, decks, cabinets, bedroom furniture and flowers at the 39th annual Duquesne Light Pittsburgh Home and Garden Show, which opens Friday.
Some may not know there are also pianos, elevators, arcade games and an indoor spray park, as well as an artists’ aisle.
One can actually buy a house at the home show.
“There are so many things that you expect to find for your home, all of the things for projects that need to be done around the house or the yard, but there are things you don’t necessarily expect,” said John DeSantis, executive director of the show. “So when you come here, after you get your windows or new deck, make sure to visit other areas. You will definitely see some unexpected things.”
More than 1,800 exhibits will be set up over 10 acres inside the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. It’s the largest home event in America, DeSantis said, welcoming 350,000 guests during the 10-day show.
Here are a few of the unusual items:
Art appreciation
The artists’ aisle includes 25 vendors showcasing everything from sculpture and glass creations to photographs and paintings. Linda Barnicott, from Brentwood, has shown her work there for 26 years.
Barnicott, known for her Pittsburgh scenes and Santa Claus art, plans to unveil her latest pastel painting of the Steel City at 10 a.m. Friday – “Pittsburgh Tunnel Vision,” the view visitors driving from the airport see as they exit the Fort Pitt Tunnel. She collaborated with photographer Emmanuel Panagiotakis, who took the photo used as the basis for “Pittsburgh Tunnel Vision.”
She often incorporates real people in her work. She captures the original image through a photograph and creates from there. One piece included her husband Tom and two daughters at the carousel at Kennywood Park in West Mifflin in 1995. She will have originals as well as prints for sale.
“This show catapulted my business,” she said. “It’s a perfect opportunity to ask people what they love.”
Piano man
From the Steinway vault collection, a one-of-a-kind $190,000 baby grand piano from Fort Pitt Piano Company is on display. The custom-made Model B Spirio has a polished ebony finish with diamond plate chrome fixtures, castors and logo. The plate is painted Aston Martin yellow under license from Aston Martin.
“It’s called the ‘Pittsburgh Steinway,’ ” DeSantis said.
Live in
The show has real homes for sale, including a cabin in the woods. The vacation home isn’t an actual log cabin. It’s more like a contemporary designed abode, said DeSantis. It is created by the local designers from the American Society of Interior Designers. The house is worth $77,000, with an additional $200,000 spent on the inside from the kitchen to the bathroom to the bedroom. There is a wood ceiling and a Karndean floor.
Up and down
With more and more elderly men and women living at home longer, they often need a lift. And stairbusters.com has so many options from stair lifts to elevators.
“Home elevators are so much more affordable these days,” DeSantis said. “A lot of people are familiar with the chair lifts but there is an elevator you can install in your house in the middle of a room. It even has a telephone inside.”
Game time
Old-fashioned arcade games such as Pac Man and Galaga are also for sale. Ownyourownarcadegame.com is selling the machines.
Water logged
A first for Pittsburgh — an indoor home water park, complete with trees, buckets, slides and dinosaurs. The Living Waters Theme Park has a display with 1,500 gallons of water.
“It is modular so you can build it in a 10-by-10 space to 10,000 square feet,” said Joe Toomey of Toomey Landscaping, who was putting the park together. “I wanted to show it here because this is a hometown show and it’s the best show. I have always had success here.”
JoAnne Klimovich Harrop is a TribLive reporter covering the region's diverse culinary scene and unique homes. She writes features about interesting people. The Edward R. Murrow award-winning journalist began her career as a sports reporter. She has been with the Trib for 26 years and is the author of "A Daughter's Promise." She can be reached at jharrop@triblive.com.
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