2012 Milwaukee/NARI Home Improvement Show to Feature Special Attractions

An enhanced Outdoor Living Area with a Northwood’s theme, the Schlossmann’s Dodge City Chrysler Jeep Vehicle Display, the Kohl's Color Wheel Mobile Arts Display, and an Interior Design Contest between local colleges are some of the attractions at the 50th annual Milwaukee/NARI Home Improvement Show at the Wisconsin Exposition Center at State Fair Park in West Allis, Thurs., Feb. 9, through Sun., Feb. 9.

The Show’s Outdoor Living Area will feature a Northwood's theme, with landscaping, hardscaping, and water features surrounding a log cabin from Cabintek. A similar log cabin kit will be the grand prize in the Milwaukee/NARI Foundation raffle.

The following Milwaukee/NARI members are participating in the Outdoor Living Area construction:

• Aquatica, a division of Dean Pipito Waterfeatures, LLC: Using the natural sounds of water, Aquatica will combine the beauty of natural flowing waterfalls with the inspiration and mystique of the great north woods. The scene feature dancing grasses and evergreens with streams and waterfalls surrounding the backdrop of the water garden. The display will feature a combination of native and exotic stone types, muted evergreens, soft ground covers, ornamental grasses, and shimmering underwater lighting.

• Breezy Hill Nursery, Inc.: Natural materials, including stone, wood, and lush plant material, will be used to craft a unique, landscape design that accentuates and reflects the natural terrain surrounding it.

• Cabintek – featuring The Woody Log Cabin System, a complete kit to construct an outdoor retreat on your own property, with the needed components to create a getaway spot at your home

• Milt Charno & Associates, Inc. – Subdivision wood walkway.

• Exteriors Unlimited Landscape Contractors, Inc.: A paver walk will meander though the northwoods retreat with the old world charm of vintage brick and bench under a canopy of trees. A spacious patio with plenty of room to entertain guests, with a natural stone fire pit adjacent to the patio.

• Ground Affects Landscaping, Inc.: A stone fireplace, a kitchen nook, and a brick seating area are surrounded by a mix of plant materials accented with decorative outdoor lighting.

• Innovative Exteriors Landscape: Winding natural stone walkways next to stone seat walls with wild flowers will to help accent the log cabin, plus a stone fire pit with a flagstone sitting area and waterfeatures.

Attendees will have an opportunity to serve as judges of an Interior Design Contest sponsored by Benjamin Moore Paints and Pekel Construction & Remodeling, which will pit students from four area colleges, each designing and creating a 12' x 12' dining room in a specific design style, with the participating schools and design style as follows:

• Gateway Technical College: Arts & Crafts
• Milwaukee Area Technical College: Modern
• Mount Mary College: Global
• Waukesha County Technical College: Retro

The participating schools will each receive $1,000 for the school’s interior design program.

Providing attendees with a central location to learn about the various components of the country’s largest home improvement council, the Milwaukee/NARI Information Center will have members from different areas of the association, including Membership, Education/Certification, and the Milwaukee/NARI Foundation, the association’s charitable arm. At least one of the association’s Certified Professionals will be in the Information Center at all times to answer consumer inquiries relating to home improvement and remodeling.

In honor of Milwaukee/NARI’s 50th anniversary, a historical display will be in the Information Center, allowing Show attendees to take a trip back in time to see how Milwaukee/NARI has grown into the largest chapter of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry.

The Kohl’s Color Wheels Mobile Art Display is an extension of the Milwaukee Art Museum, where kids not only take part in fun projects, but also grow and learn through art.

The latest 2012 cars and trucks will be shown inside the expo center in the Schlossmann’s Dodge City Chrysler Jeep Vehicle Display, including the all new Jeep Grand Cherokee, the complete Ram Pick Up line up, and the new Chrysler 200 and 300 series vehicles.

Milwaukee’s own Bill Begos will be doing caricature drawings for Show attendees each afternoon of the Show, with attendees able to purchase the drawings at the reduced price of five dollars.

Cosponsored by the Milwaukee/NARI Home Improvement Council, Inc., and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the 2012 Show will provide Milwaukee/NARI, celebrating 50 year's as the area’s leading home improvement and remodeling industry resource, with the opportunity to have its members demonstrate for consumers “Celebrating 50 Years of Ideas for Your Home,” the theme for the Show.

More than 700 booth spaces covering the entire exposition center will feature providers of thousands of home improvement products and services, including kitchens, decks, cabinets, windows, bathrooms, siding, lighting, landscaping, media rooms, wall covering, rec rooms, roofing, fireplaces, and more.

During the Show, educational demonstrations and seminars by home improvement experts and media celebrities will be held, including presentations on the Renewal by Andersen Seminar Demonstration Stage by Doug Wilson of TLC's “Trading Spaces,” Melinda Myers, Gus Gnorski, Lis Friemoth, “The Garden Hoe”, and Tom Feiza, Mr. Fix-It. The Wisconsin Granite Depot Cooking Demonstration Stage will feature area chefs and national cooking celebrities, including Mad Dog & Merrill and Jyll Everman, Food Network Star Contestant.

Hours on Thurs., Feb. 9, Fri., Feb. 10, and Sat., Feb. 11, are 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.; and 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Sun., Feb. 12. Admission is $6 in advance, and $8 at the door. Tickets for seniors 60 and older are $6, with a special price of $4.00 at the door on Thurs., Feb. 9, for Senior Day presented by Callen Construction. Children 12 and younger and all military personnel with a military ID card will be admitted free.

For more information, visit www.milwaukeenari.org or call 414-771-4071.