Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Home Shows

Blackthorn · 06-11-2005, 07:08 AM

Mal's thread on architecture spurred a thought about the annual tradition in these parts that's called Homearama. It's a home show where local custom home builders get to show off their wares. Typically there are 10 to 15 home builders that will build 5000 to 7000 square foot upscale homes that range in price anywhere from $1,000,000 to over $2,800,000 (this years top list price). And let me tell you ... in Cincinnati $2.8 mil buys one hell of a lot of house. The Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer, for example, bought a home in the most exclusive part of the city and he could only spend $1.5mil.

The show runs for two weeks and for $10 you can tour each of these palaces and check out all manner of design style inside and out. Anything from landscaping to painting to paver stones to kitchens to media rooms to saunas and wine room and fully equiped work out facilties. The homes are extravantly decorated and lavishly furnished. An estimated 100,000 people will visit the show and I will be one of them.

Is this common in your area? Would you go to such a show?

Homearama Overview

Here are some sketches of this year's entries:

Quote:

Cincinnati’s Homearama®
Leads The Way

By Jeanette McClellan

Though the average price of one of HOMEARAMA® ’s featured living spaces has increased over the years from $16,000 in 1962 in the inaugural season to $1.7 million this year, Cincinnati’s infamous home display remains the best there is.

With easy parking, concessions on hand, an exhibit tent full of useful information and, of course, a showcase of the latest products and trends in home building and design, HOMEARAMA® welcomes about 100,000 guests into its homes for the summer Luxury Edition show each year (there is also a city show and a fall lifestyle show).

“This year’s show will be one of the biggest ever,” says Stuart Cowan, chairman of HOMEARAMA® Luxury Edition 2005. “The homes range in price from $1 million to $2.8 million. The community, Long Cove, is a Florida-style canal type community with lakes behind the houses. All the lakes are interconnected, and designed so that non-motor boats can be used there.”

Cowan, who has been involved with the home show for 12 years, says it has grown significantly since he came on board, but that some things remain the same for the oldest home show in the country. “The original purpose of the show is a constant today,” he says, “and that’s to showcase builders’ homes in a singlesite location, and to feature the best products and the latest trends.”

In a dozen years, those trends certainly have changed a lot. Where buyers might have expected to see Corian countertops a dozen years ago, granite is now a staple. These changes in buyer expectations have also helped steer the quality and price range.

But no matter what the expectations are any given year, the show, produced by the Home Builders Association of Greater Cincinnati, always has something for everyone. Visitors come each year for a plethora of reasons: to brainstorm about remodeling and redesign, to learn about the newest and greatest features that they can adapt to a smaller scale, to enjoy looking at the landscaping, or to actually buy a home. Others come just for the fantasy of imagining what it would be like to live in a home with every bell and whistle imaginable.

“Without a doubt, it’s a Cincinnati tradition,” says Cowan. “Some people even plan their vacations around it so they can be here every year. We have people who have been coming for 30 years, and have visitors from as far as Indianapolis, Columbus and Louisville.” That’s not including the regular stream of visitors from other home shows who want a fi rst-hand look at how Cincinnati does things. “Many cities handle their shows a lot like we do,” says Cowan. “They have their own associations, but they use our name and look to us to see what we are doing to put on a successfu l show. It’s not only about making sure the homes are top quality, but also making sure people’s experiences are first class.”

So whether you’re looking to see what kind of drapes would complement your living room windows or are in the mood to see amazing architectural design, HOMEARAMA® Luxury Edition 2005 is no different than what is has been for years—the one-stop place to go.