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Updated: October 6, 2009, 12:58 pm « main articles « home and garden |
Discovering New Ideas At the Home And Garden Show
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Among the numerous exhibitors was Karamel Cabinetry which displayed furniture made from both bamboo and recycled glass. Photos by Ann Halpin |
Southampton - The 2009 Hamptons Home and Garden Show took over the grounds of the Southampton Elks Club the first weekend in June. Over 140 exhibitors set up booths inside and outside the show's big tent.
Friday's monsoon rains did little to dampen the can-do spirit of the show. The sun came out on Saturday and Sunday, and visitors were rewarded with eye-catching displays and loads of useful information on everything home-related under the Southampton sun.
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Flowers and plants were on display throughout the exhibition. |
• Building materials - Stone, lumber, flooring, tile, pavers for driveways and walls, siding and much more.
• Energy-efficient heating and cooling - Geothermal and solar technologies, insulation, the latest in windows, home energy testing services and audits.
• Computer-addressable switches to control your home's appliances, security system, heating and cooling systems, even pool and spa heaters, from a single computer screen located in the house or at a remote location. (Did you know that you could turn on your pool heater or air conditioning from your computer before setting off on the road for a Hamptons weekend?).
• Interior design - State-of-the-art kitchens, furnishings, flooring, art and more, including lots of great design ideas from Natalie Weinstein, interior designer, writer, radio show host and moderator of the show's speaker series.
• Decorating - Paints (including environmentally friendly low-VOC paints that are easier on the environment, and home-dwellers, too), blinds, shades, shutters and other window treatments.
• Furniture - Beds, seating, tables and cabinets, including pieces made from bamboo and recycled glass and put together without glue. (Did you know that bamboo is a sustainably harvested material that can be used for flooring, wood furniture, kitchen countertops and cutting boards and more?).
• Fabrics - For upholstery and drapes, even lovely scarves and personal items.
• Outdoor living - Landscaping, lighting, outdoor fireplaces and fire tables, water features, tree and lawn care. (Did you know that molasses is high in nitrogen and makes a good lawn fertilizer?).
And there was lots more!
Sunday featured a Green Lecture Series presented by the Hamptons Green Alliance, a consortium of local businesses involved in cutting-edge green technologies for home construction, energy efficiency and landscape care. The lecture series was sponsored by Hamptons.com.
The day's kick-off speaker, Natalie Weinstein, discussed options for decorating a second home on a budget of $30,000.
Participating green speakers represented Telemark, Stott/Lee Architects, DIC Company, Sunstream USA, Flanders Heating and Air Conditioning, Connected Hearth, Excelsior Plumbing and Treewise. They addressed the house being built in Water Mill by the Hamptons Green Alliance, integrating green technologies into today's homes, insulation, photovoltaic systems, geothermal heating and cooling, addressable electronic controls, water conservation, organic tree and lawn care and a groundbreaking methodology, created by the president of a local company, for calculating your home's carbon footprint. Food for thought and action indeed.
As Green Sunday, and the show, drew toward its close, exhibitors and attendees met at the hospitable Hamptons.com booth to kibitz over refreshing mojitos served up by Tommy Bahama Premium Rum. While there, they munched on tasty but good-for-you Pirate's Booty snacks and yummy pastries from Espresso's of Sag Harbor. The bright and airy booth offered comfy places to sit and rest weary feet (seating courtesy of Design Within Reach) and inspired floral designs by East Hampton Flowers. Gift bags to be raffled off were full of wonderful stuff from Madison & Mulholland, Cole Haan and Hampton Sun.
Kudos to all who participated - and now we can start looking forward to next year's show.