The National Home Show is hosted at the Direct Energy Centre at Exhibition Place and for the same admission, you also get access to the Canada Blooms Garden Show. The Home Show is great for people hoping to do renovations but also fun to attend just to check out new innovations for the home and garden. It was at this event years ago, that we found the company
Closet Re-Organizer who featured an amazing "roll-up" bed which we now have installed in our condo den. A significant improvement on the Murphy bed which leaves a wall of dead space when the bed is folded up, the roll-up bed retracts vertically upwards behind a hutch design of your choosing. Ours includes wooden cupboards for pillows and linens, a TV stand and glass cabinets with pot-lights for displaying stemware and nicknacks.
The first thing that caught my eye this year was the latest incarnations of massage chairs, which have taken the art of massage and relaxation to the next level. Going into a full horizontal recline, these chairs envelope your entire body, pulsating and kneading not only the back and neck but also the arms, legs, and soles of the feet. Some of the chairs feature a body sensor that detects and molds to the shape of your body for a deeper, more powerful rub. There were so many different vendors selling these chairs that if I had the time, I could have spent the entire visit just moving from one to another getting free demos.
Other items that caught my fancy included custom shaped wooden shutters, pull-up shades with stenciled patterns embossed on them, a huge stove/oven that includes two separate heating compartments and a rotisserie chicken attachment, decorative wash basins of different materials and designs, a bright red leather reclining chair with built in cup holder, and a pool table that converts into an elegant dining table.
One of the fun parts of wandering around any type of show like this is to pick up free give-aways and samples. At the Keurig drink dispenser booth, they were brewing both hot coffees varieties as well as iced drinks including iced french vanilla lattes and lemonade iced tea. Some kitchen cabinetry booths were displaying built in espresso and cappuccino makers. Other booths were giving away bags and pens and candy. The most amusing and cheesy handout was the company that provided divorce services who were doling out free packets of Kleenex.
Outdoor garden furniture exhibits displayed deck shade structure options in a variety of styles including free standing umbrellas, coverings shaped like a pop-up tent or a lean-to and beautiful wooden lattice gazebos. Unfortunately none of them would fit on our terrace.
Adjacent to the Home Show, the Canada Blooms exhibit was a flora wonderland. Glorious, vibrant plants and flowers of all varieties were on display, proving the horticultural prowess of their gardeners. They were also used to make beautiful arrangements and creative art forms ranging from miniatures not much bigger than my thumb, to huge floor to ceiling sculptures.
As much as I enjoyed the Home Show, the Canada Blooms display was the highlight for me. Shown together, they made for a very entertaining afternoon.
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