Barbara Robin - The Woodlands Real Estate - Search for Homes!

Kate Smith, nationally acclaimed author, color expert and trend forecaster, will give tips on how to find connecting colors that flow throughout a home to create elegant room designs from the living room to the patio.

Houses are built from the ground up, but when color expert and trend forecaster Kate Smith visits the Ninth Annual Spring Home & Garden Show at The Woodlands, visitors will discover how home exteriors are decorated from the roof down. The show is set for Saturday and Sunday, February 19-20, 2011 at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel & Convention Center.

A nationally acclaimed author and public speaker, Smith teaches the art of exterior design, accentuating a home’s more subtle features to create a cohesive and high-end look. Smith advocates identifying the home’s permanent elements, such as the brick and sidewalk, and choosing colors that pick up on those features.

“Start looking at all of your home’s common elements,” Smith said. “Do you have a partial stone in front that picks up the tan brick and green shades in the roof? If you really look at your home, the color almost naturally pops out at you.”

One of the most exciting new elements of exterior design is roofing. Smith said roofs have gone from simply functional to being an integral part of the color scheme. Tiles are now made in color blends of up to five hues, giving homeowners more choices in accent colors.

“You can beautifully blend theses colors in with your siding color or front door and still have a customized look for your home,” she said.

Once homeowners have a color scheme, Smith said many want to know how to create the illusion of a larger space.

“A lot of people forget how to use color to enhance a space, especially outside, but I have little clues I give,” she said. “If you are trying to make your property look larger, put a bright element like a plant or a piece of lawn furniture that really draws color to a far corner. Your eye is immediately drawn to that farthest point. It fools the eye because it’s more about contrast than color.”

But Smith said choosing a color for the front door is usually what gives homeowners the most trouble when it comes to exterior design.

“A good rule of thumb is to figure out what colors you’re already dealing with,” Smith said. “Look at the brick. Look at the grout color. Is it more gold or gray? Start to get a sense of what elements are in common. Each homeowner needs to layer their personality on to a home’s features. Think about who you are and what you want to project to the world, and the process will become infinitely easier,” she said.

Many of Smith’s trending ideas apply to a home inside and out. She helps homeowners find a connecting color throughout their house. She will discuss interior decorating at the show, explaining how complex color palettes can be used to craft elegant and sophisticated room designs that work in the living room or on the patio.

Visit the show to see What’s New – What’s Next – for your Home.

Industry experts
The show will also feature speakers in the areas of gardening, landscaping, outdoor living, kitchen and bath, energy savings, green products, and home organization. View speaker schedules and a list of more than 200 exhibitors at the link below.

Farmer’s Market
New to the show this year, Grogan’s Mill Farmer’s Market will feature fresh vegetables and natural foods and products, with vendors from local farms, the Hill Country and area shops. The Farmer's Market will be open on Saturday, Feb. 19,from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and on Sunday, Feb. 20, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Live Broadcasts
Also speaking will be Randy Lemmon, host of NewsRadio 740 KTRH’s GardenLine show, and Michael Garfield, The High-Tech Texan on The 9-5-0 KPRC, giving homeowners their tech fix. Both will be broadcasting live from the show. Lemmon will be introducing his latest book, 1001 GardenLine Questions with Randy Lemmon, and will have book signings at 10 a.m.-10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.

The Spring Home & Garden Show: will be open on Saturday, Feb. 19, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Sunday, Feb. 20, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is $9 for adults, $7 for seniors and children under 12 are admitted free.

Free covered parking will be available in the Convention Center garage on Six Pines with a walkway to the hotel. Valet parking is available at the Hotel entrance.

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The Woodlands News
by Barbara Robin