Show in St. Charles offers ideas on home improvement

David Opl of Glen Ellyn and his wife Lynda were looking to improve some things in their yard over the weekend and hoped they’d find a contractor at the Kane County Home Show in St. Charles.

“We’re looking for a lawn company. Someone who can treat the grubs and provide other services,” David Opl said as he and his wife visited a number of vendors at the event at the Kane County Fairgrounds.

“We’ve come here before when it was at the Pheasant Run facility,” he said. “There’s a lot of vendors here, which is something I like.”

Open both Saturday and Sunday, the expo offered visitors a chance to meet contractors and see products that included flooring, windows, landscaping items and more.

Ashley Bast, who serves as the event coordinator and helps manage the show, said the event has been held “four or five years at the fairgrounds” where it moved after a run at the old Pheasant Run resort.

“Overall, this event is about a decade old and it’s all improvement-related. We do a show also in the spring,” Bast said. “We have interior and exterior things.”

“We have about 115 vendors which is pretty typical for the fall,” Bast said.

Bast said one of the most popular trends show organizers are seeing “is the increased interest in sunrooms.”

“We have a lot of people looking into that. We’ve seen an uptick in that,” she said. “This is a one stop-shop and people can see the products and talk to the people who are providing the services.”

Kevin Hicks, who was representing Chicago-based Power Home Remodeling, said it was his first year working at the show.

“This is my first time here. I like the layout and it seems organized pretty well,” he said. “People seem to enjoy themselves walking and seeing what’s here. I think this is pretty straightforward. People are interested in taking care of their homes and we all want to help them.”

Susan Walters of Elgin said the event offers a chance to meet potential contractors.

“I hear of people and references of things, but I wanted to come and see for myself,” she said. “I’m also interested in some help in bathroom remodeling and some back-up power for our sump pump. This isn’t the first time I’ve come here, but it’s the first time in a long time.”

Ed Gombash of North Aurora said he was looking for some help in refinishing kitchen cabinets.

“This is something that has been on my radar for five years already. I keep hemming and hawing,” he said with a laugh. “I have come before. Over the years, I’ve looked at flooring. We enjoy coming out here.”

Angie Meyer of St. Charles said she was looking for wallpaper at the event.

“I love this show. I just built a new home, so I don’t really need anything new,” she said. “I have come before and like to come for ideas. You can look and touch things.”

David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.