Home improvement ideas abound at Gainesville's Home & Garden Show

In this March 9, 2013 file photo, people walk through the booths at the annual Home & Garden Show at the O'Connell Center in Gainesville. The show returns this weekend.

After months of cold weather, Gainesville is finally getting a hint of spring. With the new season comes a recovering economy and rebounding housing market.

Local residents eyeing ways to improve their homes and gardens can get some ideas at this weekend's 16th annual North Central Florida Home & Garden Show.

Organized by The Gainesville Sun and the Builders Association of North Central Florida, the event will highlight home improvement, landscaping, remodeling, and decorating ideas from vendors across 180 booths.

The theme of this year's Home Show is contemporary design, according to local home designer Lory Willis. The director of sales at Robinshore Inc., Willis says that homeowners are looking to break down room divisions in their homes, and opting to create more interactive spaces.

People want a break from their busy lifestyles, and they want spaces in which they interact with and entertain each other, Willis said.

Many homeowners aren't even having a formal dining space anymore. Homeowners want to close in those spaces, and they no longer want the formal or traditional styles.

Willis also says to look out for white cabinets, quartz countertops, flat island kitchens, porcelain tile and outdoor living spaces as hot items and concepts in the current housing market.

In addition to the booths, the Home Show will host three community seminars each day. Speakers from the Alachua Community Emergency Management team will present Preparing Your Home For Disasters, a seminar on preparing for hurricanes, tornadoes and other storms.

The second seminar, Florida-Friendly Landscaping: Saving Money in the Landscape, will be presented by Wendy Wilburn, an environmental horticulture agent for UF-IFAS. According to Margie Krpan, deputy executive vice president of the Builders Association, Wilburn will give tips on saving money using natural Florida landscaping.

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Home improvement ideas abound at Gainesville's Home & Garden Show