Ex-‘Yard Crashers’ host, exhibitors offer sneak peek into Spring Atlanta Home Show

Where: Cobb Galleria Centre, 2 Galleria Parkway, Atlanta

Cost: $10; free for 12 and under and seniors 65 and older (with ID). Free for members of the Atlanta housing industry (with business card) on March 21.

Info: 770-798-1997, AtlantaHomeShow.com

The Spring Atlanta Home Show serves as the unofficial start of the season in which homeowners and homebuyers have an abundance of opportunities to explore home products and designs for education and inspiration.

More than 350 exhibitors and speakers including Ahmed Hassan — the original host of DIY’s “Yard Crashers” — are scheduled to showcase their products and know-how at the March 21-23 event at the Cobb Galleria Centre. The show is Georgia’s largest home show, now in its 36th year.

For those wanting to crash their own yards

Metro Atlantans are preparing to spend time and entertain outdoors after the harsh winter. The focus on landscaping includes Hassan’s March 21 talks on landscaping and hosting a reality TV show, backyard bells and whistles on display in the Red Hare Backyard Beer Garden created by Landscape Plans Plus and exhibitors offering insight into products and services.

Hassan continues to be involved in creative and functional yard redesigns. As owner of a California-based full-service landscaping company, he has seen homeowners’ desires blossom from wanting basics such as new trees, shrubbery and a sprinkler system to full-fledged outdoor living rooms.

“Fifteen years ago, we were not putting in the type of landscapes that folks were asking for now. Now people who aren’t even necessarily into plants simply want more usable space on their property,” he said. “That’s what it’s really about. It’s not even about gardening anymore. It’s just another form of interior decorating.”

A big mistake that people make with their outdoor spaces is wanting instant gratification, by buying a plant, pavers or other items for the yard and starting demolition without thinking through the plan. Do the proper planning before pulling the trigger, or else you could have problems, Hassan said.

For example, one client originally wanted a fire pit — a popular item for yards — but Hassan determined a hot tub would be a better choice because the homeowner enjoys cycling and yoga and didn’t envision having large parties where a fire pit would be used. The round hot tub was 5 feet in diameter and had stairs and a small deck, and it worked with the yard space and the client’s interests, he said.

“You have to figure out who the person is and what’s going to truly work for them and to build accordingly,” Hassan said.

Hassan says his “dirty little secret” is his love of flagstone pavers, which create a natural-looking walkway through the lawn. Pavers come in a variety of shapes and sizes, even jagged versions, that can add interest to a yard.

“It’s a flat beautiful rock,” Hassan said. “I love creating patios and smaller walkways with it because it’s like building a puzzle. It’s a really hard puzzle with rocks.”

Some pavers are textured to get the feel of stone, which appeals to homeowners interested in stone but looking for a more affordable alternative, said Alan Humble, owner of Terra Flora Landscape and Pavers, based in Woodstock, and an exhibitor. The cost of pavers ranges from $8-$17 per square foot, depending on the product. He adds that he also uses pavers to accent bedlines or raised plant beds.

For those interested in energy and water efficiency

New technology is available to help homeowners concerned about water leaks, mold, frozen pipes and other home health issues. The Wally, a home sensing device created by a new Atlanta Home Show exhibitor, SNUPI Technologies out of Seattle, detects water temperature and humidity through sensors placed underneath refrigerators, dishwashers, laundry machines and other appliances where leaks can occur. The company has a local connection, using communications technology developed at Georgia Tech.

If a leak is detected from the sensors, which can last more than 10 years, the homeowners receive an email, text or push notification, said Callie Gordon, spokeswoman for SNUPI Technologies.

“We’re trying to have a preventative approach,” she said.

Exhibitors such as Window World, the nation’s largest window replacement company, keep doing more to improve energy efficiency. For its recently launched 4000 series, the company said its most popular window has been adapted and updated to meet 2015 Energy Star ratings. The double-hung and sliding replacement windows were created to provide triple-pane energy savings, according to Window World of Huntsville, Central Alabama, Atlanta & The Shoals.

Also returning to the annual Spring Atlanta Home Show: the SeeThru House, which shows what’s underneath the floor, inside the walls and above the ceilings (with experts on hand).

For those seeking to renovate a kitchen or bath (or both)

Natural stone isn’t just something of interest for the outdoors, but in bathrooms as well. Norcross-based CSI Kitchen & Bath Studio, for example, is showcasing a rectangular-shaped porcelain tile that looks like natural stone, but is less expensive and easier to maintain. CSI’s display, with a kitchen, bathroom, bar area and closet, is new for the Spring Atlanta Home Show.

Homeowners seeking to mix old and new may pair reclaimed wood with contemporary countertops, hardware and other elements. Darker wood cabinets are in demand, even in pantries and closets, and interest is increasing in walnut cabinets and countertops, said Mimi Clausen, CSI’s vice president. Other trends: quartz and quartzite countertops, details such as multipiece framing on mirrors, applying sconces directly to mirrors, multiple showerheads, polished nickel hardware, and color palettes of white and gray.

To give visual interest without changing the material, the flooring can be mixed with honed and polished finishes, said Karen Murdock, a certified kitchen designer with CSI. It’s a design decision that can “create some visual interest and depth,” she said.