National Home Show takes place March 10-19 on the Ex, Toronto

Where else, however the National Home Show, are you able to go to study accessible living, designing with color, laneway suites and outdoor kitchens, in a single place?

The annual show is back on the Enercare Centre on the Exhibition grounds in Toronto from March 10-19 and boasts 600 or so vendors, in addition to special features and speakers.

Addressing the needs of aging baby boomers, designer Linda Kafka and her colleagues have created the LivABLE Pavilion on the show, designed to spark conversations about designing or renovating homes so the renos meet your needs, regardless of your age or ability.

The pavilion showcases products and features, comparable to wheelchair-friendly pavement and zero-threshold showers, that make a house livable for the long-term, without giving it an institutional feel.

“Ageless design takes everyone into consideration,” says Kafka, founding father of Livable Canada. “We’d like to essentially start occupied with designing spaces for the lifespan. Greater than 80 per cent of homes in Canada will need modifications to permit for our changing physical needs.”

For individuals who wish to redecorate and paint their place, designer Janice Fedak desires to “debunk a fear of color so people go home and inject at the least one recent color into their space.”

As board member for the Color Marketing Group, an association for color design professionals, Fedak could be very aware of the colors which might be trendy annually. She’s going to discuss color and design trends Saturday, March 11 at 3:15 p.m. and Sunday, March 12 at 1 p.m.

“Color is what makes my heart beat faster and adds life to the spaces I design,” she says. “There shall be something that speaks to any person. Why not throw that color up on a wall or a cupboard in a hue that makes you are feeling good?”

Laneway homes and garden suites are cropping up across Toronto. Architect Craig Race, co-founder of Lanescape, is busy designing them. He anticipates the town will soon approve greater than 200 permits for these homes annually.

Homeowners are using the residences as rental properties, to deal with family, or for private space, comparable to an office or a hobby area, he says. Race, who worked with the City of Toronto to create the bylaw governing the dwellings, shall be discussing laneway suites at 5 p.m. on Thursday, March 16.

Eight-to-10 years ago, outdoor kitchens appeared on the scene and gained momentum through the pandemic, and so they show no sign of slowing down, says Jeremy Lerner, co-founder of Land-Con Ltd., which handles the strategy of what Lerner describes as “making people’s backyards into resorts.”

“Individuals are realizing that the prices of a cottage add up, but that, by investing a smaller amount, they will create something at home that they will use each day with no travel required,” he says.

On site, is the Entertainer’s Paradise Feature Backyard, a Land-Con design. Lerner will discuss “pools, pergolas and pavers: every little thing you would like for backyard fun,” on Friday, March 17 at 2 p.m. and Saturday, March 18 at 5 p.m.

Also on the show, visitors can see: a house and garden suite, created by Bonneville Homes; the Skills Ontario Trades & Tech Truck, where youth can explore expert trades and technologies; a hands-on DIY centre; and a consultation area, where visitors can ask professionals for advice.