In an online world, are home shows still relevant? Remodeling expert weighs in

The Modern Home Show will make its first ever stop in Columbus this weekend at The Mall at Tuttle Crossing, showcasing local home improvement professionals and the latest interior design trends. But with the infinite resources of the internet at your fingertips, are home shows still worth a visit? We talked to a remodeling expert to find out.

Pam Patter, executive director of the central Ohio chapter of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry, said there are important aspects of hiring a remodeler that can’t be replicated online.

“If there are a bunch of companies there, it really works out well because you can see everybody’s work and kinda compare what you like, whose style you like, whose personality you like,” Patter said. “Because when you remodel your home, you spend a lot of time with these folks.”

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Patter stressed how important it is to find a remodeler that listens and communicates honestly, something that is easiest to discern in person.

The press release for the Modern Home Show states that it will be socially responsible, featuring limited vendors and following government guidelines. Patter said this could prove to be a benefit to homeowners looking for more time to talk to prospective remodelers.

And this is a great time to remodel, so contractors have been busier than ever. Between high demand and bogged down supply chains on materials such as treated lumber, Patter said it may take a while, but prices haven’t gone up.

“If you’re sitting there, and you’re looking at that horrible backsplash, you might have to look at it for a couple of more months,” Patter said. “But now’s the time to get on the schedule and get somebody set up at least to come out and look at what you need to have done and get some ideas on costs.”

The Modern Home Show will stop at The Mall at Tuttle Crossing Sept. 25 and 26 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sept. 27 from noon to 6 p.m. More information can be found online here.

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