Building and Design Expo

Home renovation on the mind of attendees

For the third consecutive year, the Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce’s fourth annual Building & Design Expo was a sold out event for vendor spaces. Held July 18-20, the Expo was at the Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort & Spa Convention Center with booths located both inside and out as various-sized tents sprawled across the convention center grounds. New this year was a free shuttle service provided by Polynesian Adventure Tours from the Keauhou Shopping Center to the Convention Center.

   This year’s Expo boasted several new vendors, as well as popular favorites, and over 2,000 discriminating attendees enjoyed the well-designed and creative booth displays. Specific products needed for home renovation and improvement seemed to be on the mind of most attendees as they browsed and shopped for everything from roofing and tile to lawn and garden products.

   Booths also offered intrepid browsers the latest in appliances, kitchen and bath fixtures, hot tubs, lanai furniture, plus interior design products and ideas. Sponsors HPM and Marblehaus offered unique product displays with HPM hosting an “Inspiration Island” where attendees voted on pictures submitted by residents showing why they deserved a room makeover courtesy of HPM.

   Earning accolades for an imaginative and artistic booth design was the winner of the coveted President’s Award: Lipps & Son/Pacific Islands Design. The Best of Show ribbon was awarded to Bella Pietra for an innovative use of space and product display.  The Most Creative Design awards for first, second and third place went to Archipelago, Tradewinds Hawaii and Hawaii Copper Rain Gutters, respectively.

   Attendees voted for their favorite booth and companies winning the top three People’s Choice awards were Bella Pietra, HPM and Lipps & Sons/Pacific Islands Design.

    The Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort & Spa offered a three-day, two-night stay to attendees. Winning the drawing was Pat Masterson of Pat’s Plumbing in Kealakekua. When notified of his prize, Pat commented this was his “first time to the Expo” and he was “amazed at all the different products and displays.” Will he be back next year? “Definitely!”

Island Home Automation and Security, LLC	Dream Turf Hawaii
Champagne Spa and Lanai	Marblehaus Hawaii
Bamboo II	Indich Collection
Kona Shoji Design	Hawaii Copper Rain Gutters