Experts from Across the Northwest Offer Products and Services to Help Save Money and Grow a Greener Garden
This year’s Better Living Home Garden & Lifestyle Show will draw on the expertise of the fourth most influential person in home building, Marianne Cusato, as well as a model home showcasing the latest trends in green living as well as hundreds of exhibits and “how-to” seminars.
The 6th annual show, running March 22-24 at the Portland Expo Center, is an opportunity for show goers to meet face-to-face with experts providing the latest green and energy saving products and services for the home and garden.
NW Natural Blue Home: Reduce energy bills with efficient Natural Gas at home
The popular “Blue Home” returns this year with the new addition of a bedroom suite.
Remodeling a kitchen or bath can add major value to any home. The newest green trends are showcased here for handson exploration. Sponsored by NW Natural, this feature home spotlights the latest generation of appliances, cutting-edge interior design and energy-saving features.
Make your way through four rooms full of interactive natural gas features where guests can:
• Cozy up to the most efficient fireplace available. Featured at last year’s show, the Energy Pro fireplace by Heat & Glo is now on the market and available for purchase. This is the first fireplace to be certified as a central furnace for heating the entire home.
• Experience three ways to heat your home with hot water. For the first time this year, The Blue Home will feature a hydronic and radiant heating system powered by hot water from a tankless natural gas boiler. Visit the utility room of The Blue Home to see how using hot water to heat your home can lower monthly energy bills and save energy. Kick your shoes off and step on the radiant floor and check out the modern-day radiator in the bedroom.
• Get inspired by the interior design skills of Garrison Hullinger. The team of award-winning interior designers from Garrison Hullinger use eco-friendly furnishings from Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, retro Blenko glass, locally made lighting, a touchless faucet and a heated toilet to make this year’s home warm and welcoming.
• Enter to win! There are two ways to enter contests this year with Northwest Natural. The first is a color consult with Garrison Hullinger and five gallons of Green Seal ™ Certified Acro Pure Miller paint. Enter this contest inside the Blue Home. The second is the Paint Your Home Green contest at the NW Natural Smart Energy booth where the prize is a full-house exterior paint job with low-VOC paint from Miller Paint Company.
Living Green with Portland General Electric
Visit the Living Green area with Portland General Electric to learn more about electric vehicles, renewable energy and Energy Tracker — a new interactive tool that helps PGE customers understand and take charge of their energy bills. Timbers players will be on hand each day to sign autographs and help encourage PGE customers to sign up for paperless billing. Attendees can enter to win Timbers prize packages.
Energy Trust of Oregon: Good Energy Pavilion
While everyone wants to save money and energy, many of us don’t know where to start. Energy Trust of Oregon helps customers of Portland General Electric, Pacific Power, NW Natural and Cascade Natural Gas find ways both big and small to save on energy and lower monthly utility costs at home. This year at Energy Trust’s Key to Good Energy Booth guests can receive personalized guidance from on-site energy advisors who will help guests create their own plan for energy savings. Hands-on displays will showcase easy, money-saving ideas like high-efficiency lighting, weatherization and solar as well as how to identify common energy wasters that homeowners can’t see.
While supplies last, guests who take a “Good Energy Action” at the show will be rewarded with a free Belkin Conserve Socket, a handy timed device that turns off power to electronics and appliances to help save energy. Actions include ordering a free Energy Saver Kit, scheduling a pick-up of their old refrigerator to be recycled and more.
How does your garden grow? Northwest garden experts answer this age-old question.
Show attendees will notice a picturesque garden outside of the Northwest Natural Blue Home courtesy of Verdura Culinary Gardens. Guests can get a head start on their own vegetable gardening by stopping by the Verdura booth to have questions answered by co-owner, Caroline Lewis.
The show also assists home and garden do-it-yourselfers by offering an abundance of seminars presented by some of the region’s top experts. For the third year in a row, OSU’s extremely popular 10-Minute Universities will make a return to the show, bringing educational programming into packed informational presentations. Hosted by Master Gardeners, attendees can listen to talks on raised bed gardening, composting and what Oregonians should be planting in March and April amongst other topics Saturday and Sunday at the OSU booth (#615). Go here for a complete listing of seminars at this year’s show.
About Better Living Show
Free to the public, the Better Living Show, the Northwest’s largest sustainable lifestyle show, takes place Friday, March 22 from noon – 8 p.m.; Saturday, March 23 from 11 a.m. – 8 p.m.; and Sunday, March 24 from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. at the Portland Expo Center. Official show sponsors include Energy Trust of Oregon, NW Natural, Portland General Electric, Schnitzer Steel, Oregon State University, The Portland Clinic, Natural Awakenings Magazine, Frontier Food Coop, Amour Vert, Drive Oregon, Portland Expo Center and The Portland Tribune.
