Published by Jeremy. Last Updated on March 10, 2024.
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Ever since buying a house, we've been inundated with projects left and right. At times, it is really hard to know where to even begin as our list of improvements seems never ending.
So we've been heading to the Pittsburgh Home and Garden Show at the convention center for their spring and fall shows to get ideas.
These events are quite massive and feature hundreds upon hundreds of local vendors covering everything from general contract work to gutter sales and everything in between.
While we'll be the first to admit that the spring show is the one to be at, if you are looking to get ideas for a future home improvement project, this one may need to be on your radar!
Start a New Project at the Pittsburgh Home and Garden Show
When it comes to the types of vendors you will find at the home and garden show, it may be easier for us to simply say everything and move on.
While this may not be 100% the case (I can't claim every fringe and niche product vendor is present), if you think in broad themes, it certainly feels that way.
During my walkaround of both the fall and spring home shows, I saw the likes of general contractors, roofers, siding specialists, pool/jacuzzi/sauna producers, furniture sellers, real estate agents, solar companies, gutter guard sales, window installers, local photographers and interior design, vendors for pets, demos, and so much more.
The Home and Garden Show isn't limited to contractor-type vendors, either. Farmers can be found selling locally raised meat, other local food companies sell their products (and give samples!), and you may even spot a few local breweries and distilleries floating about for sales to go, too.
As such, while this show is nice for those who have specific projects in mind and are looking for contacts, it is just as inspiring to walk around and see the true wealth of companies out there in the area, learn about their services, and think of some grand plans for the future, too!
Will I ever get a sauna or a fully customized outdoor barbecue complete with seating area? Probably not. But one can dream when walking around the near endless sea of vendors here!
How Do the Spring and Fall Home Shows Compare?
While we'll be the first to admit that the makeup of the spring and fall Pittsburgh Home and Garden shows is similar (you'll find a mix of all the same company types at each), the main difference is obvious from the moment you walk inside- the size.
The simple truth is that the fall show is much, much smaller than the spring show. While I do not have a good estimate on the differences between the overall count of vendors, I can say that the spring show fills two convention center halls (two entire floors, really), whereas the fall show felt like it barely filled one.
As such, your access to variety is a major tradeoff between the shows.
At both shows, I went in hoping to check out vendors in specific categories for home projects we were considering in the coming years. For these projects, I felt like I had access to one or two vendors that offered each specialized service at the fall show, where I was able to talk to three, four, and in some cases, five at the spring show (this count includes many of the vendors who were also at the fall show).
Another downside of the fall show was that many of the vendors I spoke to that offered seasonal services were effectively already booked for the remainder of the year, leaving me with options of agreeing to work immediately or pushing off to the following year- I waited. In the spring, similar vendors had much more open availability.
These observations are hyper specific to the vendors I was looking at, of course, but definitely was something that stuck out at me for the fall show specifically. The spring show, in being at the start of the year and significantly larger in size, is most certainly the premier event and was arguably much more enjoyable to me as a consumer- especially considering the event has a nominal entry fee.
That said, if you have many house projects are looking for several types of vendors in one go, not just one or two in very specific categories, odds are good you're going to find them both at the fall and spring Pittsburgh Home and Garden Show. But for those who want the most variety in all categories, or simply want to speak to more vendors in a single category, the spring show is the one to be at!
The Pittsburgh Home and Garden Show runs for roughly a week each spring and fall at the convention center downtown.
