By Kevin Kirkland, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Having a beautiful home or garden requires a lot more than the right paint, furniture or plants. Unless you have a great eye, you also need a design to pull it all together.
That’s the idea behind the Pittsburgh Design Fair for House and Garden, a new event Sept. 30 at The Priory’s Grand Hall on the North Side.
About 50 architects, landscape architects, interior designers, craftspeople, shops, nurseries and antiques dealers will offer their services, products and expertise in the reception hall, courtyard and dining room of this former Catholic church and rectory. Hours will be 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Deutschtown House Tour, featuring restored homes in a nearby historic district, will run concurrently with the event, and joint tickets will be available for $15 in advance. Fair-only tickets will be $5 in advance, $7 on the day of the event.
“We hope it will be a full day of inspiration about good design and where to find it in Pittsburgh,” said Tara Merenda of the Community Design Center of Pittsburgh, which is organizing the fair.
The event is the brainchild of the CDCP and Post-Gazette staffers (the PG is a media sponsor along with WDUQ-FM). It’s partially inspired by the Old House Fair, a spring showcase featuring top local woodworkers, painters, other craftsmen and preservation products and services. Sponsored by Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, the event was last held last fall as part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s annual conference at the Pittsburgh Hilton.
But the Design Fair aims to be much broader, adding gardens, new construction and antiques while emphasizing the importance of project design. A speakers stage on topics ranging from urban landscapes to historic window replacement will run throughout the day in the adjacent dining room. Architects, designers and others will have exhibits and portfolios showing their work.
In the center of the Grand Hall, members of Chatham University’s landscape architecture department will display native plants and designs by students.
The majority of live plants will be in the courtyard, however. Fall is an excellent time to plant many trees, shrubs and perennials, and nurseries often discount these items then to clear out their stock. Fair-goers are likely to find discounts on these plants.
The Urban Gardener on the North Side will be among the exhibitors, selling fall-blooming flowers such as mums and asters and trees and shrubs with winter interest, including witchhazel, fothergilla, staghorn sumac and maybe a few Japanese maples, said co-owner Lynne Weber.
“This is a chance for us to reach city dwellers and do a little educating,” she said. “This is a great time for garden planning.”
Ms. Weber said they’ll have information on the garden center’s Side by Side program, in which staffers offer advice in plant selection, landscape design and, if the client desires, help in installation and maintenance.
“We want people to get the right plants. Often, they choose stuff that will outgrow its space too soon,” she said.
During consultations, Ms. Weber said, she’s seen dogwoods, rhododendrons and other plants that could have been beautiful but were hacked to keep them at a certain size.
Although spring is often the time when people think about home improvement, fall is also prime time to plan projects and line up architects, designers and craftsmen. Exhibitors will include woodworkers Wilson & McCracken, other members of the Western Pennsylvania Craftsmen’s Guild, and Kelly Custom Furniture and Cabinetry, both in Lawrenceville.
Owner Joe Kelly doesn’t usually participate in shows but saw the fair as a chance to introduce his work to the public.
“Many people don’t realize they can get furniture made that is not any more costly than what they find in a store. And it’s done right and will last a lifetime,” he said.
In addition to photos and his portfolio, Mr. Kelly expects to bring a few hand-painted room screens, samples of exotic wood veneers, and perhaps a table or two.
The CDCP will accept exhibitors’ deposits until Aug. 30. A 12-by-12-foot display space in the courtyard garden costs $250 and an 8-by-8-foot indoor space is $175. Two categories that could use more exhibitors are new construction and antiques. Artemis in Lawrenceville will be among the exhibitors offering “green” building products and preaching sustainability.
The Priory, which will sell refreshments and promote its hall for wedding receptions and other events, is the perfect venue for the fair because it is a prime example of recycled and reinvented space, Ms. Merenda said.
Architectural antiques, a key design element in many old houses, were a staple of the Old House Fair and are likely to be available at the fair. But furniture from various eras or design styles is also welcome. Because this is the first year for the event, Ms. Merenda said the CDCP is keeping an open mind on exhibitors.
The Downtown-based group will use this opportunity to showcase its RenPlan program, which offers homeowners a two-hour consultation with an architect or landscape architect for a fee of $150. The 11-year-old program was initially only for city residents but 3 1/2 years ago, it was expanded to all of Allegheny County.
Since the program began, CDCP professionals have worked on more than 2,000 projects, 150 already this year. Expert advice at the outset of a remodeling project, addition or garden plan can make all the difference, Ms. Merenda said.
“Our mission is to make good design accessible to communities in the Pittsburgh region.”
Post-Gazette home and garden staffers will staff a booth at the Design Fair, and winners of the Great Gardens and Renovation Inspiration contests will be on hand to offer advice and discuss their projects. The contests are co-sponsored by the PG and the Botanic Garden of Western Pennsylvania and CDCP, respectively.
For more information or to rent a booth at the Pittsburgh Design Fair, call the Community Design Center of Pittsburgh at 412-391-4144, or go to its Web site, www.cdcp.org.
Kevin Kirkland can be reached at kkirkland@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1978.
