‘Scout Shack’ to benefit the Boy Scouts at Kansas City Home Show

Since 1948, the annual Greater Kansas City Home Show has welcomed hundreds of thousands of Kansas City area residents to view the most current and wide-ranging displays of home improvement, technology and decorating ideas to make their home a place of comfort and beauty.

This year’s Home Show, held March 20-22 at Bartle Hall, will feature in the Home Builders Association of Greater Kansas City (KCHBA) Build Zone, a beautiful 700-square-foot, one-bedroom, one-bathroom cabin where patrons can walk through to touch and feel the surfaces in an actual room.

Built on site by home builder and former HBA President Chris Ragland, owner of Homes by Chris, and fondly nicknamed “The Scout Shack,” it will be donated after the Home Show to the Boy Scouts of America, Heart of America Council.

“The purpose of the cabin,” said Ragland, “is to display design and construction trends and the latest materials to inspire those remodeling or building a home. There are a lot of great new finishes and products out there.”

The frame was built at McCray Lumber and Millwork, then taken apart and re-assembled and decorated inside Bartle Hall. The home features a covered porch, accents of reclaimed lumber, pebble-tiled flooring, solid-surface countertops, and a variety of new design and construction elements.

For example, it has a high-density engineered wood subfloor and a built-in zip system for the walls that provides a continuous air barrier for better energy efficiency. Barn wood, popular with those desiring to incorporate eco-friendly practices and utilize recycled materials, has been used in several places as accents, including in the kitchen, fireplace, and walls in the bedroom and bathroom.

Other design trends displayed include a farmhouse sink, solid-surface countertops with an under-counter beverage refrigerator, a freestanding tub, and an old schoolhouse vanity and pebble floor in the bathroom.

The cabin will be landscaped by Brummel Lawn Landscape to accent and highlight the colors and features of the cabin. Several other vendors also generously donated their time and materials for the Scout Shack, including Factory Direct; Dennis E. Tuck Archituckture; Weber Flooring; Ferguson Bath, Kitchen and Lighting Gallery; Precision Woods Inc.; Elmwood Reclaimed Timber; Hayes Company; Century Roofing; Wilson Lighting; Top Master Inc.; Scott Swift; and JW Design Remodel.

As a new Home Show community partner, the Boy Scouts of America, Heart of America Council is looking forward to using the Scout Shack at its H. Roe Bartle Scout Reservation.

“Our 4,200-acre Scout Reservation, located in Osceola, Mo., is home to more than 6,600 Boy Scouts and 3,000 leaders each summer,” explained Matt Armstrong, marketing director for the organization. “Our summer programming includes a 10-day, nine-night outdoor adventure with over 100 activities that include water skiing, archery, sailing, swimming, geocaching, climbing, cooking and more. The new Scout Shack will help with our new mountain bike program.”

Members of the Boy Scouts will be on hand to help attendees try their hand at a rock-climbing tower and to explore a 25-foot tall tipi previously on display at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art demonstrating this early housing example.

Attendees will also find nearly 250 exhibitors, including builders, remodelers, landscapers, interior designers and contractors, offering a bevy of cutting-edge decorating, design and building trends and construction materials for spring home and garden projects.

Headlining on the stage this year will be Chip and Joanna Gaines, stars of HGTV’s “Fixer Upper.” Other popular presenters include Jennifer Bertrand, owner of Kansas City’s Bertrand Designs, who designed “18,000 square feet of happiness” in Kansas City’s latest Ronald McDonald House; Kristin Rieke of rak’ designs, specializing in Kansas City and Rocky Mountain design and lifestyle; Kansas City’s own Chrysy and Jeff Huff of Restoration Emporium; Jennifer Allwood, a professional faux finisher and owner of The Magic Brush Inc.; Theresa Maybrier, an interior designer at Ethan Allen; and photographer Erin Schuerman, who will discuss visual marketing.

Visitors won’t want to miss the Landscape Square, an impressive feature that shows off the work of several area landscapers as they transform the center of the exhibit hall into a spring garden oasis, providing ideas for a multitude of garden creations.

Shoppers will delight in the Pop-up Cash and Carry Market offering Zum products; spices, salts and sweets; and custom reclaimed wood pieces. The Pub in the Park beer garden returns this year for show visitors to relax and enjoy a Boulevard beer with a view of all the beautiful lawn and garden displays, or watch a little basketball on TV.

This story was originally published March 18, 2015 at 7:00 PM with the headline "‘Scout Shack’ to benefit the Boy Scouts at Kansas City Home Show."