Winter, it is the most exciting time to discover new ideas and start your outdoor projects. We’ve seen a tremendous surge in winter installations and this is because — more and more — people have discovered what used seem like a best kept secret: Winter is the best time to order an outdoor living shelter.

We have 3 BIG Shows this week so here are the dates, time and places, along with a roll out of ideas and newly installed pergolas and pavilions sent back to us from delighted homeowners.

The Salt Lake Home Show is the first home show we did. Every year it has been an event that families look forward to gather ideas for home improvement. For us, we have been blest to receive Best of Show over the last several years and to touch bases with families who are enjoying their ShadeScape® living areas and just want to stop by and say "hello" again and how much their ShadeScape® has benefited their life. That is one of our favorite highlights of the show!

One of the reasons Western Timber Frame™ is North America's largest custom pergola and pavilion kit manufacturer is their timber wrights guys have really worked to make it affordable for families to enjoy outdoor living at its best. Last year they introduced a new, really pretty pavilion called the Woodland Series that is engineered for strength but I believe designed in a way that costs less than the standard ShadeScape® pavilion kits. It is going to be fun to see what they have on display this year.

Despite the massive size of these kits, more often than not, they are actually easier and quicker to assemble than a kit that is 10-30X smaller in weight. We utilize a patent-pending dovetail joint method for our beam and post connections. Everything is pre-cut, prefinished, and ready to assemble. The main "downside" is the weight of the posts and beams. You'll need to invite over a friend or two to lift each end of the beams in place, but once the beams are set in place that weight locks everything into position with our dovetail joint system. Most kits can be assembled in as little as one afternoon creating a spectacular yard makeover in such a short time.

The guys have been busy setting up for the show so we haven't got a whole lot of pictures of the shade structures but the little I have seen is spectacular. Privacy screens have really been in high demand so seeing more at the home shows creates quite the display with so many ideas of how you can personalize that for your own outdoor living space.

This is one of the guys most favorite shows because they also get to tour all the cars and other delightful displays at the show!

The Maricopa County Home Shows Home and Garden Show is a delight to attend. Phoenix is a place where ShadeScape® kits are more being pampered in the outdoors, it is a must to enjoy the open air throughout the seasons. Below are pictures from a homeowner in Pheonix of their newly installed Woodland 8000 Series ShadeScape® pavilion kit that they saw at the Maricopa County Home Show last year.

At the show the Woodland Two-Tone, 6-Post, 8000 Series ShadeScape® pavilion kit featured Classic style knee braces but the homeowners really liked the Crescent Step style knee braces — so as always— our guys happily made them new knee braces to their taste. In five weeks it was delivered and installed for them. The pictures show off the tile roof which is also a popular feature common to Arizona.

The showroom kit came with TimberVolt® power post which people just love. Western Timber Frame outdoor wood arbors, gazebos, pavilions and pergolas can be pre-drilled with a hole down the center of one post to accommodate any and all of your electrical and lighting needs.

The TimberVolt® power posts made it easy for the family to install two outdoor televisions and an outdoor bar, lights and fan. I love it!!!!

With so many pictures that people send us, it would be impossible to show them all off, but I love seeing them. And as I have a few more on my desktop, why not? I love to see what others have done as it gives people so many possibilities that get the brain cogs going —sometimes in a direction we otherwise never would have dreamed of. So here you go:

For more ideas check out one of Home and Garden Shows this weekend! We'd love to see you there.