There’s no place like
home entertainment

By Diane Prokop
Times Staff Writer

The interest in home-makeover television shows has made learning about painting and home remodeling more than just a chore. Why, it’s entertainment.
And you’ll find it here in Philly. For the price of a movie ticket, you can take a ride downtown and check out the latest in all things home-related at the Philadelphia Home Show, in town at the Pennsylvania Convention Center through Sunday.
More than 500 exhibitors of home products and home services are on hand, along with expert guests like home-show personalities Tim Luke, from HGTV’s Cash in the Attic, and Brian Santos, the home-improvement author and TV personality known as The Wall Wizard because of his decorating and artistic painting skills.
While the "makeover shows inspire people, I perspire people," Santos joked. "They show the beginning and the end (of a project). I’m the guy who shows them the middle."
According to the best-selling author of Painting Secrets and Faux Finish Secrets, the hottest trend these days in walls is covering them. "Wall coverings are coming back in a big way, but not an entire room — just one accent wall," Santos said.
The paper is not your grandma’s wallpaper, either. It’s graphics on a large scale that create a visual rhythm.
Santos’ latest book puts his chemistry degree to work. Wallcovering Secrets from The Wall Wizard gives readers his recipe for removing 10 layers of paper.
At the Philadelphia Home Show, Santos will sign books and give away a bunch of painting tools. He’ll also present one-hour programs designed to engage the audience and change the way they look at walls.
"It’s very interactive," he said.
While celebrity appraiser Tim Luke won’t be assessing the value of items at the show this weekend, he will be telling people how to be their own armchair appraiser and show how families on Cash in the Attic find at least a thousand dollars of stuff lying around the house.
Luke has an extensive background in the antiques and collectibles field. He is the featured appraiser on Cash in the Attic, the popular HGTV television show, and has participated on public television’s Antiques Roadshow, as well as the Today Show, Oprah, Good Morning America and the Discovery Channel.
In fact, about a decade ago, Luke was the auctioneer to hammer down the sale of a rare 1910 T-206 Honus Wagner baseball card for $650,000 at Christie’s auction house. Since then, it has gone on to sell for $1.2 million.
"It’s the Holy Grail of baseball cards," he said. "To be part of that legacy is really cool."
During his presentations, Luke will address some of the myths of collecting.
"Sometimes things are valuable. Sometimes things are just old," he said.
He’ll offer folks resources — Web sites they can visit to see how vast the marketplace is.
"The Internet has changed the way I do work. It’s easier to research. If someone says it’s a rare piece and you see five-thousand of them, well . . . ." he said.
Luke suggests that people should always have a professional examine a piece to make sure it’s not a reproduction or flawed.
"Right now what’s hot is mid-century modern — forties, fifties, sixties — in furniture, in pottery, porcelain and glass. The clean lines, the simplicity. Or if you love Victorian, because those are down, it’s a buyer’s market," Luke said.
No stranger to home-improvement projects, Philadelphia Eagles right tackle Jon Runyan and his wife are working on their dream home on 23 acres in Mount Laurel, N.J. Better known to some non-sports fans as the big guy on the McDonald’s coffee commercials, Runyan also will be on hand at the show to sign autographs on Friday, Jan. 25, from 1 to 2:30 p.m.
Home Show organizers are also going green this year and are encouraging show visitors to bring old cell phones and rechargeable batteries and drop them in boxes in the lobby of the Convention Center for proper disposal. The Call2Recycle program is designed to keep rechargeable batteries and cell phones out of our nation’s solid-waste stream. ••
For free downloadable videos on painting from Wall Wizard Brian Santos, check out www.thewizardsworkshop.com
Reporter Diane Prokop can be reached at 215-354-3036 or dprokop@phillynew.com

No place like home …

The Philadelphia Home Show is in Exhibition Hall D of the Pennsylvania Convention Center, 12th & Arch streets. Hours are Wednesday and Thursday, Jan. 23-24, 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, Jan. 25-26, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Sunday, Jan. 27, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
General admission is $10; ages 6-12, admission is $3; and free admission for children 5 and under. For show information and discounted tickets, visit http://phillyhomeshow.com
Here is the schedule for appearances by Tim Luke and Brian Santos:
Friday, January 25
Noon - Tim Luke of HGTV
1 p.m. - The Wall Wizard - Brian Santos
2 p.m. - Tim Luke of HGTV
4 p.m. - The Wall Wizard – Brian Santos
5:30 p.m. - Tim Luke of HGTV
7 p.m. - The Wall Wizard – Brian Santos
Saturday, January 26
Noon - Tim Luke of HGTV
1 p.m. - The Wall Wizard – Brian Santos
2:30 p.m. - Tim Luke of HGTV
4 p.m. - The Wall Wizard – Brian Santos
5:30 p.m. - Tim Luke of HGTV
7 p.m. - The Wall Wizard – Brian Santos
Sunday, January 27
Noon - Tim Luke of HGTV
1 p.m. - The Wall Wizard – Brian Santos
3 p.m. - Tim Luke of HGTV
4 p.m. - The Wall Wizard – Brian Santos
o Schedule subject to change