The largest annual gathering of residential construction and design industry professionals, Design & Construction Week (DCW), took over both the North/South and West exhibit buildings at the Orange County Convention Center, Feb. 17-19. It marked one of the biggest trade shows we’ve covered in Orlando, but the roving chapter for this show is coming to a close.
Starting in 2027, the 14th DCW—which features the co-location of the NAHB International Builders’ Show (IBS) and the NKBA Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS)—will permanently be held in Las Vegas. However, organizers and exhibitors made sure the shows went out with a bang. The combined shows drew 117,000 registrants, with KBIS breaking its attendance record, and 2,250 exhibitors occupied 1.15 million square feet of indoor and outdoor exhibits.
Showrooms and model homes garnered the most attention, and some were so well done that they took us out of the trade show environment for a bit (more on that below). Of course, many booths had a strong focus on AI and cutting-edge tools, but analog demos also pulled in crowds, like a nail hammering competition. Practical swag, including measuring tape keychains, carpenter pencils, travel mugs and even paint samples, were distributed freely.
From the eight miles we explored, we rounded up the top booths and exhibit design features from IBS and KBIS that had us imagining our future dream home.
Anatolia
Canadian tile and stone company Anatolia exhibited two booths in the North/South Hall—one on the IBS side and one in KBIS. We noticed this double placement because of the recognizable exterior across both locations: white walls with low-key branding around the exterior. The enclosed look contrasted the open floor plans of most booths, so passersby leaned into the two wall openings to catch a glimpse of the tile displays before committing to stepping inside.
Brio Water Technology
Coffee bars were everywhere, but a water bar was a fresh concept. Brio Water Technology set up the circular Brio Hydration Station in the center of its booth to show off its filters. Attendees flocked around the bar as servers prepared four complimentary beverages: Sunny State with Brio Mineralized Water, Brio Bloom with Brio Sparkling Water, Brio Water and Caffè Americano made with the Brio Instant Hot Water System.
Dell Technologies
Dell offered several interactive touchpoints in its booth that wreaked havoc on its laptop products, including a dunk tank that sent a laptop into a tub of water and “Whack-A-Lati,” where attendees used a mallet to strike five laptops as they lit up. Game participants received a Dell cap for trying to make it onto the digital leaderboard. We claimed fifth place.
The booth’s centerpiece was a personalization station that used a laser engraving machine to add headshots and text to wooden keychains, luggage tags, levels and pocket knives, as well as leather tape measures.
The Home Depot
In-booth theaters permeated the show floors, but The Home Depot took it up a notch by hosting panel sessions on the flatbed of a branded tractor-trailer. Couches, monitors and home décor transformed the trailer into a stage.
Homes.com
Brand ambassador Heidi Gardner was virtually beamed into the Homes.com booth through a full-body Proto holoportation device. The former “Saturday Night Live” cast member invited attendees to take a selfie with her, and the results looked pretty seamless. Additional booth touchpoints included a coffee bar and kiosk demos.
Kohler
Winner of KBIS’s 2026 Best in Show Booth Award, Kohler had the most varied and expansive booth we came across. No matter which entrance attendees encountered, Kohler delivered an immersive experience. On one end were cascading fountains and bubbling bathtubs, while the other side invited passersby to “Step into Possibility” through a tunnel where a digital floor projected moving water.
Inside, several vignettes took attendees through different lifestyle rooms, ranging from sauna-inspired showers to a mahogany kitchen to a bathroom with a teal toilet, bathtub and sinks against salmon-colored tile—one of the floor’s most popular photo spots.
Lowe’s
Fresh off its activation at Super Bowl Experience, Lowe’s brought a football-themed booth to IBS, but with a completely different experience from its San Francisco showing. Attendees had a chance to score notebooks, pens, pencils, phone stands and the highly coveted Lowe’s bucket chain by throwing mini foam helmets at a large screen to hit floating buckets. Participants who racked up more than seven points also received a gift card. After missing out on the Lowe’s chain at SBX, we came away with some extra bling.
Moen
With water-effect lighting from above, Moen transported attendees into a modern oasis, complete with projections, moving graphics and several hues of blue. For pops of color, faucets and fixtures were placed alongside bouquets and in front of backdrops of models styled in monochromatic clothes and accessories that simulated shower bubbles.
Realtor.com
One of Realtor.com’s exhibiting competitors recommended we visit its booth because of the immersive experience, and we were not disappointed. The Builders Club was a fully enclosed footprint that offered attendees a respite from the show floor with dimmed lighting and Latin music playing. The Havana-inspired lounge featured tropical scenery on the walls, greenery and a leafy carpet. Attendees could pick up leather luggage tags, keychains and “cigars.” Each day of IBS, Realtor.com hosted entertainment and happy hours, featuring live Cuban jazz music, cocktails and empanadas.
Regal Luxe Marble
Regal Luxe Marble’s booth blew us away with its creative use of ultra-thin stone panels and lighting to create a meandering art gallery. Its marble desks were art installations themselves as they snaked around the booth with flexible, curved edges.
Samsung
Samsung introduced its new line of Bespoke appliances at KBIS, and to highlight their AI-powered features, the brand set up a live AI sketch activation. Attendees got their picture taken at a tablet, and then a robotic arm with a marker began drawing the portrait on a Samsung-branded paper.
It also printed a sticker of the sketch with assigned column and row numbers. On a mural wall, participants located their corresponding square and attached their personalized sticker. The mural was about 50-percent complete when we added ours, and a brand ambassador helped us make out the final message: Bespoke AI Enabling Better Living.
Another highlight in the booth that elevated the experience was the showcase of Dacor’s Undercounter Wine Cellar and Wine Column. There, a bartender served up mocktails, such as Velvet Flame with pomegranate and lime juices.
Sherwin-Williams
Sherwin-Williams’ booth was dedicated to its biennial Colormix Anthology trend report, presenting four color palettes “poised to shape the future of design in 2026 and beyond”: Frosted Tints, Sunbaked Hues, Restorative Darks and Foundational Neutrals. Complimentary forecast and paint samples were available for pickup, and the brand curated several photo spots to encourage social sharing and tagging, like a small bathroom depicting the Sunbaked Hues and a wall of paint rollers displaying the trendiest shades.
TYPAR
“Are you built for this?” TYPAR challenged attendees to a game of “Connect Four,” and “Built Four This” fit perfectly in the wooden bar environment, surrounded by high-top tables and stools, string lights and a faux bar with branded beer tap handles.
Viewrail
The modern Viewrail booth stopped a lot of attendees in their tracks as they stared up at the stair configurations displayed in a multilevel, multiroom grid configuration. It felt like peeking into a giant dollhouse.
Wayfair
Promoting its professional membership program for businesses, Wayfair popped up three connected showrooms that felt trendy and lived-in, each with their own wallpaper and décor styles that showed off the site’s furniture offerings. Instead of having a dedicated welcome desk, brand ambassadors worked off of a dining table for a seamless look.
Photo credit: Juanita Chavarro Arias
