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<p>PLAINS TWP. &#8212; Coinciding perfectly with Saturday&#8217;s spring-like weather, some local vendors at the annual Home and Living Show presented ideas for outdoor living spaces to be enjoyed during the warmer months.</p><p>The expo, sponsored by the Home Builders Association of Northeastern Pennsylvania and held at Mohegan Sun Pocono, is a two-day event featuring a variety of vendors with expertise in construction, remodeling, and designing from across the state.</p><p>George Whibley, owner and general manger of A&amp;B Sunrooms and Remodel of Plains, demonstrated how retractable windows work by placing a sample window on the floor. &#8220;You can go right on it,&#8221; he said to the two children of a prospective customer.</p><p>Besides retractable windows, A&amp;B also designs and builds sunrooms, porch enclosures, awnings, and one of the newest trends in the world of outdoor living &#8212; outdoor kitchens.</p><p>&#8220;We do everything that no one else does,&#8221; Whibley said with a laugh. Outdoor kitchens originated in Europe and were initially seen in homes on the West Coast, but now have started popping up all over the country. Whibley has built five or six outdoor kitchens in the area within the past year, and he noted &#8220;they are growing in popularity.&#8221;</p><p>He showed a photograph of an outdoor kitchen he designed, which consisted of a refrigerator, stove, and counter &#8212; much like an indoor kitchen except meant for cooking and entertaining outside. Even though Northeastern Pennsylvania is undeniably cold for several months every year, Whibley said there is still a high demand for outdoor living spaces here.</p><p>&#8220;Well, think about it. In the South, they enjoy beautiful weather every day of the week,&#8221; he pointed out. &#8220;We cherish the nice weather. So outdoor living is more popular in the cold zones than in the Southern zones.&#8221;</p><p>John Zembruski, owner of Dundee Gardens based in Hanover Township, agreed with that assessment. He said NEPA residents like to spend time outside as much as they can. He has also designed a few outdoor kitchens as well as a large wood-burning fire pit, one of the company&#8217;s signature products that was on display.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s really designed to inspire being outside and spending time with family and friends,&#8221; Zembruski said while standing next to the pit. &#8220;We wanted something very rustic and simple.&#8221; The outdoor fireplace is meant to be used in the spring, fall, and during chilly summer nights.</p><p>Dundee Gardens also provides gas fire pits, patio furniture, a variety of grills, as well as outdoor pizza ovens made in Scotland, which Valley pizza lovers can&#8217;t get enough of. &#8220;Last year at Christmas, we sold out of them,&#8221; Zembruski said. &#8220;We sold every unit we had.&#8221;</p><p>Great Additions, based in Luzerne, also specializes in building and remodeling sunrooms. Like Whibley and Zembruski, business owner Richard Deubler said the cold weather does not deter locals from investing in sunrooms and patio spaces, but instead encourages it.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve been in business 29 years putting up sunrooms,&#8221; he said with a laugh.</p><p>While showing photographs of sunrooms he designed and constructed, Deubler said most of them are used year-round.</p><p>The Home and Living Show will continue Sunday at Mohegan Sun Pocono from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Steve Brennan and Wendy Brown, of Kintner Modular Homes of Tunkhannock, talk to Lesley and David Northdurft while their 9-month-old grandson, Solomon Lubin, looks around the Home and Living Show at Mohegan Sun Pocono on Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/web1_TTL012918Homebuilder3.jpg</photo0><caption0>Steve Brennan and Wendy Brown, of Kintner Modular Homes of Tunkhannock, talk to Lesley and David Northdurft while their 9-month-old grandson, Solomon Lubin, looks around the Home and Living Show at Mohegan Sun Pocono on Saturday. </caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/web1_TTL012918Homebuilder1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Abby Hobson, CEO of Tiny Estates of Lancaster County, explains the tiny-home trend at the annual Home and Living Show at Mohegan Sun Pocono in Plains Township on Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/web1_TTL012918Homebuilder1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Abby Hobson, CEO of Tiny Estates of Lancaster County, explains the tiny-home trend at the annual Home and Living Show at Mohegan Sun Pocono in Plains Township on Saturday. </caption1><photoCredit1>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/web1_TTL012918Homebuilder2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Zack Whibley, of A&amp;B Sunrooms and Remodel of Plains, shows off a screen door at the Home and Living Show on Saturday at Mohegan Sun Pocono. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/web1_TTL012918Homebuilder2.jpg</photo2><caption2>Zack Whibley, of A&amp;B Sunrooms and Remodel of Plains, shows off a screen door at the Home and Living Show on Saturday at Mohegan Sun Pocono. </caption2><photoCredit2>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Home and Living vendors say cold no factor</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Kulsoom Khan</p><p>kkhan@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div>

What cold? Home and Living Show vendors say outdoor spaces are new trend