When the 2013 Home Show opens its doors today, 21 Warwick companies will be represented offering services from insurance to hard wood flooring and even a robot lawn mower.

Organized by the RI Builders Association (RIBA), the show takes place at the Rhode Island Convention Center April 4 to 7. Admission is $10 and tickets can be purchased at the door. Children 15 and under are admitted free. 

Now in its 63rd year, the Home Show is the largest and longest running event of its kind in Southern New England. It is also the only locally organized home show in Rhode Island, put together by RIBA, a progressive nonprofit established in 1945, to address the shelter needs of the community in the Ocean State. 

“This year’s theme, ‘Imagine. Create. Enjoy.’ perfectly suits our motivations and goals for this year’s show,” RIBA Executive Director John Marcantonio said in a statement.

No matter the ultimate goal – from building a dream home to making subtle aesthetic improvements on existing structures – attendees can expect to receive a broad range of information that will spark ideas.

Best of all, visitors will have a one-of-a-kind visual aid to awaken their imaginations: a full-sized house inside the Rhode Island Convention Center that was erected in three days. 

“For the second year in a row, the house is returning as the centerpiece of the Home Show. Only this time, it will be bigger and better,” said Marcantonio. “Not only will visitors be able to fully explore the home by walking through it, they can take home a brochure containing information on every aspect of the house.”

Constructed by CRM Modular Homes, the house will be decorated by Karen Corinha, a Massachusetts-based professional interior designer who was among a prestigious group of designers and decorators selected to “deck the halls” of the White House during the holidays in the winter of 2011. Corinha will also offer seminars at the four-day event.  

Consistent with the theme of this year’s show, individuals will also have the chance to think “outside the box,” or, perhaps more appropriately, “outside the home.” The house’s front and backyard will be entirely landscaped, courtesy of the Rhode Island Nursery and Landscaping Association. Arnold Lumber is building the house’s patio.  

Attendees will also have access to free seminars on all four days. Sessions will cover a wide array of topics ranging from Corinha’s crash course on interior design to URI Master Gardener Lee Menard’s presentation on backyard invasive plant management.

Patrons are also encouraged to bring their paintings, antiques and collectibles to receive free appraisals by Daniel Buck Soules, an internationally recognized fine art and antiques appraiser. Soules, who has more than 30 years of experience, was an on-air appraiser for the wildly popular PBS series, “Antiques Roadshow.”

Kids won’t leave empty-handed, taking home tricks learned from a Duncan YoYo Master, and those 12 and under can spin a colorful wheel for a chance to win one of dozens of free bicycles.

Warwick companies with show displays are: A-1 Foundation Crack Repair, Inc., 9 John Robinson Road; Aerus – Electronics, 1276 Bald Hill Road; Alarm New England, 200 Metro Center Blvd Suite #14; Allstate Insurance Group - Ocean State Insurance, 3590 West Shore Road; Barrett Hardwood Floors, 66 Oak Grove Street; California Closets, 300 Quaker Lane Suite 25; Harris Blinds and Shutters, 1638 Warwick Ave.; Kitchen & Counters by Dave, 2845 Post Road Suite 107; LawnBott of New England, 3636 Post Road that carries the robot lawn mower; Moriarty’s Invisible Fence, 3636 Post Road; Overhead Door Company, One Overhead Way; Petro Heating & Air Conditioning Services, 141 Knight Street; RI Kitchen and Bath, 130 Jefferson Blvd.; Restoration Specialists, Inc., 171 Main Ave Apt 1; Rhode Island Home Improvement, 1815 Post Road; Romancing the Stone, 1170 Bald Hill Road; Slocum Insurance and Real Estate, 1229 Greenwich Ave.; Super Green Solutions, 300 Quaker Lane; Terminix, 205 Hallene Road Suite 215; the Sherwin Williams Company, 80 Lambert Lind Highway; and Window World, 380 Jefferson Blvd Suite F.