ow do you demonstrate the potential your products have to change the at-home lives of attendees on a not-so-personal trade show floor? If you're Belkin International Inc., you turn your booth into a house. Belkin, which makes everything from smartphone accessories to wireless-networking products, wanted International Consumer Electronics Show attendees to experience the ways in which its products influence daily life. To do that, it turned to Catalyst Exhibits Inc. and built a double-deck abode called the Belkin Connected Home. "We worked with Belkin to come up with the concept – a futuristic treehouse that showcased the company's people-inspired products," said Joel Young, creative director at Catalyst.

The lower level of the modern structure was open on two sides. A reception desk positioned at a slight angle along a path of white carpet bisected the dove-gray floors and directed attendees to eight vignettes representing the different areas of a home. Each room was furnished with the appropriate accoutrements: appliances in the kitchen, a desk and chair in the office, a TV in the den, and so on. Belkin products were also positioned throughout and highlighted via lime-green callouts placed on nearby surfaces.

The centerpiece of the lower level, however, was the large, white trunk of a tree that extended from the floor to the ceiling in the living-room-like retail area. To see the top of the nearly 22-foot-tall tree, attendees ascended a set of stairs that led to meeting areas and an open-air lounge. Serving as a canopy for the space, the white foliage added whimsy to the design's high-tech aesthetic and impressed judges, who called the tree "the best part of the exhibit."

From the modern architecture and chic interiors to the towering white tree, Belkin's exhibit proved there's no place like a well-connected home.E