By Candy Williams

Seven local interior designers have met the challenge of working inside the box.

Members of the Pennsylvania West Chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers who have been invited to create miniature room settings for the 22nd annual Pittsburgh Home & Garden Show, beginning today at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Downtown.

The vignettes, created in "boxes" measuring 4 feet deep, 8 feet wide and 10 feet high, are intended to achieve several goals. "The blank box allowed each designer to come up with his or her own individual use of space. They show the creativity you can get from a designer -- and how each designer converts an ordinary box into a snippet of a room."

Vignette designers include Karolyn Spagnolo, "Reflections into the Ambiance of Spagnolo"; Carolyn Thornton, "An Enticing Entry"; Pat Lynn Good, "A Glimpse of Home -- Bed, Bath & Living"; Chuck Honse, "Zen Study"; Maureen Strayer, "Windows by Design"; Angela Nolfi, "Mystique and Nancy Drew of Drew Designs Ltd.."

American Society of Interior Designers members will be on hand to answer visitors' decorating questions and to view plans, photos or color swatches. They will be available in the "Ask a Professional Designer" area of the society's Design Showcase.

Pittsburgh Home & Garden Show manager John DeSantis visualized the miniature room settings several years ago, but this is the first year the venue has enough space to carry out the idea.

This year's show is 25 percent larger than the 2002 event, covering 245,000 square feet of display space. The extra space allows exhibitors to expand their displays to include full lines of products instead of just a few models. Also, 150 new vendors will be attending.