Luxury Housing Trends & Home Improvement Ideas

Cooking is not everyone’s forte, and if you’re single with a busy career life, the kitchen might be the least used room of your home. Instead of abandoning the kitchen all together, at least create a space where you can eat your Chinese take out.

A pullout table is a simple way to have a dining table for one, especially if you just purchased your home and don’t have the money for a proper kitchen table yet. You can pay about $200 now and save up for the $700 or more table. Plus, if you take you’re work home with you, now you have a quiet spot to complete it.

The Presto Pull-out Table is a rolled out tabletop, which is housed in a cabinet. For a sturdier design, the leg assembly is sold separately but required. Once you get a better table, you can use this pull-out table as a serving table.

Tired of standing on your tippy toes so you can reach your dishes or cleaning supplies? If you want to update your cabinets, drop-down shelving can make your items in any room more accessible. When renting out a home or selling it, drop-down cabinets can make the home appealing to many different people including those who require a wheelchair accessible residence.

Drop-down shelving brings the shelves to eye level so you can see and better reach the things you need. This particular unit uses a gas spring and a mechanical advantage design, which allows you to easily pull the cabinet down and push it back up. It is 34” wide x 35” high x 10” deep with a powder-coated finish.

Cabinets like these can make life in the kitchen, laundry room, garage and basement easier. You can store anything from breakfast food to cups or cleaning products. Even installing one shelf like this in the kitchen near the dishwasher can make putting dishing away an easy chore.

Even if you have an elegant sitting room with hand painted vases, rich wood tones and a large fireplace, it doesn’t mean that you can’t make updated technology work in the space too. Plus, it’s not like those puffy couches were meant for just sipping tea and reading.

Incorporating modern technology into a formal sitting room is possible if the equipment can be stowed away when it’s not in use. For example, a pull-down viewing screen can be installed above the fireplace, so you can pull it down when you want to watch a sporting event or movie. When the screen is put away, a traditional piece of artwork can fill the space and complete the look of the room.

Additional electronic equipment such as a DVD player, speakers, etc. can be stored in traditional glass-faced cabinets with interior lighting. This will create some contrast.

These are just some ways that you can have a balance of modernism and traditional style in one room.

Planning the storage for your kitchen can be overwhelming. If you have drawers of spices, containers and hand towels, slide-out cabinets can make your cooking area more organized.

The adjustable wood pull-out organizer shown below for spices can make finding your basil easier. If you’re spices were readily accessible, you would most likely not end up buying extras of what you already own. This model is designed for full-height base cabinets, but it has adjustable shelves and chrome rails to keep everything in its place.

Slide-out options for trash cans are ideal if you have a large family, because you can store more than one garbage container under the counter. This will reduce your need to take the trash out so much. There are also slide-out cabinets for hand towel storage, which makes taking baking sheets out of the stove and washing your hands more convenient. Or you can designate a cabinet for plastic and glass containers, which always seem to lose their lids.

Have you recently converted a section of your garage into a workshop or home office? Well, if you have, you might want to consider installing garage heaters to ensure your comfort when the season changes.

The Reznor V3 series model is gas-fired and available in 14 sizes. The 30,000-125,000 BTUH gas input are approved for homes. In addition, the UDAP heaters are 82-83% energy efficient. Since these heaters can be suspended in the corners of your garage, it makes them less visible. The model for 30,000 BTUH runs under $1,000.

There are several advantages to direct-vent heaters. First, the flue gas vent can be easily installed through the ceiling or wall to the outside. Second, sealed combustion heaters are the safest option. Third, they burn outdoor air, which reduces back-draft.

Instead of avoiding your garage in the autumn or winter months, you can actually enjoy your workshop or office and even wash your car whenever you need to.

A relaxing addition that you can incorporate into your existing gym is a sauna. Although it might not seem like it, installing a sauna is moderately difficult, because no plumbing or floor draining is required.

Finlandia Sauna has a precut sauna package, which includes everything you need to build a sauna. You can find these kits online, and the sizes range from 3 x 4 feet to 12 x 12 feet. The less expensive kits often have hemlock, spruce and fir interiors. If you can afford the pricier kits, they have cedar or redwood walls and other amenities such as light fixtures, back rests, towel bars and timing controls.

Saunas use dry heat and need at least 110-volt household current. This is a priceless addition to have during the winter months when it seems like you can’t get warm enough. Plus, instead of owning a membership to the gym, you can create a spa right in your home.

The laundry room or mud room is an ideal spot for an indoor dog kennel, because a dog door can be cut into the exterior wall to allow your pet the comfort of the indoors and excitement of the outdoors. Using plexiglass on the dog door and kennel door can ensure that your dog gets a view of everything.

When you have guests over or if there is a loud celebration going on, your dog will have a safe place to retreat. Plus, if you’re worried about accidents when you’re away, preserve your carpets and put your dog in the kennel for a couple hours until you return.

Another wonderful amenity to add to your mud room is a hand-held shower hose or sprayer, because you can wash your dog with ease. It can also come in handy when you need to rinse off muddy shoes or fill up a watering can to hydrate your indoor plants.

A window greenhouse or garden window is a compact and inexpensive way to gain the benefits of a greenhouse within your home. So those plants that would otherwise die outdoors when fall and winter set in can now thrive inside your home. Plus, a greenhouse is beneficial in any climate.

Greenhouse Windows by Tru-Frame come in vinyl or aluminum windows and can easily replace an existing kitchen window. To enable ventilation, these windows have side opening windows as well as fully adjustable tempered glass shelves. In addition, this design has a Low-E2 insulated glass roof, which reduces heat and ultra violet rays that can compromise your plants. Although stock colors are white and almond, other colors are available too.

These windows can also display other items such as vases, knickknacks and small pictures. So it can be a display case for people inside or looking from the outside of your home.

Is there anything particular you enjoy collecting? Maybe woven baskets, throws, dolls, vases or seashells are your interest. Even if you have a large collection of a certain item, you can display it in your home in a way that doesn’t consume and clutter the room.

Larger items such as vases and glass bowls can be displayed in a shelving unit. If you have vases in a variety of colors and shapes, choose a simple unit that will not detract from the handblown glass. Woven baskets can be hung from the ceiling, and blankets can be neatly folded and featured on a tiered rack that can rest in the corner of a room.

For small items like seashells, a cabinet with small shelving compartments is best. All you need is a hot glue gun and you can safely secure your treasures. The Sea Shell Display Glass Top Rattan Coffee Table pictured below has 23 compartments underneath the table glass, which can be used for sea glass, seashells and other beach finds.

Your kids are only little for so long, but a themed playroom can keep their imagination young at heart. Plus, instead of distracting from your home, this playroom can enhance your living space.

If your den is a dumping ground for toys, it’s time to change things. Most likely this room is also a catchall for other items as well that might not be safe for your children to be around. By creating a giant playpen with a fenced-in section, you can keep your eye on your children and ensure their safety. The fence can create a division between a playroom and an adult lounge so the room is more functional.

Some themes you might consider are a travel hub (maps and other transportation accessories), Hawaiian luau, under the sea, secret garden and peaceful forest. Pieces you might want to have in the playroom might include a table and chairs, cubby holes or plastic containers, dry erase or chalk board, bean bags or lounge chairs and a rack or closet for costumes.