Luxury Housing Trends & Home Improvement Ideas

High ceilings are the trend in residential homes these days, but if you live in a condo or an older house, it may not be possible to actually increase the ceiling height. Here are a few tips for making your ceilings seem higher:

Lower the Wall Trim — Instead of installing crown molding at the junction between ceiling and wall, drop it down about 6 inches to make the ceiling look higher. Drop the color of the ceiling paint down too, then use a different color for the walls.

Add Coffers — You can create shallow coffers on the ceiling by applying molding that’s less than two inches deep in a honeycomb or diamond pattern; this adds interest to a flat ceiling and makes it seem higher.

Add Light Wells – A skylight or dormer makes a ‘light well’ that breaks up low, flat ceilings and allows more light to enter the room.

Reflect light — Use metallic paint like copper and hide uplights in a shallow enclosure that goes around the rim of the room. The reflected light tricks the eye into thinking the room is taller.

Use torchieres and wall sconces – By lighting the ceilings evenly from below, you can make them look higher. Don’t use recessed can lights as they send puddles of light toward the floor and make the ceiling appear lower.

Source: Ceilings in Upscale Homes Get High-end Makeovers

If you’re setting up a recreation room for the kids (or yourself) and miss those old arcade video games like Asteroids, Centipede, and Missile Command, Hammacher Schlemmer sells a full-sized game system that includes those and 30 other arcade classics from Atari and Capcom. The price is around $3,700.

Arcade Legends Game System

Remember the good ol’ days of dogs sleds and sheep herding? You know when pets actually worked for their dinner? Mark Schuette, a designer in Bend, Oregon, has come up with a way for your dog to get a work out while you get a free ride. His “dog powered scooter” combines a scooter with a padded pulling harness that fits around your hound’s shoulders and is connected to the scooter’s foot plate. The dog runs slightly behind and to the side of you, providing you with good steering and braking control (aka no veering off the path and into a tree when Fido sees a squirrel). Schuette recommends only using the scooter with dogs larger than 40 pounds. The basic single dog scooter costs $290.

http://www.dogpoweredscooter.com/

Painted ceilings weren’t new when Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel, but art on residential ceilings has only recently become a growing trend. Sky Factory, a company in Fairfield, Iowa, manufactures translucent acrylic panels showing images like the Milky Way or clouds floating through sunny skies. The decorated panels can work with grid ceilings or flat ceilings; several pictures of varying sizes are available on the company’s web site. You can get the panels with or without incorporated lighting. Prices start at about $1,300 for a complete system.

http://www.theskyfactory.com/

For the uninitiated (like I was until 3 minutes ago), wood turning is a type of wood working used to created things like bowls, dishes, table legs, etc. using a lathe. Sort of like pottery, the wood is spinning while you work it. There are several people out there who specialize in decorative wood turnings for the home such as fancy wood plates and bowls or this maple centerpiece from Turnings by Az. If you’re looking for a unique piece for your table, a wood serving platter, or just something interesting to put on the nick nack shelf, you can find wood turners online or at local craft fairs.

http://www.turningsbyaz.com/
More on woodturning.

Indoor waterfalls are popular additions to upper end homes. BluWorld adds a bit more drama with its “water windows”–waterfalls using see-through panes of glass with water streaming down them. They can also build their units around mirrored glass or metal. The company’s goal is to turn water into “works of art” and they offer their custom designed water windows for interior or exterior display. The waterfall shown here is the Bostic Residence. It’s 15 feet high, 38 inches wide, and ranges from $20,000-$25,000.

http://www.blueworldusa.com/

This can cooler/warmer from Princess International keeps soda cans cool next to the couch, in your home office, or even in the car via a 12V adapter. The 3-position knob is simple to use, giving you options of cool, off, or warm (warm reaches about 160F degrees). A little light lets you know if it’s in warming mode (red) or cooling mode (green). The unit costs about $40 online: Can Cooler and Warmer

http://www.giftsatprincess.com

Wood countertops and wood butcherblocks are popular with homeowners who want a little more warmth in the kitchen than cold stones like granite can provide. You can expect to pay anywhere from $75-$165 per square foot for custom wood countertops. They can be ordered in numerous thicknesses, edge profiles, and wood species that run the range from mahogany to bird’s-eye maple to teak. Some types of wood are naturally water-resistant, and a marine-oil finish will give them extra durability.

http://www.brookswood.com/

Pullout kitchen faucets are popular these days since they add range to your faucet without the need for a separate sprayer. Aside from its pullout nozzle, the Moen Showhouse Series Woodmere Faucet with Pulldown Sprayer has a push-button on the arch-spout that pauses water flow. The spout height is 15-1/8″ and the spout reach is 8-1/2″. The model of the pullout faucet is #S728SL and the price is $625.

http://www.moen.com/

Just because summer is over doesn’t meant you have to give up your tan. The Nuress Home Spray Tanning System from Earlex, Inc. is much more economical than visiting the spray-on tanning parlor once a week. You stand in your tub or shower and have your friend or loved one air brush the tan on you. The makers claim the Nuress Home Tanning kit uses a low pressure spray technology so it can be sprayed in fine layers to give the effect of a natural tan. The system is made up of a motor unit, spray gun, and hose. The price is $150.

http://www.nuress.com