Luxury Housing Trends & Home Improvement Ideas

These flower lights probably don’t give off a lot of illumination, but if you’re looking for some decorative lighting, they may do the trick. And they’ve got a story too. According to the company, the lights are made from the delicate, fallen leaves of the Pipal tree, which is the same type of tree that Prince Siddhartha Gautama sat under 2,500 years ago when he was meditating, achieving enlightenment, and basically becoming the “Buddha.” Each light is hand-crafted from eight leaves and shaped into a tropical flower. Available in white or purple/pink, they come in a 10 foot long string with 20 lights attached. The packaging includes instructions and “the story” behind Buddha’s enlightenment. The price is $30 a set.

http://www.wrapables.com

If your kids show an interest in helping you in the garden (or maybe you’d just like them to), why not get them some gardening tools specifically designed for little hands? That way they can dig and weed right alongside you. (Just don’t tell them it’s work.) Put out by Insect Lore (a company that specializes in making bugs fun for kids), this lady-bug-themed set includes a hand shovel, a hand cultivator, a kneeling pad, and kid-sized gloves. Other themes available include butterflies, spiders, mantises, and bumble bees. The gardening set costs $20 and is appropriate for children 4 and up.

http://www.insectlore.com

Looking for something a little more modern in the bathroom? A little more 21st Century? Or maybe you’re just tired of the chipped, water-stained, mildew-bespeckled fixtures currently hanging over your bath tub. These sleek tub fixtures from Gingerco have precise edges with a clean, contemporary look. Available in polished chrome or satin nickel finishes, prices for the handle-and-faucet set will run you $830 for the chrome and $980 for the nickel. Specifications, and the instructions for installing the fixtures, are available on the web site.

http://www.gingerco.com

Now for something new on the sink front: this stainless steel console from Neo Metro comes in several unique countertop colors, such as purple, blue, red, aqua, and amber. Inside is a deep Ebb sink, made from brushed stainless steel or copper, and featuring a hidden drain basin (because it’s just so unseemly to actually see the used water flowing down into the pipes). The countertop has a resin surface, and you can get additional features for the console, such as undercounter lighting, undercounter shelves, and adjustable levers for uneven floors.

http://www.neo-metro.com

Crown molding is something that impresses friends and family (as well as potential home buyers), and yet it’s one of the most inexpensive home improvements you can do. If you want something a little flashier than the standard crown molding that goes up in most houses today, try a company that specializes in replicas of traditional mill work. For instance, this Classic Colonial molding, though cut and installed today, looks like something from a centuries old traditional colonial home. It has more depth and drama than what you’ll find at the local home improvement store. Other molding styles you can find are Greek Revival, Classical Craftsman, and Colonial Revival.

http://www.windsorone.com

There are lots of projects and maintenance chores around the house that require hopping onto the old ladder to work on them. And, of course, tools tend to be required too. The problem is what to do with those tools while you’re working. You don’t want to have to constantly travel up and down the ladder to get things. Some find a tool belt handy, but this Ladder Pack is another alternative. It’s a canvas tool bag with a soft carrying grip and all sorts of different-sized pouches, including a hammer loop and drill pocket are included. The tool bag’s pyramid shape makes it a good fit at the top of a ladder, and it’s weighted so it won’t be knocked off easily. The Ladder Pack will cost you $23.

http://store.wagicstore.com/ladderpack.html

Granite is by far the most popular choice for countertops right now, but soapstone actually beat it out as the preferred choice in “Counter Intelligence,” an article on remodeling kitchens in the June 2006 issue of Money. Soapstone is a soft stone quarried in Finland, Brazil, and along the Appalachian Trail (esp. Georgia and Vermont), and it naturally resists stains and germs because it is completely non-porous (granite is porous and must be sealed). The article chose soapstone as the best in a field test because it doesn’t need to be sealed, and scratches are easy to sand and oil away. (However soapstone does need annual mineral oil treatments to help it maintain its finish.)

Granite, which is a natural mined stone made of quartz and feldspar, can stain easily if the sealant cracks. It’s also a very hard stone, which can be good in that it’s durable, but it’s not forgiving if you drop a dish on it. It does resist scratches well, however, and granite countertops come in a wide variety of colors. (Soapstone countertops come in any color you want… as long as it’s a shade of green or dark gray.)

As for price comparisons, granite costs $60 to $150 per square foot installed. (You can save money by getting granite tiles, which are fairly easy to install yourself–12″ square tiles will run you between $4.25 and $18 a piece.) Soapstone countertops cost about $120 per square foot installed. No tiles here, and self-installation is tricky.

If you’re contemplating a kitchen remodel, you may want to give the following books a read:

Everything and the Kitchen Sink : Remodel Your Kitchen without Losing Your Mind
The New Smart Approach to Kitchen Design

We’ve mentioned corner sinks for kitchens before, but let’s face it: bathrooms are more likely to be tight, requiring creative ideas to free up more space. And that’s just what a corner sink can do. Small bathrooms never seem to have enough space to turn around and shut the door, much less take care of all your business without banging an elbow on something hard. By making use of a corner, you can add a smidgeon of extra floor space, and in those old washrooms, every little inch can count. (Another space-saving tip is to get rid of that old door and install a pocket door.) This corner sink is part of the 1930 series over at Duravit. They have quite a few elegant wash basins you can browse through, though they’re a little pricier than what you can get down at Home Depot. One of the cool things about remodeling a small bathroom, however, is that you can often afford to splurge a bit, making it a luxurious retreat (inasmuch as the space allows anyway).

http://www.duravit.us

Is your doorbell looking a little droopy? Maybe it’s got a crack… maybe it doesn’t light up at night any more… or maybe it’s just plain boring. Well, just as nice hardware can spruce up your front door, a nice frame can accentuate a doorbell, turning it into a stately welcome for visitors. (It can also draw attention and make the doorbell easier to locate, just in case you’re like us and the slightly overgrown shrubbery tends to overwhelm the front porch and the walls around it.) The Avalon Lighted Doorbell Button (which includes doorbell and a brushed nickel or oil-rubbed bronze frame) is one of several pieces of hardware designed specifically for doorbell buttons over at Atlas Homewares. The button and frame, which measure 2.5″ tall and 3″ wide, don’t come with any sort of electrical wiring as they are just intended to replace your current button. It can be hooked up to your existing 16 volt doorbell system. The price will run you $31.80.

http://www.atlashomewares.com

Now that summer is on the way, more people are thinking of backyard barbecues. If you’ve got a big family, or you like to entertain, maybe it’s time to look at a grill that can cook enough food for a small army. The Weber Ranch Kettle Grill is a big boy that can handle 12 racks of ribs at a time. That ought to be enough to sate even the most ravenous appetites. Of course, all this premium grilling space will cost you; the kettle grill is priced around $1,000. If you don’t need quite so much room, the company has numerous smaller offerings too.

http://www.weber.com