Luxury Housing Trends & Home Improvement Ideas

Feeling guilty about leaving your dog home alone all day while you’re at work? Well now you can call Fido on your lunch break, or any other time you wish.

The PetsCell, is a cell phone designed specifically for pets. It attaches right to your dog’s collar and has a two-way speaker function, so not only can he hear you but you can hear him (I imagine you can hear him running around and trying to figure out where the heck your voice is coming from…).

To use the PetsCell, you dial your dog’s number, and the device automatically answers. Yup, a completely paws-free phone.

The doggy cell phone will only accept calls from programmed numbers, so no worrying about telemarketers trying to talk Fido into giving out your credit card number when you’re not home.

In addition to allowing you to phone your pet, the cell has a “geo-fence” feature, so the device can alert you if your dog escapes from his backyard. Then you can call him up and tell him to get his furry rear end back home…

Alas, this luxury pet novelty doesn’t come cheaply. The PetsCell costs $499, and of course you’ll have to pay an activation charge plus the monthly phone bill.

http://www.petsmobility.com/

We all like a little luxury in our lives. It’s okay to pamper yourself, even if you don’t have the biggest paycheck on the block, but there’s no reason to pay outrageous prices and rack up credit card debt, especially not when there are ways to get luxury items more cheaply.

Here’s a list of 5 reasons you’re paying too much for luxury items:

1. You’re not shopping at outlet malls. Yeah, yeah, they’re always out of the way, but save up your shopping until you can do a bunch at once and make a day trip out of a run to the outlet mall. You can find luxury items, everything from tableware to purses, at 40-70% off retail prices. Also, since true outlets get their merchandise directly from the manufacturers that supply the goods, outlet stores often have a better inventory in that brand than retail stores.

2. You’re not doing your research before you go shopping. Did you know that retail jewelers mark up their goods as much as 150%? If you can tell a jeweler exactly what you’re looking for (i.e. cut, carat, rating), the jeweler will know you’re a serious customer who has done some research (and knows what’s a good deal) and will probably buy as soon as he can show you the right ring. Many jewelers are willing to cut their profits way down for an easy sale on their part.
3. You’re putting your luxury purchases on high interest credit cards! Think those snazzy new stainless steel kitchen appliances were expensive to start with? By the time you’re done paying them off, you might have paid two or three times the sticker price, all in interest. It’s better to save up to purchase luxury items, but if you must finance, make sure the interest rate is low (watch out for 6 or 12 month no-interest gigs, because you’ll still be charged handsomely if you don’t pay the item off before the no-interest period runs out).
4. You’re buying in the wrong season. You may think about buying a fur coat in the winter, but the best time to buy furs is when nobody is thinking about them. Think summer. The slowest time of year for furriers is late July through August, and you can get luxury goods for half the regular price (up to 70% off if you buy last year’s items). This isn’t just for furs but for virtually all items that have seasonal use. Always buy off-season for the best deals.
5. You’re not hitting the pawn shops. While pawn shops once had a reputation for fencing stolen goods, heavy regulation has stepped in, and most of today’s dealers won’t handle merchandise they suspect might be stolen. You can find everything from diamonds to antiques to valuable collectibles at great discounts in pawn shops.

Source: Cut Your Spending in Half: Without Settling for Less : How to Pay the Lowest Price for Everything

If you’re a wine enthusiast, you may already have a dedicated wine refrigerator–or perhaps you’re thinking of putting one in during your next kitchen remodeling project. Under counter models are quite popular, but if you don’t want to bend over to select your vintage, perhaps a wine unit shaped more like a refrigerator is in order.

The Siemens 18″ AvantGarde wine tower is tall and slender instead of short and squat. It won’t fit under a countertop, but you won’t have to get down on your knees to find a bottle either.

You can get the wine tower in stainless steel or with a custom panel. Features include dual climate controls (so you can create separate zones for your whites and your reds, which of course have different temperature requirements), internal halogen lighting, storage for 70 bottles, and a door alarm that won’t let you leave the door ajar, which could cause temperature fluctuations (and waste energy).

http://www.siemens-home.com

You know what takes up a lot of countertop space in the kitchen? The cooktop. Alas cooktops are kind of a requirement even if you’re not a chef. The time will come when you want to boil some water.

If you’re in a small condo or a house with a tiny kitchen, you may resent giving up that space (especially if your kitchen countertops are usually used for holding take-out containers). That’s why this snazzy induction cooktop from Alno looks like a great idea.

The Alno Liberty Island can easily attach to just about any table (dining room, kitchen, bedside table… it’ll stick to whatever you’ve got), and you can fold it down when you’re not using it. Fully extended, the induction cooktop is pretty compact, too, with a 31 1/2″ x 15 3/4″ cooking area. That still gives you plenty of room to cook with its four-zone electric cooktop. There’s a glass partition that comes up, too, to work as a backsplash and keep grease from splattering all over your table.

http://www.alno.com/

Ok, ok, purple isn’t for everybody, but almost everybody can enjoy adding vibrant colors to their kitchen. While it’s true that sedate colors work better when you’re worrying about selling your house, if you’re planning to live in your home for years to come, you should have colors that please you. Maybe, just maybe, you like big bold tones. There’s no reason to be scared of them.

Colors can cheer you up and even boost your energy. Since the kitchen is such a popular room in the house, it’s a great place to experiment.

This purple backsplash is part of a colorful kitchen done by FCI in the UK.

FCI

With most kitchen cabinets, you grab the knob or pull and swing the door outward. Pretty standard stuff. That’s just the way things are done, right? Ah, but for those who like to buck the trends, there are other options out there…

These snazzy kitchen cabinets from Valcucine have doors that open “like the flight of a glider.”

“The door of the Ala wall unit is suspended by a mechanism which, being free of hinges, springs or pistons, makes harmonic movement possible, wrapped in silence like the flight of a glider. The door opens with a light upward touch, creating an underlying space that is ergonomic and functional.”

Aside from the nifty design, you won’t have to worry about anybody banging an arm or a head against an open door with these cabinets.

More information at Valcucine.

So, you want some really fancy lighting to wow your guests. Well, here you go.

Fiber optic chandeliers aren’t going to be for everyone, but if you’ve got a party room or a bachelor pad to pimp out, something like this hanging from the ceiling is sure to make a statement.

Created by Luster Lighting, the fiber optic chandelier packages consist of one high efficiency and quiet 150W metal halide illuminator, pre-installed SparkleLight side light fiber cables on a recessed metal base, length adjustable couplers, and crystal fixtures to attach at end of fiber cables. The chandelier’s color-changing ability gives you a uniform neon-like illumination and cool sparkle effect.

As I said, it might not be for the average living room, but if you’re looking for lighting for the party pad, these fiber optic ceiling lights are sure to impress.

Luster Lighting

I must confess that even before I found out I was lactose intolerant, I didn’t have much need for a cheese knife or a special cheese cutting board. But if you entertain a lot, and you enjoy serving wine (now, there’s something I can still enjoy), cheese is a natural party munchy to go with it. You can impress your guests (or at least start some conversations) with this fun cheese knife and cat cutting board.

The board is made from white marble, the cat is oxidized bronze, and the mice holding up the board are silver-plated. The knife itself is stainless steel and gold plated. If you’ve been dreaming of having a luxury cheese knife and matching board your whole life (who hasn’t?), this may be the one!

$151 at Amazon:

Cat & Mouse Cheese Board & Mouse Knife

If you’re planning to remodel your kitchen, you’re probably already drooling over all the options out there for countertops, cabinets, and appliances, but don’t forget the kitchen sink. There are lots of cool new options out there that go beyond the simple double-basin sink so many of us pick by default. For example, check out the Franke Beach Prep Sink.

“The sculptural stainless steel undermount is perfectly fitting with accessories that can travel from sink to serving area. A stainless steel measuring bowl and colander fit snuggly into its lock-in bowl.” How neat is that?

This sink could be used in your kitchen, but it’d also be perfect for a bar area. It also features two drains (one for the disposal), and a cutting board and drain grid that fit perfectly over the main sink.

http://www.frankeksd.com/

If you’re looking for an interesting sink for your bathroom, check out the Mystic Puddle from Elkay. It’s not quite as long as the original 48″ long Mystic bar sink we looked at a couple years ago (that sink certainly would make a conversation piece), but it has an interesting curved shape that makes it a nice focal point in the bathroom.

This new sink, which is perfect for the bathroom, has a “contemporary shape focused on simplicity and softened geometry, which is a perfect solution for today’s popular art deco, art neuveau and ’60s revival home themes. The gently curving undermount Mystic sink designs offer a dynamic look and make a distinctive statement in any home.”

More at Elkay