Luxury Housing Trends & Home Improvement Ideas

I’ve chanced across a few homes with green roofs (also known as eco-roofs or sky gardens), and they all had grass growing on them. Now grass is all well and good–it allows you to fight your city’s “urban heat island” while offering other eco-friendly advantages–but you can go beyond grass too.

For instance, this green roof features a flower carpet.

That’s one of several eco-friendly roof options available from the folks at Roofmeadow. Some of the other Roofmeadow types are aromatic gardens, savannas, meadows, and heath.

So, if you’ve been thinking of planting up your roof with grass, don’t feel you have to stop there. A patch of heath or wildflowers could be fun too.

Want to add a little whimsy to your home office? Or just get a child-safe stapler that the kids can reload without dropping sticks of staples all over the floor?

This staple free stapler doesn’t need to be reloaded at all, since the “staples” are made with paper. “The Staple Free Stapler cuts out tiny strips of paper and uses the strips to stitch up to 5 pieces of paper together.” This makes the device eco-friendly and completely safe for children (and us adults with fumble fingers!).

You can get the cute cat-shaped stapler shown here, and there’s also an equally cute dog version. Under $10:

Child-safe Staple-free Stapler

If you’re looking for a cool bathroom sink, it’s hard to beat glass for a sleek and modern look. And Art Ceram’s Crystal Wall Bathroom Sink goes a step farther, with a “space age feel.”

My favorite feature is that there is no visible drain (you know, the spot where grime, toothpaste, and hard water deposits really like to build up). Instead, this sink “drains water away without the hassle and unsightliness of a drain and plug.”

Of course, you’ll pay for that snazzy space age design. The glass sink runs $1,424 at Finest Fixtures.

I used to make milk shakes with my dad as a kid (it was one of the three dishes he could “cook”). We just used the regular old blender, but I bet he would get a kick out of this nostalgic milk shake blender, which is modeled after the units they used at the ice cream shops back in the day.

The dedicated milk shake blender includes two speeds, a 16-ounce stainless steel cup, and an automatic on/off activation that is triggered when you put the cup in place.

If you just make the occasional milk shake, your regular blender is probably enough, but if you enjoy shaking things up on a regular basis, this could be a fun kitchen gadget.

$30 at Northern Tool:

Nostalgic Electrics Milk Shake Blender

It’s traditional for wallpapers to look and feel like… paper. Oh, sure, some have a bit of texture here and there, but you don’t usually see chips of rock on them.

Well, these wall coverings are different.

Cavalier Prints offers a variety of “mica chip” wallpapers. Their “stone” wall coverings are also supposed to be natural and eco-friendly.

These wall coverings are sure to create a unique and distinct look for any room in your home.

Cavalier

You’ve probably noticed that urban (and even some suburban) lots aren’t that big these days. “Postage stamp” yard is the cute way to say it, but mostly they just mean small!

Even if you’ve got a small yard, however, you will probably have lawn and garden tools that you don’t want to cram into the garage (if you live in an older home, it might not even have a garage). The answer may be a compact “space saver” shed.

This 8′ x 4′ model from Smith & Hawken has enough room to store the mower and some patio furniture with a bit of space left over for home and garden tools.

The western cedar siding is attractive, and oils in the wood act as natural preservatives that resist decay and rot, sun, rain and moisture.

$2,000 (and you’ll need a couple people to help put it together)

A lot of sconces and chandeliers come with white plastic tubes that simulate candles (but aren’t fooling anyone). If you find these a tad drab, you could invest in some decorative candle sleeves.

Designed to cover those tubes, they are available in a variety of colors and designs. Get one set you really like, or several sets so you can change the looks of your sconces and chandeliers with the seasons.

KaarsKoker has a large line (68 patterns) of candle sleeves, and you can find everything from forest-inspired to floral to skulls and crossbones (presumably for Halloween decoration… or possibly just for pirate lovers).

http://www.kaarskoker.com

When it comes to holiday decorating, are you a traditionalist or do you dare to be different? Is a green Christmas tree mandatory, or are you ready for some color variety?

If you fall into the “dare to be different” crowd, then you might dig this pre-lit crimson Christmas tree.

“This 7 1/2′ prelit crimson tree comes with 850 miniature red lights and 300 deep red reflector lights that cast a glow onto its 1,982 PVC tips, creating a scarlet luminescence without need for other decorations. The lights are attached to a red electrical cord that disappears amidst the tree’s lush foliage which reaches nearly to the floor.”

Those lights are supposed to last 3,000 hours, too, so you can use this tree year in and year out. Let’s just hope you don’t get sick of red a few winters down the line!

$500 at Hammacher Shclemmer:

The 7 1/2 Foot Prelit Crimson Tree

I remember going to the Oregon Coast and hunting agates on Agate Beach as a kid. I didn’t find any big enough to be made into cheese plates (man, do I feel ripped off), just keychains.

Anyway, if you dig the exotic look of agates and have always wanted dedicated cheese plates, then here is an option for you:

Each cut gemstone disc has a unique pattern, and sizes range from 6 inches (small) to 8 inches (large) with the plates standing 1 inch tall. Each one has a polished top and should be hand washed.

$60-$75 at Jayson Home & Garden

If you love wine making (and have way too much disposable income at hand), then you’ll need to pick yourself up a WinePod.

“The WinePod Complete Personal Winery system includes all of the accessories, consumables (including grapes*), bottling kit, and oak barrel that you will need to make up to four cases of award winning wines.”

Worried because you have no experience making wine? Don’t worry–this fancy, high-tech gadget includes WineCoach software to act as your “consulting enologist.”

Sure, you could get a kit to make a batch of wine on your own for about $200, but would it come with a system that “manages fermentation temperature, measures Brix (grape sugar levels), and presses the must?” In addition, the WinePod data is “communicated wirelessly to your PC and the WineCoach software reports and interprets the data on a graphic dashboard display. You are prompted when to make additions, punch down, smell and taste your wine, and record your impressions.”

Okay, I have to admit… I am a wine geek and this would be really fun to try out. At $6,000+ it’s just a tad out of my price range, but if anyone in the Seattle area has one, uhm, can I come over and play?

WinePod