Luxury Housing Trends & Home Improvement Ideas

If you’re looking for privacy fence ideas for your outdoor living area, don’t feel you have to stick with the standard wood and vinyl segments for sale at all the home and garden stores. If you’re willing to spend a bit, you can have something custom done that’s a tad more creative (and, if you’ll only looking to screen your patio or deck area, the cost shouldn’t be that exorbitant).

This cute privacy fence was done by GardenStructure.com.

Not only does it provide privacy, but the slats between the wood still allow sunlight to get through.

There are all sorts of ways to create a privacy fence without completely blockading yourself, so browse around the web for ideas before deciding on anything. (Tip: search for “privacy fence” or “privacy screen” with Google and then click “images” at the top.)

If you’re thinking of installing double sinks in your master bathroom, then you’ll probably want to double up on mirrors and medicine cabinets too (either that, or be prepared to squabble over whose toothpaste is where). You can get two separate units, but you may find the overall look less cluttered if you opt for a single his-and-hers medicine cabinet system.

This dark-wood modular medicine cabinet from Decolav features two mirrors with storage shelves behind them as well as a middle unit with flip-down door cubbies for those items you want to share.

It measures 26 inches tall by 60 inches wide by 4 1/2 inches deep, and the cost is $583 from The Bathroom Depot.

In the market for a luxury bathtub that will give you some high tech pampering? If so, you’ll want to check out the Fountainhead VibrAcoustic™ tub from Kohler.

“An ideal combination of form and function, the Fountainhead VibrAcoustic™ bath introduces a revolution in bathing. Sound vibration, chromatherapy and music are choreographed in four pre-set compositions that guide you to profound relaxation. Drawing on the science of sound therapy, the Fountainhead VibrAcoustic bath helps to slow your breathing and heart rate, gently resounding throughout your body.”

If you can’t relax and unwind in this bathtub, then there’s no hope.

Kohler

A pot rack can be great in the kitchen, since it allows you to keep all your frequently used pots and pans close at hand instead of stacked (stuffed) in a cabinet. However, if you don’t have a lot of overhead space to spare, a hanging pot rack might not work for you (nice, heavy copper pans are fun until you crack your head one one!). And if you’re not planning a full kitchen remodel, a pull-out pot rack would be tricky to install.

Another option is a wall-mounted pot rack.

The solid copper one shown here was made by the Metal Peddler. It has a simple, straight design that doesn’t stick out far from the wall, so it’d be a good choice in a kitchen where saving space is important. It’s almost 3 feet long (33″), so you should still have plenty of room to load up your pots and pans–and maybe a few utensils.

$72 for a regular wall rack and $119 for a “heavy duty” version.

A space heater can be a great (and efficient) way to warm up a room that always feels cold even when the central house heat is turned on. Also you can use a space heater to just warm up one room when there’s no point to heating up the whole house. This can save you money on your energy bills.

There are different kinds of space heaters, and which one is best for you depends on which room you’re planning to use it in.

Basements and Family Rooms

According to this month’s This Old House magazine, the best space heater for a basement or family room is a baseboard model, such as the Q-Mark Electric Hydronic Baseboard Heater. These heaters are quiet, low-profile, and do well at heating large spaces.

Living Rooms and Bedrooms

For living rooms and bedrooms, you may want to consider an oil or electric radiator. These are shaped like old-fashioned built-in radiator units, and give off cozy warmth suitable for these rooms. Oil-fueled space heaters also radiate warmth even when they’re turned off, so they can help keep the temperature pleasant at night, even after you’ve powered them down.

An example of a radiator-style space heater is the DeLonghi EW7707CM Oil-filled Radiator with ComforTemp Technology.

Workshops and Home Offices

If you’re looking to warm up a room where you tend to sit in one area (such as at a computer desk), then you can get a fan-forced space heater. With these heaters, the air current can be adjusted so it just warms up the area where you’re sitting.

An example of a fan-forced space heater is the Optimus H-2200 Portable Fan-Forced Radiant Heater with Thermostat.

Workshops and Garages

What if you’re out in the garage working on your projects? You may want to consider a quartz/carbon heater (these are often called radiant heaters). These units use halogen bulbs, and they run on a lower wattage than other space heaters. They are designed to use electromagnetic energy to heat objects (i.e. people) instead of the air.

An example of this type of space heater is the Mr. Heater Portable Buddy 9,000 BTU Propane Radiant Heater.

As you can see, the best space heater varies depending on where it’s going to be placed, so pick the one that makes most sense for your needs.

Can you install a pet door in a sliding glass door? Without creating some tacky homemade workaround lodged next to the door? A tacky door that lets in cold air during the winter and isn’t all that secure?

If you’re willing to make it a permanent installation, yes you can get a sliding glass pet door that works well, is energy efficient, and doesn’t interfere with the family’s use of the door.

This model from A1 Sliding Doors can be integrated into your existing door. According to the company, “Sliding glass patio doors with built in pet doors make it easy to let your pet out and keep your house secure by utilizing your existing sliding door and lock.” It’s also supposed to be more energy efficient than non-integrated models.

While this company works out of California, you can likely find outfits in your neck of the woods that will come to your house and install a custom pet exit in your sliding glass door too.

If you’re a coffee fan, you probably have to have your morning cup (or two or three or four), but you may not be crazy about that space-hogging coffee maker sitting on your counter.

An alternative is a built-in coffee maker, such as the Brew Express from Water, Inc.

The company offers coffee makers that can be installed between the studs in your kitchen wall, and there are also models that can be mounted beneath a cabinet.

In addition to saving space on your countertops, these built in coffee makers also save you the time and effort of filling the pot yourself, and possibly spilling water (hey, we’re not the most alert first thing in the morning, are we?) because they are designed to hook into your existing water line. This way all you have to add is the coffee.

Water, Inc.

For that special path across your lawn or through your garden, you might want something more unique than brick or flagstone. If that’s the case, consider custom pavers.

There are quite a few small companies that will create custom pavers for you. Often hand-crafted, these pieces are far more unique than off-the-shelf options.

The leaf pavers shown here are integrated into a brick walkway and certainly stand out. They’re the work of RDG Objects, a company that specializes in “architecture merging with art.”

Check out their pavers page for more ideas.

Most shower heads pour water down on you from above, and that works pretty well, but if you’re ready for something a little different, check out the Jaclo Rainbar.

The “linear body jet” shoots the spray out from the side, so you can get an all-over bath–just like your car gets when it goes through the car wash. Actually this is a little fancier and (we hope!) more spa-like than the car wash.

The Rainbar rotates the top and bottom of the rod independently, and the jets are offset, which results in a spreading spray pattern that shoots the water out to keep you warm all over. The Rainbar can rotate 360 degrees and features 42 cross-spray pattern nozzles that you can mount to the wall, ceiling, or floor.

Jaclo

Winter is on its way, and for many of us, that means the time to deal with snow and ice on the roof. If you’re worried about ice dams forming on the roof and causing permanent damage to your home, then you might look into these Ice Melt Socks.

Unlike an Avalanche snow removal tool, which has you out there physically pulling down the snow and ice from the roof, an ice sock does its work around the clock. It can break existing ice dams or prevent new ones from forming.

You fill the empty “sock” with non-staining calcium chloride “Ice Melt” (you need to buy this separately) and place it adjacent to the typical gutter assembly on the edge of the roof. A portion of the ice melt dissolves when snow, ice, or water contacts the sock, which causes the solids to melt and flow away.

$20 from Amazon:

Ice Melt Sock