Luxury Housing Trends & Home Improvement Ideas

If you enjoy Asian landscaping accents, then you might consider adding a “deer chaser” to your garden.

These traditional contraptions make a soft clunk each time the water cycles through.

In theory, this noise is supposed to be a bit of a pest control device, scaring away any deer who are thinking of munching on your lettuce rows.  In reality, a fence is probably more practical, but these bamboo deer chasers can be attractive garden accents.

The device works by having water enter through a bamboo spout and pour into another hollow bamboo rod. When the hollow rod has filled with water, the weight of the water tips the section of bamboo downward, spilling it into a basin. Once empty, it returns to an upright position, striking a stone with a “clunk.”  A submersible pump cycles the water back up to the top so the process begins a new.

This model is from Bamboo Accents.

Bubblers and spitters are pretty typical for backyard ponds and water gardens, since they help aerate and circulate water to keep it clean (mucking the algae and other growing things out of a pond is no fun), but you can add these types of features to swimming pools too.

While we hope you have a thorough pool filtration system and these would be purely decorative, they can add a bit of whimsy to the backyard swimming hole.

They can also be nice if you’re going for the natural look, with a pool that includes waterfalls, fountains, stone grottos, and other “natural” features.  The ripples created on the water can make it feel like you’re lounging by a stream rather than a regular old swimming pool.

The bubblers here are part of a pool installation that was done by Aquatic Creations in North Carolina.  If you’re looking for swimming pool design ideas, they have a gallery full of pictures up on their site.

For information on outdoor fireplaces, you can visit a dedicated fireplace blog. For some pretty pictures to look at… well, you’ve come to the right place.

With spring here, a lot of us are starting to think of outdoor entertaining, or maybe just hanging out on the patio and enjoying ourselves on a pleasant evening. And there’s nothing cozier than hanging out with the crackling of a real outdoor fireplace (or fire pit, or chiminea, or whatever wood- or gas-burning construct floats your boat) filling the night.

Installation costs can range from $1,000 or less for a prefabricated unit that you just press up against the wall to $10,000 and up for a custom-built outdoor fireplace. Assuming you’ve got the money to spend, what design interests you? What material will you use to build the fireplace? Stone, brick, tile? Something else? Let’s take a peek at some materials and designs below to give you ideas.

Outdoor Fireplace Designs

Brick is a timeless material, but this outdoor fireplace certainly has modern flair with its four-sided, arched openings. It was installed by Anderson Masonry & Restoration in Summerset, Washington.

This colorful mosaic tile fireplace is certainly eye-catching. I found it on Robin Indar Mosaics, along with a snazzy mosaic outdoor bench, swimming pool, and fountain.

Stone is another fireplace classic, and it definitely lends a feeling of permanence to the structure. This outdoor fireplace features a substantial cypress mantle to match the heftiness of the stone. From Nelson Stoneworks.

Concrete is a fun material because it can be shaped into just about any design you can imagine. This simple outdoor fireplace works perfectly amongst the clean lines of this desert backyard. By Arizona-based Repp Design + Construction, Inc.

This is another concrete fireplace with a different look. The incorporated bench offers a perfect seating area where you can admire the flames while gnoshing on the hot dog you cooked over the coals. Based on architectural drawings, the outdoor fireplace was built on site by Tom Ralston Concrete in Santa Cruz.

I guess the cats my family had when I was growing up were pretty deprived: all they had to play on was a plywood cat tree covered with carpet remnants. Felines today can be pampered by a custom cedar cat playground.

These fancy feline constructs are “a durable & fun long term solution to your cats perching, active lifestyle and natural tendency to climb and explore.”

Some of the possible features you can get include:

• hammock beds (that come off for machine washing and drying)
• crows nests
• ladder bridges with sisal-covered scratch rungs
• hanging toys
• replaceable scratch pads
• pillows (of course!)

For more information, visit Wood Ruff for Pets.

There are a lot of meals you can prepare on your backyard barbecue grill, but if you’re like most folks, “stir fry” probably doesn’t come to mind. But that’s just because you haven’t seen a grill wok before.

The Outset copper nonstick grill wok is designed to let you add a new dimension to your BBQ meals this summer.

Designed to withstand extreme temperatures from heat and flame, the grill wok should be an easy tool to use. It has built-in handles to make transport a cinch, and the nonstick coating means it should clean up easily (the whole point of lighting up the grill is that there shouldn’t be a pile of dishes to wash afterward, right?).

I’m actually a huge stir fan myself, but I never seem to be able to get that Mongolian Grill tastiness when I use my wok on the stove (I don’t think the temperature gets as hot). I’m definitely planning to order one of these grill woks this summer, to see how my stir fry tastes when done right over the flames.

$25 at Amazon:

Outset copper nonstick grill wok

As we’ve mentioned before, houseplants can clean up our air, which is a good enough reason to keep some inside even if you’re not big on decorating with nature.

It’s not uncommon to put a potted plant on top of a table, but if you really like adding a bit of the green and air-purifying to your living room, you might consider a table that has the pot integrated right into the design.

I’m not quite sure how the drainage is handled in this set-up (maybe that’s a faux tree in the picture), but it does look like a fun way to add a bit of plant life to the home. After all, who wants terra cotta pots sprinkled throughout their living room?

Designed by Adrien Gardère. More information (for those who read Fench) at Edition Compagnie.

If you’ve got a golf fan in the family who also enjoys cooking outdoors on the grill, then here’s a fun gift idea:

The Golfers BBQ Set.

“These weekend favorites are combined in this three-piece stainless steel BBQ set with soft insulated handles that look just like golf grips. The tongs, spatula, and fork are perfect for the guy who loves the links, sausage or otherwise.”

Made from rubber and stainless steel, the BBQ tools do need to be hand-washed, so make sure your golfer isn’t a dishwasher-only kind of guy (or gal).

They cost $25 at Uncommon Goods.

When it comes to driveways, simple pavers can offer a lot of potential for creativity. Unlike with gravel or asphalt, you can create patterns, borders, or even build a “signature driveway” with different colors and features such as the monogram shown here.

It’s worth putting a little thought into the driveway when it takes up a lot of land in front of your house. And it’s always fun if you can incorporate some of your personality into your house, especially if it’s your forever home (it probably goes without saying that you may not want to monogram your driveway if you’re planning to move in a few years… the next owners might not share your initials!).

The driveway shown here was made from two styles of Brussels Block field and border pavers from Unilock.

“The appeal of this paver is its timeless warmth and beauty. With its antiqued, tumbled finish, it’s a one-of-a-kind paver that reflects the design hues of age-worn cobblestone. Each piece has irregular edges, complementing the timeworn character of the paver surface. The result is a finished design that will feel both classic and relaxed.”

A hand blender is a pretty useful tool for the kitchen. The one-handed mixing gadgets make it easy to puree soups, whip together cake or pancake batters, and blend all sorts of beverages both healthy and alcoholic.

One of the more popular models available online is the Cuisinart CSB-76 Smart Stick Hand Blender.

“The unit’s unique blade provides extremely smooth and even blending, while its protective blade guard helps prevent splattering. The blender offers one-handed operation with its lightweight design, easy-to-grip ergonomic handle, and simple push-button controls. In addition, its long shape reaches into pots, pitchers, and bowls to extend blending options, eliminating the need to dirty extra dishes.”

The 200-watt Cuisinart hand blender is dishwasher safe and is available in white or brushed chrome from Amazon:

Cuisinart Hand Blender

Decks are made from wood or composites made to look like wood, and that’s it. Or is it?

What if you like the look of stone pavers? Just because your deck is elevated doesn’t mean you can’t have them.

While you might think of stone as being too heavy for a deck, you can find lighter alternatives that look like stone. For example, take a peak at DekStone.

It is a precast concrete, non-combustible decking product “which greatly reduces the toil and drudgery of maintaining a wood deck. Further, unlike composite decking, made of petroleum by-products and wood chips, Dekstone provides a long-lasting, durable surface that is aesthetically pleasing.”

These concrete deck stone pavers are available in nineteen standard colors and a variety of finishes designed to mimic the look of stone and offer an attractive non-wood deck material. These finishes include sandblasted, exposed aggregate and stone textured.