Luxury Housing Trends & Home Improvement Ideas

Most people don’t spend a lot of time thinking about their doorbells. As long as they work, that’s good enough. But if you like the idea of adding a little whimsy to your entryway, and letting visitors know right away that you have a sense of humor, you could look into an animal or painted lizard doorbell cover.

The “Company’s Coming” outfit offers brightly painted geckos, cats, turtles, birds, and even pink flamingos. Most of the doorbells fall into the $10 to $20 range — a small price to pay to entertain, or at least bemuse, folks who step up to your door.

Here’s a link to the gecko (you can surf to lots of the other animal options from there):

Company’s Coming Gecko Painted Doorbell Cover

We’ve seen a lot of furniture and household items made from reclaimed wine barrels. For example…

• Hardwood flooring from old wine barrels
• Kitchen island made from old barrel staves
• Wall-mounted mini bar

Now, you can even lounge on reclaimed staves in the backyard. This hammock actually looks fairly comfortable, with the wood curving around your body.

“One of the best barrel reinventions we’ve seen, this comfortable hammock utilizes the natural curve of the staves to cradle your body. The pieces are smoothed and sanded for blissful afternoon napping, and lacquer-sealed for outdoor protection. One whole California wine barrel supplies approximately 22 staves, which are spaced and joined with thick manila rope.”

Pick the hammock up for $500 from NapaStyle.

Paint isn’t the only way to add interest to your walls. Three-dimensional panels can perk up a bland area and insert a little texture too.

“Inhabit’s Embossed Wall Flats are designed to expand in any direction. With an automatic pattern repeat, these wall tiles are simple, modern, versatile and goof-proof. You can cover an existing wall, help disguise a not-so-smooth wall or add a modern pattern to any room setting.

They are good for the environment too, because they are made from bamboo pulp, one of the world’s most renewable resources. No trees were harmed in the making of this product.

Customize them by rotating every other tile or row, mix-and-match patterns or paint them to coordinate with your decor. The rule is there are no rules and the important thing is to have fun with it. It’s low stress, low commitment and a big payoff in the way these tiles will impact a space.”

Several panel designs are available through Velocity Art and Design.

Not every yard comes in a flat, grass-blanketed rectangle that’s easy to work with. Sometimes, to accommodate views, houses are perched on hillsides that can make outdoor space difficult to use.

One way to address narrow, steep, or awkward spaces is to created tiered decks or patios that give you flat entertaining areas. Depending on the slope, the individual decks may not be that large, and you may need quite a few stairs to navigate between them, but you’ll probably end up with much more functional space.

You can add interest to the area, too, by incorporating raised planters for trees or shrubs or perhaps an outdoor water feature to act as a pleasing focal point.

The partial design below is the work of Huettl Landscape. Here’s the blurb that describes the yard they had to deal with:

“An existing backyard deck overlooked a riparian area but had a steep set of stairs to the ground. A series of levels was created including a slate terrace wrapped by a water feature, easing the transition to the ground. In the front yard a curving raised planter of cor-ten steel ends with a simple water feature, while paths of concrete pavers lead to an expanded sale porch.”

Visit their site to see larger pictures and get more landscaping ideas.

Tired of all that flimsy, wobbly furniture from the big box stores? You know, the kind you have to assemble yourself… Well, there’s nothing like sturdy hand-made pieces to stand the test of time.

This coffee table will do just that. Offered on Etsy by Thai Slab Furniture, the one-of-a-kind piece is made from exotic mango wood. The use of cross-sections of the trunk rather than boards gives it a unique look.

You can have the piece custom made as a coffee table or dining table with parameters to fit your home. The version seen below costs $1,600.

Browse the seller’s store for other slab-wood furnishings.

If you love entertaining (and that entertaining involves imbibing beer), but you feel it’s a little too frat-boy to roll an entire keg out to your back porch, perhaps a smaller and more compact beer-dispensing solution is in order.

Avanti’s “Portable Party Pub” CB350S is ready to help you out.

It chills and serves beer from its two 5-liter kegs. A see-through window with interior LED light displays the beverage that’s being dispensed, and a handy shelf gives you a place to store (and chill) your favorite mugs. A digital temperature control and display takes the guesswork out of achieving just the right level of drink coolness.

Perhaps the best feature of the party pub is its compact size and sleek stainless steel design. Your significant other shouldn’t object to having this baby on the counter (whereas a huge keg may be another story!).

Grab it for $250 at the Beverage Factory.

A vessel sink can make a stunning focal point in the bathroom, and we’ve looked at some snazzy ones in the past. For example…

• The Art Glass Vessel Sink
• The “Blue Fern Buds” Sink
• The Hand-Painted Flower Sink
• The Gingko Leaf Sink

Today, we’re looking at the Blue Galaxy glass vessel sink with matching waterfall faucet.

The hand-painted sink is designed to sit on top of your vanity or counter top where it’s sure to stand out and impress guests. The “Blue Galaxy” features brushed nickel fixtures and comes with all the hardware needed for installation.

$250 via Modern Danish.