Luxury Housing Trends & Home Improvement Ideas

Even if you have an elegant sitting room with hand painted vases, rich wood tones and a large fireplace, it doesn’t mean that you can’t make updated technology work in the space too. Plus, it’s not like those puffy couches were meant for just sipping tea and reading.

Incorporating modern technology into a formal sitting room is possible if the equipment can be stowed away when it’s not in use. For example, a pull-down viewing screen can be installed above the fireplace, so you can pull it down when you want to watch a sporting event or movie. When the screen is put away, a traditional piece of artwork can fill the space and complete the look of the room.

Additional electronic equipment such as a DVD player, speakers, etc. can be stored in traditional glass-faced cabinets with interior lighting. This will create some contrast.

These are just some ways that you can have a balance of modernism and traditional style in one room.

Painting, sculpting, ceramics, piano, flute, guitar…whichever type of art you’re into, you should have a special place in your home for it. Even if you have to make ceramics out of your garage or play the drums in your attic, it’s comforting to know that your home welcomes these talents.

If you’re remodeling the attic so a drafting table and easel fits, a few skylights on the northern portion of the ceiling will provide ideal lighting. Also, make sure that there is enough room to be comfortable (at least 70 square feet of floor space).

The swanky piano room below has included a variety of textural elements, which can inspire your creativity. For example, there is a faux fur rug under the piano, patterned upholstered chairs and ornate wood detailing on the table.

Regardless of which room in your home you have available to convert into an art studio or music room, it’s important to have pieces of visual interest as well as a window into the outside world.

Adding little touches to the guest room can make your friends and family members feel more at home when they come to visit. If you have never tried out your guest room, this is the first step you should take.

Sleeping one or two nights in the guest room can give you ideas of where improvements can be made. For example, a mini kitchen with a small coffee maker, microwave and refrigerator stocked with beverages and snacks can ensure your guests have everything they need. It can be difficult to fall asleep when you’re away from home, but familiar items such as tea and cookies can help you settle in.

Other considerate touches include a private telephone, local phone book, full-length mirror, quality hangers in the closet, disposable cameras, the daily newspaper and books.

Details like this can make longer stays more enjoyable and relaxed, so your guests don’t feel like they need to rush back home.

When you’re flat screen television is off, it doesn’t do much for the wall. But what if you could turn your TV into a virtual aquarium or art gallery for everyone to enjoy?

Plasma Window has created a useful and easy to use accessory for your television. All you have to do is insert the DVD and watch fish living in an underwater coral reef come to life. Or you can make your TV look like a painting by putting up your favorite work of Van Gogh or Monet. The revolving artwork on your screen can be your own virtual art gallery.

There are many backgrounds to choose from. Some are calming and relaxing while others are more entertaining. For example, Plasmavironments features a couple different fireplaces, ocean scenes and waterfalls. If you have an event coming up, the TVLightbox can provide a light show to compliment your party. These DVDs are like screen savers for your plasma television, and they can set the right mood in your home.

If you want a pool table that says cutting edge (or “This would fit right into the set of a science fiction movie”), then here’s a snazzy piece for you to check out.

The Vibe pool table from Billiards by Design certainly has a modern feel to it.

Available in numerous finishes, the sleek table is sure to make your pool-playing friends stop and gawk before running an admiring hand over the felt.

The picture below shows the table in stainless steel and a black satin lacquer. For those who prefer the look of good old wood, the Vibe is available in several exotic wooden veneers as well (i.e. zebrawood, rosewood, and myrtle burl). Oh, and don’t forget to order the optional under-table lighting.

The Vibe is just one of several luxury pool tables from the company, so if you’re shopping for a new one, browse their site.

If you want to save money on your energy bill, turning off the television is probably your best bet, but what are the odds that we’re actually going to do that? So, here’s an alternative: an “Eco TV.”

This Philips Energy Star-rated flat screen television offers power-saving features such as auto-dimming, and even in regular mode, the 42″ model shown here is supposed to use less than half the energy of a standard LCD TV (67 watts). In stand-by mode, it uses only .15 watts.

The Eco TV is also lead-free, making it more environmentally friendly than the original layers of paint on my walls, hmm.

The 42″ model costs about $1,300 online:

Philips 42″ LCD Eco-friendly HDTV

Hot tubs already have a reputation of being therapeutic with all that warm water and those muscle-massaging jets, but now you can take it a step farther. Most of the hot tubs from Master Spas have the option of coming with a “bio-magnetic therapy system.”

What is bio-magnetic therapy? Good question, and here’s the answer:

“Used for centuries to help relieve pain, improve circulation, reduce swelling and alleviate stiffness, magnetic therapy is seeing its rebirth in modern medicine. Today, more and more doctors and physical therapists are using magnetic therapy for the treatment of back problems, arthritis and sports injuries. And, nearly 70% of all professional athletes regularly use magnetic therapy for pain relief and performance enhancement.”

Master Spas incorporates this technology into the seats of their tubs. Their system works the pressure points on the neck and back with the “strategic placement of powerful magnets.”

So if you feel your current hot tub isn’t therapeutic enough, here’s something new you can try when it’s time to upgrade.

Master Spas

I’ve actually never been to a tailgating party, but I have used a little portable camp grill, and I have to say I definitely prefer the big ones that can do it all. Grilling, smoking, rotisserie cooking, eyebrow singeing, you name it. If you, too, think bigger is better (and you have more tailgating cookouts than I do), you’ll want to peep the Hitch Pro Smoker/Grill Combo.

“This unit features medium gauge steel construction, 20 in. x 28 in.cooking surface, full length fire box pullout tray, removable grill grates, adjustable dampers, large thermometer on front, removable grill grease drip cup, chrome stacks on top, 2 side shelves, 2 position adjustable hitch arm mount to fit standard receivers. Also available with optional single spit rotisserie unit.”

Yes, we’re talking serious grilling power right from the back of your truck.

A mere $1750 from Southern Yankee Bar-B-Q

I’ll be the first to admit that hot tubs are absolutely wonderful, but they do suck up a lot of electricity both to power the jets and to keep the temperature warm. If you’re trying to conserve energy–or you’ve got a home or vacation home that’s off the grid–you might want a way to get the spa experience without a big energy requirement.

Meet the ultra portable Dutchtub.

This hot tub is powered by a wood fire, so it doesn’t need to be plugged in at all, and it’s small enough that you can heat it adequately that way. It’s small size also means it really is portable (most “portable” hot tubs I’ve seen can be driven to your home on the back of a giant commercial truck and end up staying with the house when the homeowners move).

Peep the company’s website for a number of fun pictures of these tubs on the move (in the backs of pickups, on rafts being rowed across lakes, and on tops of little cars with roof racks). This is probably the only hot tub you could take camping with you (now, that’s my idea of “roughing it”).

http://www.dutchtub.com/

Summer is here, and if you’ve got a swimming pool and you’ve got kids, you’re going to need pool toys. Water by itself is somewhat interesting, but water with an underwater pogo stick, now that’s fun times.

Yes, they really do make underwater pogo sticks.

“This is the only pogo stick designed for use in swimming pools that allows you to perform a variety of waterborne stunts as you bounce off walls or bottoms. A rigid ball filled with water fits into the non-slip footrest, providing responsive push-off when compressed against a pools floor with your body weight, enabling you to splash effortlessly in shallower water and bound powerfully through deeper water.”

I wonder if you can burn calories with all that jumping around in the pool? Maybe we’ll start seeing these in water aerobics classes? In the meantime, you can be the first on your block to have one…

A mere $60 from Hammacher Schlemmer:

Underwater Pogo Stick