Luxury Housing Trends & Home Improvement Ideas

If you’ve been grilling steaks and burgers all summer, your family may be ready for a change. Shish Kabobs are fun because everyone can choose what goes on their own stick (you can always tell the kids’ kabobs because of the rows of pineapple and meat with a dearth of veggies). Shish kabobs can be a pain to grill though. It’s hard to turn those sticks with the flames licking at your fingers. This stainless steel kabob rack from Outset aims to make things easier. It can handle 6 skewers at a time (included) and the non-stick metal is easy to clean.

Stainless Steel Kabob Rack

Designers have been combining waterfalls and fireplaces for a few years now (i.e. Max Blank’s combination wood-burning stove and waterfall), but Automated Fire and Water Effects, Inc. is exploring the possibilities of putting a fire pit in water. The company primarily does commercial work, but there are a few pictures of residential fire pits in their gallery. Some of the other things they do with fire are: firewalls, super-sized tiki torches, fire towers, fire urns, and various water features.

Home cocktail bars are popular additions amongst homeowners who like to entertain. Sometimes you’re lucky, and your house comes with one built in, but even if it didn’t, that doesn’t mean you can’t add one with a minimum of effort. The Prestige P-301 Bar from Cal Spas is available in maple or oak and has a U-shape and detailed baseboards. It comes with a wine rack (10 bottles), cutting board, and stainless steel dry sink. The bar has an optional canopy and canopy lights, flip-down TV with DVD player, and a brass foot-rail.

http://www.calspas.com/bars/index.htm

“Portable hot tub” usually just means the hot tub sits above ground instead of in the ground and it’s possible to move it if you leave the house (and can lift the 500 pound beast onto a flatbed truck…). The SplashTub from Splash SuperPools is actually designed to be movable. The tub weighs 90 pounds and can be flipped on its side and fit through doors. It works indoors or out. It plugs into a regular 110v outlet, and according to the manufacturer, the cost of running it averages $9-$15 a month. The SplashTub is available in several colors including forest moss, autumn mist, granite, onyx, and wine. The portable tub runs roughly $3,000-$4,000 depending on the model you purchase.

http://www.splashpools.com/

It seems like those ubiquitous portable spas with the faux wood paneling are all over the place now, and there’s nothing wrong with them, but for those who prefer inground hot tubs, check out Bradford Products, LLC. They combine stainless steel with tiles to create a number of different colors and patterns for their tubs. According to the company, they use stainless steel because it’s “already one of the most durable materials used in architecture and construction today and is widely referred to as a ‘green’ product. This means it is safe for the environment and 100% recyclable.” Bradford has ready-made hot tubs, but they can also customize size, shape, tiles, etc.

http://www.bradfordproducts.com/

The Sony 12.1″ Location Free TV LF-X1 is a compact, completely wireless, LCD unit that lets you watch television or video (or anything connected to the base station up to 50 feet away) from the back deck, beside the pool, or anywhere else you wouldn’t normally find a TV. You can also use the wireless unit to check email and surf the Web. No external keyboard is needed; the touch panel and on-screen universal remote and keyboard give you a buttonless interface. The built-in audio/video inputs, a Memory Stick slot, and stereo speakers make it nice for road trips, too. MSRP is $1,500.

Sony LF-X1 LocationFree 12.1″ LCD TV

Home bars are popular choices in households that enjoy entertaining, but installing a bar with all the necessary woodwork and plumbing can be quite a home improvement project. The Vintage Bartending Center makes things simple since it’s a fully contained unit that can be used indoors and out. Vintage’s largest home bar is a 42-inch unit with an integrated all-weather refrigerator, built-in sink, and removable cutting board. An insulated ice center keeps ice cold, and the unit’s insulated bottle wells hold previously chilled drinks. The price is around $2,500 give or take a hundred or take depending on the model.

http://www.vintage-grills.com/

The $14,000 Manhattan pool table from Brunswick Billards was featured last night on HGTV‘s I Want That. Brunswick’s “Contemporary” line of pool tables are designed in a variety of classy modern styles meant to fit seamlessly into your home rather than stand out like a garish reject from the billards hall. “Bright, airy, and uncluttered, the style embraces white walls, blonde woods, fresh colors, sensual textiles, clean-lined furniture, and materials that are natural, recyclable, or industrial such as glass and steel. The result: eclectic yet cozy retreats from fast-paced pressures.”

http://www.brunswickbilliards.com/

Tired of the refrigerator shelf dedicating to keeping sodas cold? Maybe you need a home vending machine. Ok, nobody needs a home vending machine, but if you’re trying to turn your house into a party pad–or at least get your kids to stay at home more often–how can you turn one down?

The Maytag Skybox vending machine keeps your beverages icy cold and comes with a variety of mostly sports-related exteriors. It holds 66 12-ounce cans or 33 12-ounce bottles with up to four selections. It comes with a child-lock out option if you don’t want your three year old guzzling down the Jolt while you’re not watching. Don’t worry; since it’s a home vending machine, it operates without quarters. The price? Just under $500 at Amazon: Skybox Home Vending Machine

http://www.skyboxbymaytag.com/

Retrofitting current rooms to make dedicated home theaters is increasingly popular amongst homeowners. Though it can be done on the cheap (sort of), expect to pay tens of thousands for a quality system. One example is the VX-2c Projection System from Runco International. The MSRP is $39,995. This Digital Light Processing projector offers 16:9 native resolution which means superb high-definition pictures.

http://www.runco.com

Also of interest…

Articles on buying and installing home theaters:

How-to Information on Home Theaters
How to Set Up a Basic Home Theater
How Home Theater Works (from How Stuff Works)