Luxury Housing Trends & Home Improvement Ideas

When you have extra pieces of plywood lying around your garage, don’t let them go to waste. Instead, you can give them new life and even enhance your yard in the process.

Using the extra wood to create a few homemade bird or bat houses is an easy way to reuse your wood scraps. All you need is a handsaw, nails, a hammer and paint. Remember, the more bats you have nearby, the less insects such as mosquitoes will be around to annoy you.

Another simple project is to create a small seat to attach to trees so squirrels can eat corn. Just remember to add a nail to stick the cob on.

For more creative projects, make ornaments and decorations for the upcoming seasons. Also, larger sheets of wood can be turned into trays or cutting boards. If you have been meaning to mulch your yard, chip your supply of wood into mulch to revive your flowerbeds. Once you start thinking of ways to reuse your wood, unique ideas will come to mind.

Typical sheets are often a 50/50 blend, because they are usually made from non-organic cotton and polyester. This type of bedding can cause athlete’s foot and night sweats, because the fabric is not breathable or completely natural. Updating your bedding in your master bedroom and even in your guest room can make sleep more luxurious and comfortable.

Since there are a variety of designers who create organic sheets, duvet covers and comforters, it’s easy to find a suitable set to match your room. Plus, if it’s been 10 or more years since you have purchased new bedding, it’s time for a change. Patterned or brightly colored bedding can enhance a room’s style and mood.

Instead of cozying up to sheets that were made from fibers treated with pesticides, you can sleep without worry and enjoy the new look of your bedroom. If your guests have sensitive skin, organic bedding is a considerate amenity too.

A gym in your home can motivate you to stay fit, and it can also prevent you from spending money to belong to those high costing gyms. Plus, you can even reflect the vision of your home in your gym’s design with Lift’s eco-lux gyms.

Your gym can feature a couch, reading area, spa or gaming table, so it doesn’t just have to include those pieces of heavy metal equipment that are often eye sores. If you’re into yoga and pilates, you can transform your basement into a studio with wood floors and floor to ceiling mirrors. Lift creates these designs with sustainable materials and also from the advice of expert designers, architects, etc.

If you don’t have the space for full size gym with all of the amenities, consider a portable exercise machine such as a stationary bike…what makes this one in the living room unique is the fact that the equipment uses virtual reality.

The summer is the perfect time to drive around and visit as many garage sales as you can, especially if you need to furnish a nursery. As a result of the recession, some people moving or finding ways to make some extra cash, so you might get lucky and find items in close to new condition.

It’s best to assess items you come across rather than search for the actual piece of furniture you want. For example, a desk or bookshelf (depending on the design and how handy you are) can be turned into a changing table. Also, if you can’t find a rocking chair, consider a rocking reclining chair, because you can always put any colored or patterned slipcover over it.

While you’re making your rounds, you might find general pieces for your home too. Just keep in mind that with a little paint and accessories, you can make the furniture match and be functional in your home.

Sunrooms can add value to your home, and they also link the rest of your house with the outdoors. However, it can be challenging to keep a comfortable temperature in a sunroom depending on which way it’s facing.

South- and west-facing sunrooms need more ventilation, because they receive the most direct sunlight. North- and east-facing sunrooms are often pleasant in the summer but chilly in the winter.

A simple solution to get more air ventilation in the summer is to install side-opening windows. Supreme Sunrooms & Windows Ltd. sells 28mm double glazed windows with the new Low-E glass standard. Opening the windows and turning on the ceiling fan can create more air circulation.

Another option is thermostat-controlled roof vents, which open or close throughout the day in order to maintain a controlled environment. Active Ventilation Products, Inc. has an Aura Skylight Ventilator that draws air out without any moving parts. This is a more eco-friendly roof vent.

Replacing wallpaper with paint is a frustrating job, but if you have always wanted to change it, now is the time. PVC vinyl wallpapers actually emit toxins over time, so you could be breathing them in. If you want a safer option, give your room a splash of color with eco-friendly paint.

Mythic Paint and AFM Safecoat are free of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), so you can tolerate being in a freshly painted room without getting a headache. Plus, you don’t ever have to worry about breathing in toxins.

There are also milk-and-clay-based paints available, but if you live in a humid climate, you should avoid this type. BioShield has a milk-based paint that comes in a powder form. Once you add the necessary amount of water, it becomes similar in texture to latex paint. One thing to be aware of is that adding extra water can turn the paint into a wash.

If you’re looking for some eco-friendly wall coverings, take a look at Palm Panels.

The flexible wall decor is made from coconut shell and palm wood, materials that are usually unused industry by-products. They’re given life here by being made into durable architectural surfaces that can add interest to walls in your home.

The palm panels are available in smooth and flex versions. Ideal for creating unique pieces, the smooth panels, “consists of numerous designs that require individual pieces to be carved and then hand placed on a panel.” The flex panels, on the other hand, give you “the freedom to create seamless continuous textured surface that can curve, allowing your ideas to become a practical reality.”

A few residential installation possibilities include:

• interior wall cladding
• ceilings
• doors
• framed art pieces
• pillars
• kitchen splashbacks

More information at Ormano Eco Smart Products.

For some reason it never occured to me to look for an eco-friendly sofa the last time I was getting living room furniture. Mostly, I was thinking about what would be easy to clean pet hair off of… But if you’re in the market for a green couch, you may want to check out the appropriately named Green Sofas.

Their tagline is that they offer affordable eco furniture, including sofas made from organic and hypoallergenic material.

The green materials available are hemp, cotton, and linen–all organic and all healthy for the environment and your family. You can choose from a number of colors, configurations, and styles (modern, traditional, transitional, etc.). In fact if you browse through the pictures, you’ll find all the couches look quite normal and don’t stand out as anything obviously green (I’ve seen enough furniture made out of recycled bicycle parts and license plates to have a bit of skepticism when I hear about eco-friendly offerings).

Check out the site to see more on the company and the furniture.

Hanging flower pots or planters are an easy way to add some interest to a covered deck, porch, or balcony. While your local home and garden store doubtlessly offers plenty of options, you may dig getting something made from recycled materials… such as tires.

These colorful tropical bird planters don’t look much like the original black tire when you get them, but a close look proves they are indeed made from recycled tires.

Made by Texas-based Giddy-Up Swings ‘n Things, the bird planters are available in several, er, species: Red Parrot Macaw, Blue Parrot, Green Parrot, Blue/Gold Macaw, and Toucan.

The company also makes tire swings that are a little more sophisticated than the rope-tied-to-a-tire models most of us had as kids (they’re shaped into horses or steer).

The hanging bird pots costs $49, which includes shipping.

If you dig furnishings made from reclaimed or recycled materials, you may want to add some green lighting to your home. Er, make that red lighting. Something with a shade made from recycled glass, perhaps?

This ruby red Stoplight Pendant Lamp is made from just what you’d guess: discarded traffic lights.

Seller, Earth Friendly Goods, says:

“Across the United States, giant truckloads of red, yellow, and green lenses are tossed into land-fills as cities upgrade to more efficient lighting technology. We’re reclaiming these glass artifacts to create ‘Stoplights,’ our new line of lighting fixtures.”

If the red is a little too “stoplight” for you, the lamp does come in other colors.

$255:

Stoplight Pendant Lamp