Luxury Housing Trends & Home Improvement Ideas

In the dining room, it’s perfectly fine for your accessories to be more dramatic than in other rooms. If you’re trying to define a space for high class entertaining, stick with prominent pieces, deep jewel tone colors and classic details.

Decorate your wood server in the dining room with a set of table lamps. You might have to pair down to one table lamp if you have a shorter server, but with longer ones, you can have a set of lamps as well as a centerpiece. These Stacy Garcia Fancy Fern Rich Plum Energy Efficient Table Lamp is capable of dressing up any room. Between the contemporary design and unusual shade color, this lamp is sure to be noticed.

This lamp is made with a brushed steel finish, and it sits 22” high. Create a luxurious atmosphere and save on your energy bill with a stylish model.

Windows can be a pricey installation, especially when you need to do all of them at one time. However, the longer you procrastinate this installation, the more of your money goes out the window from lost air conditioning and heating.

These ThermaStar by Pella Dual Pane Double-Hung Vinyl Windows include a screen and measure 31.5” x 37.5”. These are Energy Star qualified in the Northern, North/Central, South Central and Southern Zones. This vinyl window features a white exterior and hardware color.

Before you start paying for air conditioning this spring and summer, it’s in your best interest to look into new windows. Also, consider blackout blinds or honeycomb shaped blinds, which will add protection and reduce lost heating/cooling. Isn’t about time you save money and energy?

Have you been trying to figure out ways to save money on your electric bill all year round? Well, if you have already started using an energy monitoring device and have done your best to keep the heating and cooling at the lowest setting, there is one more thing you’re missing.

Blackout blinds are effective for keeping your heat and air conditioning inside your home. When you don’t have window coverings, you can have heat loss. Instead of letting your money literally fly out the window, you can maintain your indoor temperatures better with blinds. Blackout blinds, especially cellular or honeycomb ones, are designed to block the sun’s heat and harmful UV-rays.

The honeycomb design provides more insulation, and blackout blinds are perfect for your bedroom space.

Turning all of the lights on in a room isn’t energy efficient when you need light in only one space of the room. Instead of wasting your electricity, try using more concentrated forms of light.

The House of Troy Mini Spot Light is a convenient indoor spot light that acts as functional accent lighting. It’s available in black or satin nickel and has an eyeball like design. It measures 6” high and includes a 10′ brown cord so you don’t have to worry about needing an extension cord.

This miniature light takes a 25 or 40R14N bulb, and it’s perfect for tedious crafty work or more light at your home office desk. Or, you might have use for it out in the garage or basement when your doing repairs or working on projects.

Boiling water can take a while over the store or in the microwave, but what if you could boil a cup of water in under a minute? This would be particularly valuable if you like to start or end your day with a steaming hot mug of tea.

The Breville Hot Cup does just that. This kitchen gadget saves you time and energy, because it boils the exact amount of water that you need at the moment. It has a large capacity 2-liter container, so you can enjoy a small, medium or large (300 mL) cup. Even better is the fact that you can refill your cup five times without needing to refill the container.

With its black and chrome finish, it’s a modern looking accessory for your kitchen, and the removable drip tray ensure that your counters stay dry.

Safety lighting in your hallways, bedrooms and bathrooms is convenient when you suddenly or even routinely get up in the middle of the night. However, keeping certain lights on can be a drain on your wallet, but fortunately, there is an alternative.

After-Lite fluorescent lighting is a linear strip, which provides brightness without electricity. The light is charged by the fluorescent tube, and the strips are 0.5” x 12”. Three strips come in a pack, and you can stick them wherever you need light since these strips are backed by 3M adhesive.

Even if you wake up to go the bathroom in the early hours of the morning or the electricity suddenly goes out, you will have enough lighting to get around your home.

Powering your home with alternative energy can be the most beneficial step you can take to reduce your monthly utility bills and reduce your footprint on the planet. Even if you’re a beginner, transitioning your home to solar energy is easy with a kit.

The Sunforce 39626 160-Watt High-Efficiency Polycrystalline Solar Power Kit comes with a 25-year solar panel warrant, and the system requires little maintenance.

These weatherproof solar cells are made with an aluminum frame and tempered glass coverings to ensure that they’re durable enough to withstand the elements. This kit comes with two 80-watt polycrystalline solar panels, a 200-watt power inverts, a 30-amp digital charge controller, a voltage tester and a wiring kit with mount accessories included.

This one way you can get your feet wet in solar energy so you live more off of the grid.

The wind is powerful force that can be easily captured and converted into energy so you can live more off of the grid and enjoy lower utility bills. While alternative energy might not be your strong point, there are wind turbine kits that can make the transition easier.

The Proven Energy 2.5 kW 300 V Wind Turbine Grid Tie has a 36′ tower, foundation kit, rectifier and inverter. Although this particular model is on the high end in regards to price, it’s designed to provide power except for heating for a standard three-bedroom home.

This particular model is created so that it doesn’t make much noise, and it also requires little maintenance on your end. It has several other features that make it a more desirable wind turbine if you’re new to alternative energy gadgets.

Storing enough wood to last you throughout the cold winter months can be a challenge, but being able to pay less on your electricity bill is the reward for being prepared. When wood is outside, it’s susceptible to the elements, and if it gets too wet, it’s difficult to burn so keeping your firewood properly stored is the first step to saving energy.

If you have enough room in your backyard, you can put a firewood rack conveniently near your home but disguised by a storage shed or wooded area. The 1/2 Cord Woodhaven Firewood Rack is a simple to assemble rack that has a black, backed on powder coat finish, which is eco-friendly. The rack is also made in the U.S.A.

The rack is complete with a cover that shields 12” of the wood from the elements. The cover also adjusts depending on how much wood you have on the rack. Also, since it has arc welded end sections, it’s durable and strong.

Over time the seals around the doors of your refrigerator and freezer will deteriorate. If they no longer work effectively, the cold air is seeping right out of your appliance. Depending on the price to replace the seals, you might have to weigh buying new appliances and purchasing new seals. You can check the seals by seeing if they firmly hold a dollar bill. Or you can turn a flashlight on and place it inside the appliance; if you can see the light coming through when the door is shut, then you know the seal is broke.

Check the temperature of your appliances with thermometer. The average temperature for a refrigerator is between 36 and 38 degrees Fahrenheit, and for a freezer, it’s between 0 and 5 degrees Fahrenheit. If you set the thermostat for 10 degrees Fahrenheit lower, you can save about 25 percent of your energy usage.