Luxury Housing Trends & Home Improvement Ideas

One of the perks of working from home is that you don’t have to impress people that often, and worrying about wrinkled clothes isn’t high on the priority list… but I wasn’t always so lucky. Even when I had to press uniforms daily, I can’t say I ever truly mastered the ironing skill, but I might have had better luck with a rotary iron.

If you do a lot of ironing, it might be something to check into. The Miele version has a lot of handy features.

• Its wide roller lets you press everything from shirts and pants to bed linens and tablecloths.
• It’s operated with a foot pedal, which allows you to take a load off while you work.
• It has a fold-away mechanism and wheels that make the professional-style ironing appliance feasible for home use.
• An extendable clothing bar gives you a place to hang your shirts when you’re done ironing them.

Personally, I’d still rather have someone else do my ironing (or not wear anything that needs ironing), but I’m lazy like that.  If I were to wield the hot blade, I think a rotary iron sounds like the way to go.

Miele

Hosting parties and family get-togethers outdoors doesn’t mean that you’re stuck with beverages that come in a can.

If you pick up some shatterproof wine glasses, you can pour your favorite vintage without worrying that someone will knock a glass onto the patio or pool deck. And if you’re half the klutz I am, you might want unbreakable wine ware for in the house too. (I don’t think I’ve got a set of glasses or plates without at least one missing piece.)

These Unbreakable PolyCarb Wine Glasses come in a “party set” of 12 from the Wine Enthusiast.

The set includes four 22 oz Pinot Noir glasses, four 12 oz Chardonnary glasses, and four 20 oz ones for Cabernet. (If you don’t need a set of 12, you can also just buy the 4-sets of each kind.)

Visit the Wine Enthusiast site to see the “unbreakable” glass in action (there’s a video):

Unbreakable PolyCarb Wine Glasses

Home urinals may not be mainstream in the U.S. yet, but we’ve certainly talked about a few models before (from simple residential urinals to custom copper urinals to hide-away urinals just for the home bathroom), and they’re a little more common in other countries (forever solving the lid-left-up/lid-left-down problem).

Here’s a new urinal for your consideration:

The illuminated, color-changing Gloo.

From Philips Watts Design, the Gloo is molded from polyethylene and features internal LED lighting. It’s supposed to be easy to install with simple connections and fixing methods, so feel free to DIY this one.

Here’s a picture, and if you’ve got two minutes to spare, you can catch the video on YouTube:

If you’re remodeling the bathroom and want the high-end luxury look, then you’ll probably want snazzy stone floors, steam showers, jetted tubs, designer sinks, and all the other pretty fixin’s. Well, don’t shy away from the high-end look on your shower floor.

Why not install a shower basin made from natural stone?

Granite, limestone, marble, what’s your fancy? The Neo-Angle shower basin comes in numerous colors of all these natural materials. It’s hand-cut from a single piece of stone, and you can choose from etched, honed (low sheen), polished (high sheen), or sandblasted finishes.

$1671 from Fixture Universe.

Here’s a fun way to personalize your children’s rooms and add a bit of storage at the same time.

The wall-mounted word shelves can be custom made with your children’s names and in their favorite colors.

“Children’s name shelves and Word Shelves hang on the wall. Place photos, knick knacks, books, and craft supplies on the letters of your child’s name or a fun word! Each letter measures 7″ tall, 5.5″ wide, 3.5″ deep.”

By LoveShelf on Etsy with prices running about $10 a letter.

If you ever watch those decorating shows on HGTV, you’ll notice a theme when it comes to bedroom re-dos: the designers always shake their heads in chagrin when they spot a bed without a headboard. Adding one is always on their project list. I guess the head of the bed is supposed to be the focal point in the bedroom.

If your bed is currently headboard-less, then check out this walnut and fir piece from SMC Furnishings. The EGW headboard (no, I’m not sure what all these initials stand for) is made using cross-sections of tree trunks, so the rings of the tree become an artistic element that draws the eye. Available in full, queen, or king sizes, the headboards start at $3100.

SMC Furnishings

If you need a place to sleep in a small space, a platform bed might work for you. Or perhaps you live in a loft, and you want something that doesn’t dominate the view of one side of the area. Either way, this compact piece might be of interest.

The “Bow Bed” takes the simple efficiency of a platform bed and gives it sleek contemporary curves. Since the frame hovers just inches from the floor, it will maintain a low profile in a room. Don’t expect a lot of storage space under such a low piece though. If you go with a platform bed, you’ll have to find another spot to stuff your boxes of out-of-season clothes.

$400 from Futon Planet

Do you know what your mattresses are made from? I confess I haven’t the foggiest idea when it comes to my own. Apparently they can have toxins, formaldehyde, pesticides, VOC gases, and chemicals though. Sounds unpleasant!

If you’re looking for an eco-friendly alternative (and, I imagine, one that’s healthier for you and your family), you might look into organic mattresses.

The tufted mattress shown here is from EcoBedroom, and it’s made from organic cotton blended with natural wool. The natural fibers are supposed to allow for air circulation and breath-ability, which produces a healthier sleeping environment. Three firmness levels are available, and somehow they’ve managed to blend these materials in a way that is flame retardant (as the law requires), so you don’t need a medical prescription to order a mattress.

Prices start around $500.

EcoBedroom

If you’re lucky enough to have a backyard swimming pool, then it’s getting close to the time of year where you’ll want to think about maintenance, supplies, and… fun. After all, you can only lounge on a pool floatie for so long before you start to look for something more interesting to do.

This combination basketball and volleyball set-up from Pool Shot looks like a great way to add some playful fun to your backyard. It’s easy to switch from basketball to volleyball (a single person can adjust the clip without getting out of the pool), and the stainless steel and aluminum hardware should last for many seasons to come. Shoot hoops by yourself or invite friends and family to join you in a game. It looks like a great way to beat the heat while staying active.

You can get the set from HomeClick for around $450:

Pool Shot Spike-n-Splash Basketball~Volleyball Combo

Though we usually talk about home improvement on this blog, there’s definitely a segment of the population that prefers to buy their dream home, improvements already made thank you very much. I can empathize with that, since renovations are such as hassle. Though I enjoy browsing for new products, I understand that it’s a lot of work to actually implement them into an existing home. If you’re not living in the location of your dreams, and you’re not planning to stay in the same spot indefinitely, you may prefer to make do until you can afford your dream home.

Even if that time isn’t now, it’s never too soon to start browsing. Of course, you can use web sites like Realtor.com, but if you’re looking for a dream home, you might try a site that specializes in luxury homes.

Maybe because I live in Washington state, I always find myself browsing real estate in places like Hawaii, California, and Arizona. There’s just something about warm climates and sun, and I often think of getting a second home down south some day.

Though it’s not on a beach, Arizona is by far the most affordable of those places. If you’d like to browse new housing construction down there, check out the new home developments of the Scottsdale Fine Properties site (the resort-style homes in Cave Creek look appealing to me).

You can also browse current listings on the site, and luxury real estate across the country. There’s even a section on investing in Phoenix real estate, in case you’re thinking bigger than a single home or vacation home.

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