With the housing market slowly recovering as the months creep by, people are paying more attention to what's inside those walls. For those of us who are still saving every penny, it's nice to dream about what is happening inside luxury, designer homes. What new technologies have been put into use? What color schemes are popular? What kind of furniture are the economic elite purchasing? Let's take a look at some of the hottest home design trends for this year.
One of the hottest trends in home design right now is turning the bathroom into an at-home spa. Life today is so fast-paced and stressful, who wouldn't want a relaxing retreat right inside their home? High end designers are offering customizable tub designs where you can choose size, shape, color and even the number of jets. Some of these designers even offer an option to install an MP3 player with a waterproof wireless headset for ultimate relaxation. White is a popular color for these spa-like bathrooms. Serene, calming and lush. Thick, luxurious towels, multiple showerheads, jacuzzi tubs - the whole nine yards to create the perfect retreat.
Another popular trend is to transform garage space into another functional living space for the family. Instead of just a space to store the cars, people living in luxury homes want this to become a family living space. Add racks to the walls to get rid of the clutter that always accumulates in the garage. Put down a fun floor using polypropelene tiles and turn the entire space into a game room. Have radiant heat installed underneath the floor, add a plush comfy couch and a big flat panel TV and the garage will quickly become the family's favorite place to hang out.
Recycling is even making its way into luxury design. It has become a hot trend to use reclaimed wood, such as old wine barrels for new purposes inside your home. This wood can be repurposed to create a fabulous new floor, wainscotting or countertop. Imagine creating a bar-top counter out of old wine barrels. With a thick coat of polyurethane it will instantly become a conversation piece. The coolest part of this trend is that portions of the reclaimed wood have the wine company's stamp on it. No one will have anything like it and you can feel good about using recycled materials.
As for new technology in luxury homes there are two very cool new trends. The first is a high-speed wall oven. This is a great investment for busy families who still want to enjoy a home cooked meal. These ovens have the capability of cooking a pizza in under ten minutes. If that's not cool, I don't know what is. Another technological advancement popping up in luxury homes are hybrid water heaters. These heaters basically combine the best of traditional hot water heaters with the "green" qualities of the tankless heaters. These heaters are 35% more efficient than traditional hot water heaters and can lower your bills considerably.
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