luxuryspaces.net

In Puget Sound, $1 million doesn’t get you a luxury home anymore.

Sure, you can buy a 4,000-square-foot view home in Mukilteo, complete with a pool and indoor home theater. Or a 3,250-square-foot home on 3 acres in Woodinville. Or a new McMansion on a regular-sized lot on the Sammamish Plateau. Maybe a 1,300-square-foot condo in Belltown or Bellevue.

But luxury you won’t get. Nowadays, a luxury home will cost double, even triple, that in some neighborhoods, agents and appraisers say. The luxury price threshold is more like $3 million.

At the end of November, 110 single-family homes and eight condos priced at more than $3 million were listed for sale in King County, and 10 single-family homes but no condos above $3 million were for sale in Snohomish County, according to the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.

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Organization

But Rafferty insists that, for her, it’s less about luxury and more about organization.

“We never knew where anything was,” she said. “It’s been a huge time saver in day-to-day living. Everybody is so busy — maybe it’s the area we live in — I think this has required people to see where they can save time. It’s a very practical luxury; we always know where everything is supposed to go. There are divided sections so everything is easy to find.”

Rafferty’s husband is certainly happy with the change.

“There are a lot of pullout display drawers for my husband. There are special places for his baseball caps, cufflinks and pretty much anything that comes out of his pockets at the end of the day. They designed pullout drawers on rollers so he can see what he’s got,” she said. “My space was more conventional: Makeup and accessory drawers that are shallow. It makes it easier to see where everything is. I also like my shoes hidden behind the closet door while my husband prefers them to be visible,” she said.

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Helen Rafferty and her husband, Brian, have been trying to come out of the closet since June. It hasn’t been easy. They are enjoying it too much.

Their enjoyment comes from the organizational masterpiece built for them at the beginning of last summer by Bilotta in Mamaroneck; a closet as big and luxurious as a new room in their house.

In fact, it is a room in their house.

An entire spare bedroom, 14 feet by 12 feet with high ceilings, that has been converted into what is now one of their most lived-in spaces.

Sound familiar? That’s because the Rafferty’s story reflects a growing trend in designer luxury rooms.

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The first thing to do is to eliminate the things that are not necessary. It is better to have a wide and clean place to live in than a crowded one. Try to start in your clothes. Choose the clothes you are not longer wearing. Put these on a garage sale or a rummage sale (this would be an extra income for you). Your old bags, shoes, and accessories can be of help to other people who cannot afford a new one. Donate the books, handouts, and notes that you’re not using any longer. Aside from saving space, you can also earn money. How good isn’t it?

Fireplaces have been the thing of log cabins for years. For practical purposes, it is a radiator of heat, a life saver in extreme cold conditions out in the wild. But just because it’s a thing of cabins and such doesn’t mean people haven’t adapted it for their own aesthetic purposes. As with all exotic things, humans always find a way to be recreate things that they are not always exposed to.

To most romantic individuals, fireplaces are the ideal centerpieces of living rooms. Sitting in front of the fire on a warm fur rug with a cup of hot chocolate on a cold day is heaven to those seeking that perfect setting.

The new rising Splendido Taal Towers, a set of 4 12-storey condominium towers, is the latest joint venture of JAKA and Sta. Lucia Realty and Development, Inc. The luxurious residential resident can be found in the Tagaytay ridge area, a 70km away from Metro Manila, Philippines.

The 250-hectare planned community will feature a centerpiece, its country clubhouse, Golf and Country Club. It will also feature several sports and recreation facilities such as outdoor swimming pool, basketball, volleyball, squash, badminton, and tennis facilities. For those looking to unwind and relax, massage and spa facilities are available at the Splendido Taal Country Club.

Ok, you’ve got this pretty big dilemma. Your heater runs on oil and the price of the “new gold” today is hiking up, predicted by experts and scholars to sky rocket up to $5.00 per gallon. Surely you can’t live without that heater. But, can you do something about it? Of course! In this modern world, technological advancements are being made every single day.

Introducing the heat pump. This handy, purely economical piece of gadget will surely make you feel like less of an Atlas. What it does is that it filters the air outside your home and extracts the hot air from it. It then blows the extracted hot air inside your home, making your home warm in the cold days. Now, your piggy bank can be fatter with your savings.

Photo taken from http://www.srpnet.com

A big home requires a lot of electricity generation, that’s a fact. Since you opted for a luxury home, you know that you have to be ready with the electric bills every month. But, what if you miscalculated? Cut down your electric bills into half by installing solar panels (PV) in your home. You can put the solar panels on your roof so that you can generate electricity in your garage perhaps, naturally. Since garages are normally enclosed (lesser light comes in), you can now tinker with your BMW z4 during the day without even switching the light on. Some PVs can even charge generators so you won’t have to worry about nighttime.

Photo taken from http://www.solarnavigator.net/

Not as the land beneath your feet but as an alternate building material that makes sense for it’s almost everywhere and it is dirt after all so it is much cheaper. Combine earth’s wonderful insulating properties and the modern amenities of life such as plumbing, pipes and electrical conduits, it works better than more traditional building materials.
The use of earth as building material dates back to ancient times for they are still used in Africa, long hailed to be the birthplace of humanity. Earth is a very good insulator and allows the proper balance of moisture that makes good living. Temperature is also regulated naturally but as said, there’s always the option of modern cooling and heating technologies that can be integrated well with the said natural building material. Rammed earth homes are making a comeback as modern building materials are getting more and more expensive. Their production also causes pollution so the best natural option to our building needs may have been staring at us all this time, under our feet and in our yards.

Most homes have spaces that cannot simply be turned off due to them being more or less shielded from the windows that brings free light into the home during daytime. One of the easiest ways to bring in the light during the day are with the use of skylights that can be as small as metal tubes coated with highly reflective finish that brings in light to a diffuser box that turns sunlight into more diffused light without the glare associated with direct sunlight.
Topped with a globe made of clear polycarbonate plastic to prevent rain and weather from getting into the home it makes for one good investment and the great thing is that you do not use electricity during the daytime, saving the earth and electricity.