4 Hanging Rooftop Pools

February 20, 2013 By EmmanuelFonte Leave a Comment

When is a pool not just something you spend a few hours in on vacation? When it’s hanging off the edge of a hotel’s roof, or at least partially. We’ve rounded up four mind-bending hanging rooftop pools for your viewing enjoyment, starting with the Joule Pool above. Continue reading to see more.

4. The Adelphi Hotel – Melbourne, Australia

The rooftop, glass-bottomed hanging pool at The Adelphi Hotel in Melbourne is essentially a heated salt water pool that is cantilevered over Flinders Lane, allowing a unique view (from 9 stories up) of the streets below through the clear Perspex pool floor.

3. Joule Hotel – Dallas, Texas (USA)

The rooftop pool at the Joule Hotel in Dallas, Texas is not only an exquisite outdoor venue, boasting eye-catching design and panoramic views of the downtown area’s glittering skyline, but one that hangs over the edge. Comprising 2,100 square feet on the hotel’s 10th floor, the airy space serves as an unparalleled setting for special events.

2. Hilton Auckland – Auckland, New Zealand

In addition to the amazing rooftop pool, the Hilton Auckland lets you keep active at the hotel’s fitness center, complete with the latest cardiovascular equipment and weights. Or, you can refresh in the outdoor heated lap pool and marvel at the harbour from Auckland’s only underwater viewing window.

1. InterContinental Festival City Hotel – Dubai, UAE

Besides the stunning rooftop pool above, you’ll also find a state-of-the-art 24 hour gymnasium, complete with a free weights Kinesis wall, steam & sauna rooms, and three spa pools all located on the leisure deck with uninterrupted creek and city skyline views, at the InterContinental in Dubai.

source: Techeblog

Filed Under: Architecture, Blog Tagged With: rooftop pool

Top 10 Most Expensive & Lavish Celebrity Houses

February 15, 2013 By EmmanuelFonte Leave a Comment

The life of a celebrity is full of glitz and glamour. There are celebrities who like to spend their earnings on their own make-over and cosmetic surgeries while the rest like to also change their lifestyle and switch over to a more luxurious mode of living which includes huge investments in various branded outlets and mostly in their own personal homes. Today we are going to take a look at few of the most lavishing residential wonders of the world’s most highly rated celebrities. Welcome to Hollywood you guys!

#10 Rapper and Song Artist 50 Cent

50 Cent’s huge house has an area of 51,657 sq.ft area which contains more than a luxurious palace! This huge abode contains 19 bedrooms, 37 bathrooms, 6 kitchens, 5 Jacuzzis, 2 snooker rooms. That’s not all. The house has an indoor swimming pool along with a night club and gym. The house also offers racquetball court, tennis court, home cinema, indoor shooting area and of course a pond as well. The house was recently renovated for around $6 million.

#9 Celine Dion

Celine Dion House

The house which is situated in Florida is actually called a Water Park rather than a house since the entire house is surrounded by artificial lakes, rivers and streams. The house has a number of swimming pools and fountains. The house requires approximately 6 million gallons of water per year. However Renee and his wife took an effort to construct 5 wells to overcome the water deficit. The house is designed in an extremely wonderful manner offering a contrast of white and black furniture in the interior region of the house.

#8 John Travolta

John Travolta House

The Hollywood star John Travolta has a house worth $2.5 million. Although the house itself is not that beautiful but the luxurious designing and facilities provided has made the house full of fame. The house has a huge parking area, not only for cars and other vehicles, but the house offers a wonderful parking for Boeing 707 along with the parking for Gulfstream. Due to such a unique facility the house has gained a lot of attraction by others.

#7 Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey House

Now who hasn’t heard about Oprah Winfrey? The renowned talk-show host and one of the world’s most famous celebrities owns massive resort-cum-residency covering an area of around 23,000 sq. lands which is equal to 42 acres. The Californian based home which was bought for $50 million has 14 bathrooms and 8 bedrooms with lavish furniture which adds to the beauty of the place.

#6 Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise House

The most famous star Tom Cruise owns a number of houses all over the world including a few lavish palaces in the United Kingdom. Besides owning so many luxurious properties, his home in Beverly Hills which costs almost $35 million most certainly stands out from the crowd. The palace is lavishly designed from inside as well as outside. The house contains 7 Master Bedrooms and 9 bathrooms along with a private pool and a tennis court. The house took a lot of investment in its renovation and expansion and currently occupies a space of 1.4 acres.

#5 Robbie Williams

Robbie Williams House

Robbie William’s house has an area of about 10,681 sq. of land which has a beautiful pond and a swimming pool that surrounds the house. The house has 8 bedrooms and 9 bathrooms with a unique design and furnishing which makes the house look even more lavish.

#4 Rod Stewart

Rod Stewart House

Rod Stewart, a Rock star legend owes an exotic house worth $12.5 million. The house is basically famous for its football pitch, carting track and yes its own personal beach! Rod Stewart loves painting and ancient statues designed in an elegant way, due to his unique choice his house is full of such items which makes the house shine even more brightly!

#3 Will Smith

Will Smith House

Will Smith is known for his versatile movies and song productions. As he maintains a good reputation, in the same way his house located in Calabasas, California has also gained a great fame. The house has a large area off land which consists of basket-ball courts, tennis courts, sport arenas and much more. Therefore Smith enjoys a lovely life with his wife and children in his wonderful lavish palace. His home is also sometimes referred to as a fairytale castle palace by a number of people.

#2 Larry Ellison

Larry Ellison House

Larry Ellison, the founder and CEO of Oracle software solutions for Enterprises has gained a lot of publicity not only for his work and success but for his property as well. He owns more than 12 houses on which he spent $180 million. His house in Malibu is famous for its beach-side location, lavish style and an irresistible attraction makes his house different from others.

#1 Hugh Hefner

Hugh Hefner Mansion

Hugh Hefner’s house has an area of 20,000 sq. and is worth around $40 million. The land is actually about 6 acres and the house itself consists of 26 bedrooms. The house is lavishly designed with unique furniture design along with an underground water system which distinguishes this amazing palace from others.

They say that the life of a celebrity is filled with glitz and glamour and that is exactly what it feels when one visits the aforementioned places of pure elegance and class.

Filed Under: Architecture, Blog, Random Thoughts

Seattle Home Show: The Place For Home Ideas

February 14, 2013 By EmmanuelFonte Leave a Comment

The annual Seattle Home Show opens this Saturday, February 16 through 24, at CenturyLink Field Event Center. Over 550 exhibits will feature the latest products, services, and designs for indoor and outdoor living. Model homes will also be available for viewing. The fall and spring installments of the Seattle Home Show provide Northwest residents the opportunity to speak to vendors and designers about new trends.

Show hours run 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays, and noon to 8 p.m. on weekdays. Admission is $12 for adults, $8 for seniors, $3 for juniors (7-15), and children under 7 are free. Purchase tickets online at www.SeattleHomeShow.com and receive free parking.

A variety of seminars is also available. The class schedule includes a variety of topics like solar and efficient lighting, kitchen and bath trends, cedar home construction, remodeling and more

Filed Under: Appliances, Architecture, Blog, Home Care, Home Remodel, Technology Tagged With: seattle home show

10 Design Trends That Will Be Hot in 2013

February 13, 2013 By EmmanuelFonte Leave a Comment

1 Brass It’s having a comeback because it mixes well with other metals.
2 Elegant, Graceful Design Enough with the plain. Think pretty, classic fabrics.
3 Homey Kitchens The use of warm, modern materials. Think vintage & handmade.
4 Gloss Think high gloss, shiny, polished, lacquered!
5 Emphasis on Art Everyone will be focusing on art, it is so approachable!
6 Bright Colors Our rooms will be brighter and full of saturated hues – think Lifesavers.
7 Sophisticated Man Caves More upscale man caves, media rooms & outrageous wine cellars.
8 Antique furniture Mix beautiful old pieces with modern ones.
9 James Mont furniture Designers know about him, but this is the year that everyone else will!
10 Computer Generated Fabrics Photorealistic fabrics will soon be in living rooms!

Source: House Beautiful – January 2013

Filed Under: Architecture, Blog, Home Remodel

6 Most Typical Features of Luxury Homes

February 8, 2013 By EmmanuelFonte Leave a Comment

Luxury homes have some great features that can make the people who live there more comfortable and give them more great facilities. There are a lot of things that they can do and when you have lots of money, you can virtually do whatever you want. Some examples can be found below.

Spa-Like Bathrooms

A typical bathroom tends to be just a loo, sink, shower and/or bath but a luxury house will have some really lovely features. You can find a sauna, hot tub or even a small pool in some bathrooms. Extra luxurious features can include towel warming drawers and electric floor heating from Warmyourfloor.com.

Having a warm space can make such a difference as it is much easier to relax when it is warmer. The design of the bathroom also adds to its luxury with beautiful floor and wall tiles, soft and fluffy towels and robes and lovely smelling bath products.

Home Automation and Control System

Having things in your home that make life easier can be the height of luxury. For example, having electric gates at the end of the drive, so not only do you have security, but easy access. Automatic garage doors can also make life a lot easier when you are entering and leaving.

Inside the house having a home lighting system and an entertainment system that can be controlled remotely can make things easy and fun for everyone. Having a home automation system can mean that switching lights, heating and music on and off in a large home is a lot easier.

Outdoor Kitchen

All the great chefs have an outdoor cooking area it seems. A stone oven outside or barbecue area and it can be a great way to entertain. Topped with a stylish eating area, lovely cooking equipment and some ground heating, you do not even need to rely on the weather being that good.

Having friends over for a meal can be a completely different experience when you are outside, enjoying the fresh air and admiring the garden. You may need a gardener though, to make sure that everything looks great before your friends arrive.

Custom Lighting

If you want to make a feature of something in your home or just make your room look different, then some custom lighting can do the trick. Buying off the shelf lights may not give the effect that you want and so getting someone in to design lights that fit in with your room and the design of the house can really make a room look very different.

It can make as big a change to a room as redecorating or new furniture can as you can play around with color and brightness as well as the direction of the beams of light. Having the right lights both inside the house and on the outside can make a really big difference to the look and feel of the house.

Walk in Closet

We have all seen films where rich American women have huge walk in closets. These are necessary to store all of the designer clothes, shoes and handbags that a wealthy lifestyle needs.

Keeping everything look neat and tidy is essential and you will need to keep it all in order so you know where everything is. Shelves, drawers and hanging space all will need to be incorporated in order to make sure everything has the perfect place. These can be custom built to fit in the space that you have available.

Home Theatre Room

To see all of the latest films in luxury then a home theatre is a must. To have a big screen so that you can view your favorite movies in the way you would at a cinema is the ultimate luxury. You will need plush seating and some rooms even come with a popcorn machine or snack dispenser so you get the ultimate cinema feel but in the privacy of your own house.

Whether you choose to have a few sofas in front of a screen or rows of cinema style seating will depend on whether you want to be able invite a big group of friends over or just have private family viewings.

Filed Under: Architecture, Blog

Slice & Splice: Modern Twist to Traditional House

February 8, 2013 By EmmanuelFonte Leave a Comment

The owners of this rather lovely old house in Brussels, Belgium, wanted easier access and better views to their beautiful back garden, and needed to update key interior bathroom and kitchen spaces.

In a single architectural stroke, this wrapping intervention by EXAR Architecture (images by Marc Detiffe) adds contemporary functions and lovely contrast to the existing structure.

The effect is surprisingly understated from the street, preserving the historic facade for pedestrians and neighbors, but adding a dynamic, almost-secret and highly-functional component to the back of the building.

Big modern windows with black trim, topped with rusted steel, play off of existing brick and stucco exterior, twisting to enclose the cleanly-revamped upper level (bathroom) and open up the freshly-renovated lower one (kitchen).

Filed Under: Architecture, Blog

Top 10 Most Expensive Homes In The World

February 5, 2013 By EmmanuelFonte Leave a Comment

Living big comes at, of course, a price tag that’s just as big. For most of us, owning a huge mansion or your own estate is, unfortunately, only possible in dreams but for the owners or former owners of the following 10 houses, which also happen to be some of the most expensive ones there are in the world of real estate, what is seen as wishful-thinking for us is in fact reality for them.

10. Rybolovlev Estate

Price: $95 Million

Once owned by Donald Trump and ex-wife Elena Rybolovlev, this single family home, with its 18 bedrooms and 22 bathrooms, is one of the most expensive ones in the country. After the divorce, it was originally put up for sale for a whopping $125 million but it got haggled down to a mere – “mere” for the much-more-than-average earning of us all of course – $95 million.

9. Silicon Valley Mansion

Price: $100 Million

The next on the list may be currently valued at $100 million but the Silicon Valley Mansion, also known as Palo Alto Loire Chateau, was once estimated to be worth a little more than half of its current value: $50.27 million to be exact. For reasons unknown to many, the estate’s current owner, tech billionaire, Yuri Milner, actually forked out about a 100% more than what the estate, with it’s 25, 545 square foot of living space, is actually worth.

8. Fleur De Lys

Price: $125 Million

The Fleur de Lys has been on the market since 2007 and its price tag of $125 million has not dropped a single cent since then – we have to give it up to owner Suzanne Saperstein for her patience and tough negotiating skills. But for anyone keen, this European-style is sized at a ginormous 35,000 square foot of living space that includes 12 bedrooms, 15 bathrooms and a 50-seat theater (not a home theater but an actual one!).

7. The Manor

Price: $150 Million

Situated in one of Los Angeles’ posh neighborhoods, Holmby Hills, the 15,700 square foot Manor was called home by entertainment royalty Candy Spelling and her late husband, Aaron Spelling. Now up for sale at the above mentioned price of $150 million, the luxurious estate houses more than a hundred rooms.

6. The Pinnacle

Price: $155 Million

Owned by Edra and Tim Blixseth – the same Blixseths who own the very exclusive Yellowstone Club – the Pinnacle is both a home as well as a ski lodge featuring 10 bedrooms and – get this – heated floors; even those in the driveway.

5. Franchuk Villa

Price: $161 Million

This London mansion was once a girls’ preparatory school before it was transformed into a home for Ukrainian businesswoman and philanthropist Elena Franchuk. Boasting 21,000 square feet of living space, 20 foot ceilings, an above average number of bedrooms – 10 to be exact – and other amenities like an indoor swimming pool and a private movie theater, the villa definitely meets the prerequisite of a multi-million dollar mansion.

4. The Hearst Mansion

Price: $165 Million

A gift from his “mistress”, actress Marion Davies, newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst’s former mansion was created by architect Gordon Kaufmann who also happened to have played a role in designing the Hoover Dam. The estate has – just to name a few – 29 bedrooms, 40 bathrooms, a nightclub, a cinema, 2 tennis courts and a 75 foot long pool.

3. Fairfield Pond

Price: $198 Million

Next on the list is billionaire Ira Rennert’s Hamptons home with its breathtaking view of the Atlantic. Built by Rennert himself, the 63 acre estate boasts over 100,000 square feet of buildings, 29 bedrooms, 29 bathrooms, squash courts, tennis courts and a basketball court

2. Villa Leopolda

Price: $736 Million

Built by King Leopold II of Belgium in 1902, the estate is currently home to Russian billionaire Prokhorov who despite having lost billions – no thanks to the latest economic crisis – still had enough to buy himself this estate which, among many other things, features 27 stories, 19 bedrooms and 50 gardens.

1. Antilla

Price: $1,000,000,000

Top of the charts is this 27-storey Mumbai house that is worth so much, it’s within the billions range and features practically anything imaginable like 6 floors of parking, a 4-storey garden, a fully equipped health level and even a ballroom level.

Filed Under: Architecture, Blog, Real Estate Tagged With: Expensive Homes

Exterior Projects Provide Biggest Return on Investment

January 31, 2013 By EmmanuelFonte Leave a Comment

Click on map to select region

Home owners looking for the most return on their investment when it comes to remodeling should consider exterior replacement projects. According to the 2013 Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report, REALTORS® rated exterior projects among the most valuable home improvement projects.

“REALTORS® know that curb appeal projects offer great bang for your buck, because a home’s exterior is the first thing potential buyers see,” said National Association of REALTORS® President Gary Thomas, broker-owner of Evergreen Realty, in Villa Park, Calif. “Projects such as siding, window and door replacements can recoup more than 70 percent of their cost at resale. REALTORS® know what home features are important to buyers in your area and can provide helpful insights when considering remodeling projects.”

According to the Cost vs. Value Report, REALTORS® judged a steel entry door replacement as the project expected to return the most money, with an estimated 85.6 percent of costs recouped upon resale. The steel entry door replacement is the least expensive project in the report, costing little more than $1,100 on average. A majority of the top 10 most cost-effective projects nationally in terms of value recouped are exterior replacement projects; all of these are estimated to recoup more than 71 percent of costs.

Three different siding replacement projects landed in the top 10, including fiber cement siding, expected to return 79.3 percent of costs, vinyl siding, expected to return 72.9 percent of costs, and foam backed vinyl, expected to return 71.8 percent of costs. Two additional door replacements were also among the top exterior replacement projects. The midrange and upscale garage door replacement were both expected to return more than 75 percent of costs.

According to the report, two interior remodeling projects in particular can recoup substantial value at resale. A minor kitchen remodel is ranked fifth and is expected to return 75.4 percent of costs. Nationally, the average cost for the project is just under $19,000.

The second interior remodeling project in the top 10 is the attic bedroom, which landed at number eight and tied with the vinyl siding replacement with 72.9 percent of costs recouped. With an average national cost of just under $48,000, the attic project adds a bedroom and bathroom within a home’s existing footprint. The improvement project projected to return the least is the home office remodel, estimated to recoup less than 44 percent.

The 2013 Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report compares construction costs with resale values for 35 midrange and upscale remodeling projects comprising additions, remodels and replacements in 81 markets across the country. Data is grouped in nine U.S. regions, following the divisions established by the U.S. Census Bureau. This is the 15th consecutive year that the report, which is produced by Remodeling magazine publisher Hanley Wood, LLC, was completed in cooperation with NAR and REALTOR® Magazine.

REALTORS® provided their insights into local markets and buyer home preferences within those markets. The 2013 national average cost-to-value ratio rose to 60.6 percent, ending a six-year decline. The ratio represents nearly a three-point improvement over 2011-2012. Lower construction costs are the principal factor in the upturn, especially when measured against stabilizing house values. In addition, the cost-to-value ratio improved nationally for every project in this year’s report and is higher than it was two years ago for both remodeling and replacement projects.

“A REALTOR® is the best resource for helping home owners decide what improvement projects will provide the most upon resale in their market,” said Thomas. “Each neighborhood is different, and the desirability and resale value of a particular remodeling project varies depending on where you live. When making a home remodeling decision, resale value is just one factor that home owners should take into consideration. Consult a REALTOR® to make sure you are making the best decision.”

Most regions followed the national trends; however the Pacific region, consisting of Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington, once again led the nation with an average cost-value ratio of 71.2 percent, due mainly to strong resale values. The next best performing regions were West South Central, South Atlantic, and East South Central. These regions attribute their high ranking to construction costs that were lowest in the country. While still remaining below the national average, most remaining regions showed strong improvement over last year. These are Mountain, New England, East North Central, Middle Atlantic, and West North Central.

Results of the report are summarized on NAR’s consumer Web site HouseLogic.com, which provides information on dozens of remodeling projects, from kitchens and baths to siding replacements, including the recouped value of the project based on a national average.

To read the full project descriptions and access national and regional project data, visitwww.costvsvalue.com. “Cost vs. Value” is a registered trademark of Hanley Wood, LLC.

Filed Under: Appliances, Architecture, Blog, Home Remodel