Just a couple of ideas…
Radiant-heated bathroom floors
Forget fancy water-filled tubes embedded in concrete. You can now buy simple mesh-and-wire mats that install fast and easy under ceramic tiles. They cost as low as $15 a square foot and come with a variety of thermostats. Put a toasty floor in your homes’ bathrooms and watch your buyers melt.
Butcher block countertops
Wood is the original solid surface. Used as an island or a bar, it holds nostalgic memories for older buyers and offers a fresh natural look for younger customers. It traditionally comes in maple, but butcher block is available in other species such as cherry and birch. An 8-foot-long top measuring 1.5 inches thick and 25 inches wide can be had for as little as $189.
Glass tiles
Yes, glass is cool. And yes, it’s pricey. But used sparingly as a kitchen or bath backsplash, glass can’t be beat. It reflects light, shimmers with color, and is virtually maintenance-free. If you shop carefully, you can buy it for as little as $7 a square foot.
Dual flush toilet
One can only imagine the perceived value of a dual-flush toilet installed in a powder room, which will cost about $250. That is about $100 more than a standard toilet, but it can have a family of four up to 6,000 gallons of water per year.
Low-flow showerheads
There’s a chance you’ve used a new low-flow showerhead and don’t even know it. And that’s the point. These units use air to deliver the same robust performance as a traditional showerhead, but with a flow rate of 1 gallon per minute as opposed to 3.5 gallons a minute.
On-demand water heater
Depending on your climate, an on-demand (or tankless) water heater is an excellent choice. It does cost more, but instead of heating water at a constant temperature 24 hours a day, the energy-saving unit only activates when there is a need. Plus, it installs on a wall (inside or outside) and frees up space, which is especially important in the smaller, lower-priced homes that buyers appear to prefer in the current economy.
Water re-circulator
If a tankless water heater is a little too edgy (and costly), you can still give your home buyers instant hot water by using a high-efficiency conventional heater and a water re-circulator. With the push of a button, the device circulates ambient-temperature water from the line so hot water is instant and nothing is wasted down the drain.
Folding patio-door
In 2007, four out of the most popular 10 products among BUILDER readers were folding patio-door systems. Here’s why: When closed, these doors look like any other, but they fold up like an accordion to provide access to the great outdoors. Full-wall installations are pricey, but you can reduce cost with a two-panel system.
Central vacuum
A central vacuum cleaner is a built-in system consisting of a power unit, collection canister, and hose. Connected by special pipes installed within interior walls, the system collects dust and deposits it in the centrally located canister. Five times more powerful than an upright, it’s quiet and efficient. Plus, an entry-level system can cost as little as $800.
Excellent insulation
Insulation isn’t sexy, but when it’s 95 degrees in the summer or the mercury dips below freezing in the winter, your buyers will thank you for this, even if they didn’t see the perceived or real value when they first signed the sales contract. Forget the entry-level insulation, and go for something that will really stuff the wall and the roof. While you’re at it, don’t forget the attic.
Nigel Maynard is senior editor, products, at BUILDER magazine.
A recent survey by the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) pinpointed the residential outdoor living and landscaping design elements that are developing in 2011, and many of them are continuing from 2010. While getting back to basics was the guiding theme for much of the outdoor living market last year, “basic” is a relative term. Homeowners at nearly every level are still very much interested in creating livable outdoor spaces that function like indoor rooms, according to ASLA’s executive vice president Nancy Somerville.
“The economy is trimming back a little bit on activity and preferences, but it’s certainly not keeping people from adding outdoor rooms,” she says. What’s keeping the market going is the value—up to 13 percent—that creating outdoor living spaces and landscaping adds to a home, she adds.
In 2011, homeowners’ landscape design and outdoor living plans are still scaled down somewhat because of economic concerns, but they’re not eliminating the elements that make outdoor spaces comfortable, attractive, and usable. They still want seating, lighting, and cooking features, but they’re willing to do without fully outfitted kitchens or audio/video entertainment systems. It’s only the high-end clients who are moving forward with such expensive luxury features and finishes, Somerville notes.
Topping the list of most popular outdoor living features for this year, rated as somewhat or very popular according to ASLA members, are exterior lighting (96.2 percent), fire pits/fireplaces (94.2 percent), seating/dining areas (94.1 percent), grills (93.8) percent, and installed seating such as benches, seat walls, ledges, and boulders (89.5 percent). Weatherized outdoor furniture (83.6 percent) and counter space (74.2 percent) also are popular elements that deliver on consumers’ desire for function.
Survey respondents ranked the popularity of many other outdoor living and recreational features, including:
· Decorative water elements (84.7 percent)
· Spa, including hot tub, Jacuzzi, indoor/outdoor saunas (75.9 percent)
· Swimming pools (69.4 percent)
· Utility storage (61.3 percent)
· Stereo systems (58.3 percent)
· Sinks (54.7 percent)
· Refrigerators (50.2 percent)
· Sports/recreational spaces, such as tennis and bocce ball courts (47.7 percent)
· Wireless/Internet connectivity (46.3 percent)
· Television/projection screens (45.4 percent)
· Outdoor heaters (44.4 percent)
· Showers/bathing (42.1 percent)
· Outdoor cooling systems, including fans (36.7 percent)
· Bedrooms/sleeping spaces (10.4 percent)
Outdoor structures also remain popular elements, with fences and gates ranked most popular (85 percent), followed by arbors (83.8 percent), pergolas (82.6 percent), steps (79.3 percent), decks (74.4 percent), and porches (72.3 percent).
Not only are homeowners concerned about energy costs and eliminating electricity-gobbling components from their plans, they also are paying greater attention to sustainability. This is driving interest in water-conserving elements, according to Somerville. ASLA members reported the following landscape, garden, and sustainability features are somewhat or very popular for 2011:
· Low-maintenance landscapes (94.2 percent)
· Native/adapted drought-tolerant plants (88.8 percent)
· Native plants (87.2 percent)
· Drip/water-efficient irrigation (83.1 percent)
· Fountains/ornamental water features (81 percent)
· Food/vegetable gardens, including orchards, vineyards, etc. (80.3 percent)
· Permeable paving (77 percent)
· Reduced lawn (72.6 percent)
· Organic gardens (65.5 percent)
· Recycled materials (64.5 percent)
· Rainwater/graywater harvesting (63.6 percent)
· Ponds/streams (62.5 percent)
· Rain gardens (56.6 percent)
· Xeriscaping or dry gardens (56.3 percent)
· Compost bins (49.4 percent)
· Solar-powered lights (48.8 percent)
· Geothermal-heated pools (23.2 percent)
Decorative water features such as ornamental pools, waterfalls, grottos, runnels, and bubblers are elements that haven’t slacked in popularity, despite a desire to conserve water, and Somerville says this is because of the enjoyment the sound and effects of water add to a landscape.
Homeowners’ growing interest in sustainable outdoor spaces seems to be keeping pace with the overall increasing focus on sustainability indoors. There’s been a gap between their desire for sustainable landscapes and their understanding of what that entails, but that gap is closing, according to Somerville. “Four years ago homeowners were interested in sustainability, but very few knew how to landscape sustainably,” she says. “But now they’re better educated and [ASLA] members are being asked more about features like permeable pavements and rain gardens.”
From Custom Home Online – Stephani Miller
