Photo By: Unsplash

Who doesn’t love the thought of living in a luxury home? After all, when you come home after a long day of work, you want to relax in a space that is warm, inviting, and allows you to live your best life with your family and friends. Whether you’re considering purchasing a new home or you want to upgrade yours before you put it on the market, it helps to know what your house needs to truly be luxurious.

1. Lots of Space Outdoors

If you look at the most luxurious homes in Ohio, you’ll notice a common trait. The beauty starts as soon as you pull into the driveway. A big home requires a bit plot of land, or at the very least, a well-landscaped one. Look for lush trees, beautiful gardens, and plenty of space to spread out during family cookouts. Consider whether a home has basketball or tennis courts, a swimming pool, an outdoor kitchen, or other high-end features that will make your time outdoors as enjoyable as your time inside.

2. Smart Technology

The world is busy, and people want to do less when they get home. Smart technology is essential for any luxury home. Consider what would be easiest for you. Do you want technology that works with an app on your phone? You can use it to control your home’s temperature even when you aren’t there, turn on lights before you get out of the car at home, control your alarm system, lock your doors, and even start preheating your oven for you at dinnertime. If you’re buying, look for homes that have these installed or are easily set up for installation. If you’re selling, consider adding some of these features to raise your home’s value.

3. Open Floor Plans

Home with kitchens, dining rooms, and living areas all closed off from each other make it difficult to entertain or enjoy your family’s company. Cooking dinner makes it hard for you to watch the kids while they’re doing homework, and having a party means everyone needs to separate into different rooms. Open floor plans are a better idea. When kitchens, dining spaces, and entertaining spaces are combined, it makes it easier to feel like a family unit or to better entertain your guests. Even cooking is easier because you can pull up your favorite recipes on YouTube on the TV and follow along from the kitchen.

4. Plenty of High-End Bathrooms

Whether you grew up with a large family or have one in a small house now, you probably know just how difficult it is to get multiple kids ready for school and parents ready for work when everyone is using one bathroom. Most luxury homes have more bathrooms than they do bedrooms, meaning everyone who lives there has his or her own bathroom, plus there are extras for the guests. At a minimum, have at least two full, luxury bathrooms. Consider high-end lighting for makeup application, double sinks, plenty of storage space, and walk-in showers with rainfall showerheads. Other luxury options you’ll find in many homes include heated towel racks and even heated flooring.

Whether you’re buying or selling now or planning to do so later, it never hurts to start thinking about what you want out of your dream home now. You’ll better be able to sift through home listings or work with an architect to build your own when the time does come.

Don’t limit your home to four walls and a roof, with a bit of creativity and a building permit, virtually any home can be modified into a luxurious retreat. Whether it means having a guest bedroom or a kitchen island, you can incorporate all this into your post-holiday reno.

Here are 10 ways you can go beyond the simple square you call home and add more personality to an otherwise drab living condition:

Adding a Bedroom

One of the most common additions to any home is that of an extra room. This is especially true for those who are expanding their family with children and relatives. Regardless of your need, extra space has potential to make you feel more comfortable.

Photo: Oliver Burns

BDB Tip: Don’t have the funds for a home reno? Some investors, such as Don Burns, will go so far as to put money into a property for the purpose of leasing it out for film and photo shoots.

Outside Decks and Patios

Who said anything about decks and patios had to remain square in dimension? Many homeowners have accepted a more artistic appearance when designing their outer spaces. It offers a unique aesthetic that could be intrinsic to the property. Some have gone so far as to install small ponds within the deck itself to give it a more natural appearance.

Outer-wall Waterfall

An outdoor waterfall can add a great deal of appeal to the property, but have you ever thought of turning the entire wall of your house into the cliff itself? Using stones to decorate the outer wall, and a bit of creative plumbing, you could turn the entire face of the house into an amazing mountain scenery complete with a tall waterfall and pond.

A Sun Room

Although fragile, sun rooms can offer a place where you can enjoy the outside atmosphere without actually being outside. During the winter months when the sun is up, this could wind up being one of the warmest parts of the house. It can also be ideal for those who love the outdoors but have local problems with insects such as mosquitoes.

Photo: Lucy Interior Design

Green House

One of the most common additions to the home is that of the attached green house. This gives you access to gardening year-round depending on your geographic location. It can be a way to grow your own foods or used as a method to relieve stress. Some homeowners have experienced improved air quality of their property as plants in the green house can help reduce airborne particulates while creating oxygen.

More Space in the Kitchen

The size of a kitchen is quite a common complaint, especially for those who love to cook. Like the family room, more space in the kitchen can be both practical and comfortable. A small expansion could give you the room you need for preparing meals or being able to cook without people bumping into you as they walk through the area.

A Private Bathroom

Most homeowners dream of having that perfect private bathroom adjacent to the bedroom. This can offer a great deal of comfort while making it easier to find the facilities in the middle of the night. Building your own allows you to create that perfect bathroom without being restricted to the floor plan. If you want a separate jet-powered tub and multi-head shower, than that is what you should build.

Photo: 2e Architects