When you’re shopping for a luxury home or building one yourself, you have the…well, luxury of seeing to it that the home meets not only your practical needs, but your splurge-tastic wants.
These are six of the latest and greatest features that discerning buyers around the world are clamoring for in their luxury homes.
Swanky Swimming Pools
It’s not an exaggeration to say that no vacation home in a sunny locale is complete without a swimming pool. For example, one analysis of MLS data by the Miami Herald found a whopping 87% of $2-$3 million homes in Miami Beach sold between September 2016 to September 2017 had pools. The percentage for two of the priciest Miami neighborhoods–Coral Gables and Coconut Grove–was 100%. But even in colder climates, an indoor pool is a popular choice with busy owners looking to get in a few laps before breakfast without going to the gym.
A run-of-the-mill pool doesn’t cut it on a multi-million dollar property. Luxe swimming pools are often multi-level and uniquely shaped, replete with waterfalls, lush landscaping, glass tiles, built-in outdoor projectors, and underwater lighting and speakers. And of course, nothing says luxury like an infinity edge.
Entertaining Kitchens
With the explosion in popularity of cooking shows over the last decade, virtually everyone is now an aspiring sous chef. With this newfound passion for all things culinary has grown the desire to show off one’s skills during soires, turning the kitchen into a de facto stage. And many hosts find the party ends up centered in the kitchen anyway, so why not design the room to serve as an entertainment area?
This goes beyond open concept design; that is pretty much a given in 2019. A kitchen built for entertaining means expansive, ornate islands with ample seating. It means double ovens, dishwasher drawers, built-in refrigerators, and bespoke tables. For many in high society today it even means a second, “messy kitchen.” Think of a messy kitchen as a modern, miniature version of a Downton Abbey-style staff kitchen of the aristocracy of yesteryear. It’s simply a smaller area out of “public” view that’s intended for all the non-glamorous food prep, cleanup, and everyday functions a typical kitchen serves: the stacks of dirty pots and pans, the mail, the cellphone charging cables.
Privacy and Security
They may seem like intangibles, but privacy and security are in high demand for true luxury home buyers. These titans of industry and wealthy investors are keenly aware of the mood in America today against “the 1%,” and they’re willing to pay for the hard-and-fast features that give them the sense that their home is their castle. For them, it’s a hedge against risk like any other.
Cutting-edge tech is therefore a must-have: fingerprint or retinal scanners at entrances; night-vision-equipped surveillance cameras connected to Wi-fi for monitoring the house from anywhere in the world; panic rooms; backup generators; and even escape routes to helipads are all on the table, depending on the buyer.
Even with all of these revolutionary options, the most selective buyers are more and more relying on a time-tested way to stay safe: seclusion. In a 2016 report, Luxury Portfolio International surveyed 5,000 high-net-worth people from 12 countries and found 82% valued personal privacy more than any other home feature.
Although some may settle for high fences or gated communities, most buyers protect their privacy by buying large amounts of acreage around the home (including neighboring homes, in some cases), building in out-of-the-way locations with hard-to-find driveways, and even going to great lengths to make the home invisible to online searches.
Jaw-Dropping Home Theaters
Privacy is an important aspect of security, but there’s also fun to be had in bringing the world to you. Advancements in home video and audio have made it possible to craft a home theater experience that is better in literally every way to going out to a multiplex cinema. In fact, excellent home setups are now so obtainable that cinemas themselves are racing to catch up to the experience the average homeowner can have at home by bringing leather seats, dinner service, and other perks to their theaters.
True luxury home theaters nail the “basics,” or the A/V hardware, by opting for a premium 4k HDR projector and top-shelf surround sound like Dolby Atmos. But it’s the distinct touches that make an outstanding movie room: a personal popcorn machine, reclining theater chairs, cocktail bar, and one-of-a-kind design themes.
Signature Pieces and Master Craftsmanship
Speaking of one-of-a-kind touches, signature or statement pieces are a staple desire throughout the house for many luxury home buyers. For a certain class of people, this means mounting expensive cars on the wall. (Seriously, it’s practically a trend.)
For those with slightly more modest budgets who still have room to discriminate, this could mean practically any kind of decor, furniture, or architecture that The Joneses can’t get in their house because you’ve got the only one. The possibilities are virtually endless: doors from a castle in Germany, ceiling beams from French Country, stained glass windows from Rome.
Elegant Wine Cellars
Americans are the heaviest wine drinkers in the entire world, so it stands to reason that those with the capacity to have their own wine storage area for their exotic reds and whites would make that happen. According to a 2017 report by the National Association of Home Builders, a wine cellar was the second-most desired amenity for 31% of new-home buyers with an annual household income of $150,000 or more. (Media room was the top answer.)
Incidentally, unlike recording studios and other extremely customized luxury features, wine cellars are highly ranked for special amenities that contribute to higher home sale prices. So if and when you decide to sell, this particular amenity should prove to have been both a fun perk and a sound investment.
International Luxury Living—Simplified.
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