Artisan Lifestyle Custom Home Builder Blog

Five Items Every Wine Lover Needs in their Luxury Home

They say red wine is good for the heart, but these five items will win any wine lover’s heart, too. There’s no better wine accessory than your own custom wine cellar, but enhance your wine experience with these five premier items – cellar or not.

Wine Refrigerator

Every wine aficionado has their own preference of ideal wine drinking temperatures.

Whether you have 100 to 900 wine bottles or like your wine warmer than others, there are plenty of wine refrigerator designed to meet your needs. Marvel excels in their line of luxury wine refrigerators, offering dual zone and two zone refrigerators.

If you have a more extensive wine collection and larger pocketbook at that, then GE’s Wine Vault may better serve your ends. The $30,000 refrigerator is a spacious 8’ x 9’ vault that can house up to 975 bottles of your wine collection. As if that wasn’t enough, the vault comes complete with a sophisticated Cellar Management System, which has pre-programmed information about thousands of wines.

Wine Tasting Room

Showcase and treat others to some of your favorite and finest wines in your very own wine tasting room. Design your custom wine haven where you can entertain other wine lovers and truly savor the complete experience every glass.

Personalized Wine Bottles

Various companies like Windsor Vineyards allow customers to personalize their own wine bottle, from selecting a wine to even designing the bottle. Order your own personalized bottles to treat others to quality wine and showcase your love and knowledge of wine. Who knows - you may turn them into a wine lover, too.

Personalized Wine Glasses

Personalize your tasting experience even more with monogrammed wine glasses. Add a personal touch to your events with personalized glasses. They also make a great gift for others. Williams-Sonoma offers a wide variety of monogrammed wine glasses that will be sure to please you and gift recipients

WinePod

You can’t personalize the wine experience any more than by making your own wine. WinePod, the world’s first personal winery system, allows you to do just that. Its all-in-one, revolutionary winemaking system allows any wine lover to make quality wine right in their home. You don’t even need any prior winemaking experience. With the WinePod, you can make up to 60 bottles and even control it from your own computer.

With these five wine accessories, you'll be sure to have the ultimate wine experience any wine lover would dream of.

Six Stunning Countertops for Your Luxury Kitchen

Forget those granite countertops that every luxury home builder advertises. Take a look at these eye-catching countertop alternatives for your luxury kitchen.

Butcher Block

Enhance your cooking experience with a built-in cutting board in your kitchen. Butcher block countertops will not only add enhanced functionality, but extra warmth to your luxury kitchen. Butcher Block Co. offers a multitude of butcher block options - maple, red oak, walnut, and cherry woods available in edge, end, or blended grain styles. Butcher block countertops will truly make you feel like you’re an executive chef.

Concrete

Today, concrete isn’t just for cement use. Available in a variety of stains, colors, aggregates, and coatings, concrete presents endless possibilities. Cheng Concrete’s concrete countertops offer great versatility with unmatched durability that will fit any kitchen style.

Glazed Volvic Lava Stone

From the volcanoes to your kitchen comes the extremely resistant volvic lava stone. Available in an assortment of shapes and colors, Pyrolave’s glazed volvic lava stone worktops will take care of your kitchen needs. These worktops are easy to care, withstanding high temperatures, acids, and corrosive products.

Onyx Countertop with LED Lights

Make your kitchen truly glow with an onyx countertop enhanced with LED lighting underneath. Onyx’s translucent feature allows underneath LED lights to display its stunning stone details. This will really catch your visitors’ eyes and leave them with a striking first impression of your luxury kitchen.

Recycled Glass

Vetrazzo®’s recycled glass countertops offer all of the qualities of granite and more. Using 85% glass, with all being recycled glass, Vetrazzo countertops are striking, yet sustainable. Due to its glass and concrete makeup, these countertops are extremely durable and can be resealed to maintain its sheen. A glass countertop will distinguish your kitchen from the rest.

Silestone Quartz

Wipe your kitchen safety worries away with a Silestone® Quartz countertop. Sileston®e, as offered by Cosentino, features a built-in Microban® antimicrobial product that can help prevent the growth of odor-causing bacteria, mold, and mildew. Start your cleaner, safer lifestyle with a Silestone® countertop – available for bathrooms, too.

These striking countertops will truly set your luxury kitchen apart from the rest and leave your visitors with a lasting impression.

Four High-End, Eco-Friendly Products for Your Luxury Home

The “green, eco-friendly” trend has come and won’t be leaving anytime soon. These products show that you don’t have to sacrifice luxury or style for sustainability. They’ll leave your visitors impressed while you can feel great about having an eco-friendly, luxury home.

Fireplace

There’s nothing cozier than using a fireplace in your luxury home. With EcoSmartTM Fire’s environmentally friendly fireplaces, you’ll no longer have to worry about polluting the environment. Their stylish, ethanol fuelled fireplaces are available in a variety of styles, including designer, renovator, and grate ranges. Using denatured ethanol, these green fireplaces burn clean and barely requires any maintenance. Doing your part to help the environment has its rewards; customers can receive a tax credit up to $1,500 or 30% off any EcoSmart Fire product purchase. These fireplaces will impress any of your visitors with their eco-friendly, sleek designs.

Furnishings

Dedicated to style and sustainability, Uhuru Design offers beautiful, eco-friendly home decor. Uhuru’s products feature materials (wood, metal) that have reclaimed, recycled, repurposed, or reuse. From your dining room to your bedroom, Uhuru offers upcycled products for all of your home furnishing needs. Their handcrafted, timeless pieces will have your visitors inquiring where you got these.

Flooring

Eco-Friendly Flooring’s high-quality, green flooring options will distinguish your luxury home from others. Featuring bamboo, cork, linoleum, stones, recycled metal and glass tiles, and reclaimed and sustainable woods products, Eco Friendly Flooring’s products won’t have you sacrificing design for sustainability.

Lighting

From irrigation systems to luxury homes, solar panels are being used to power all sorts of items over the world. Veranda Solar shows that you don’t have to break the bank to take advantage of solar energy. Their flower-shaped, high-quality panels can be installed easily, allowing for great versatility. Veranda Solar offers aesthetically-pleasing solar panels at an affordable cost. Although they are still in their prototype stages, you can go ahead and sign up to be on their list of potential customers when their product officially debuts.

These eco-friendly products will not only leave you feeling great about having a green luxury home, but will leave you with a stylish, environmentally-friendly luxury home to show.

Six High-End, Built-In Coffee Makers to Start Your Morning Off Right

There’s nothing like a good cup of joe in the morning. These seven built-in coffee makers will help you start your day off on the right note. At the touch of a button, you can have you can be your own barista and make that perfect cup of coffee.

Simple and Sophisticated

With its sleek design, the Miele Coffee System CV4070 provides all the options a barista could ever want and need to make that perfect cup of coffee. Using its multilingual LCD display, you can adjust everything from the grinding and cup settings to the water temperature. It will even prompt you when more fresh water and coffee beans are needed. Equipped with a frothing system and dual dispensing spouts, including a hot water spout, the system will even take care of your other hot drink needs. What more could you ask for in a coffee machine?

Capsule, Quality-Driven

Just when you thought making coffee couldn’t become any easier, the Miele CVA2650 Series Built In Nespresso Coffee System does just that. Capsule coffee systems have become a popular sensation in homes today, using single-serving “capsules” that come in a variety of blends. With five individual capsule chambers and capacity for up to 20 coffee capsules, you can even create up to four user profiles to accommodate personal preferences. This coffee system delivers an extraordinary personalized coffee experience for every user.

The First Built-In Drip Coffee Maker

Meeting the quality expectations set by the Specialty Coffee Association of America, the Brew Express by Lance Larkin is the first built-in drip coffee maker. Featuring a large thermal carafe, the coffee maker lets you decide how much you want to brew – from a single cup to 12 cups. The Brew Express is directly connected to your water supply, self-filling on command. All you ever have to do is just add coffee.

Why travel to Italy when you can welcome the same gourmet coffee into your home? The Bosch Benvenuto (Italian for “welcome”) built-in coffee machine will deliver that rich cup of coffee you’re looking for. With a variable brewing and grinding system, you just need to decide and it does all the work for you. The Benevenuto’s innovative AromaSwirl brewing delivers maximum flavor extraction with each brew. Complete with a frothing nozzle and hot water spout, Bosch has perfected the finest coffee experience with the Benevenuto.

Eco-friendly Coffee for Two

Looking to stay eco-friendly? Fagor’s MQC-A10x built-in coffee machine is no exception to the company’s commitment to being green. This coffee maker can even prepare two cups at the same time, so no one will have to wait to enjoy their gourmet brew. Featuring a multilingual display panel, this energy-saving coffee maker also provides weak, medium, or strong espresso options, as well as water and steam options.

Stylish, Space-Saver

Maybe you’re looking into a built-in coffee maker to save space, but that doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice style. Complete with a sleek, ergonomic design, the AAriston MCA15NA 21” Built-in Coffee Center has it all. The coffee maker can serve all your needs thanks to its frothing system, automatic grinding system and water reservoir, and dual heating element systems - letting you make a hot tea or latte while you brew that perfect espresso. The Ariston MCA15NA 21” Built-in Coffee Center truly excels in design and performance.

And just when you thought these built-in coffee machines had it all, there’s the Miele EGW 4060-14 Cup Warmer . This sleek, fast full extension drawer integrates beautifully with Miele’s built-in coffee makers. Use the drawer to warm both your plates and cups.

Your luxury kitchen isn’t complete without the gourmet coffee experience. Don’t settle for an average cup of joe when these high-end coffee machines can deliver a gourmet experience right in the comfort of your home. The possibilities are unlimited with these premier, built-in coffee machines

Five Luxury Home Spa Must-Haves

A visit to the spa is one of the best things you can treat yourself to, but why go to a spa when you create your own luxurious experience right in your Artisan Lifestyle luxury custom home?

Sauna
With a variety of options, you can have a sauna custom built to your specifications right in your home. In addition to the stress-relieving effects, other sauna benefits include blood pressure decreases, muscle relaxation, and detoxification.. Treat your muscles to these benefits without ever having to leave.

Towel Warming Drawers
Think those warm, luxurious towels are just for spas? Have these in your own bathroom with towel warming drawers. Keep your towels, slippers, and bathrooms warm and ready at your convenience with these drawers.

Heated Floors
With radiant floor heating, you’ll never have to step on cold tile floors again. Heated floors will provide you with that warm, spa experience you’re looking for. Choose the flooring material you want and the rest is in your fingertips.

Whirlpool Bath Tubs
Treat yourself to a soothing, whirlpool bath in the comfort of your own home every day. Let the worries float away while the whirlpool jets will help ease any muscle tension.

Steam Showers
If you don’t have room for a sauna, but still want the same effects, invest in a steam shower. By simply installing steam generator to your existing shower, you can experience the soothing steam as its dispersed throughout the entire shower.

These investments may total up to quite a few visits to your local health spa, but it’s an investment well worth it to turn your luxury home into a luxurious, yet very convenient resort.

 

Five Ways to Personalize Your Luxury Home

With luxury homes, it comes to down to details that will leave your guests with a lasting impression. What better way to make that impression than having items monogrammed?

Personalized Cooking Surfaces
Grill companies, like Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet, are offering personalized cooking surfaces. Made from 304 stainless steel, ¼” thick slabs, you can have a custom made grilling surface with your initials, monogram, logo, or other artwork. With comparable “grill marks” to monogrammed cast-iron brands, these cooking surfaces are easier to care for and have various grilling patterns to accommodate your grilling needs.

Monogrammed Doormat
Second to curb appeal, your door mat may be one of the first things your visitors may notice. Impress them with a monogrammed doormat. Retailers like Frontgate and Williams Sonoma both offer a plethora of door mat options, including color, size, shape, and style, which can be personalized monogrammed with your family’s surname or initial.

Monogrammed Linens
From your dining room to your bedroom, the possibilities of custom monogramming are endless – even monogrammed toilet paper is available. Napkins, tablecloths, runners, towels, bed linens, and pillows are just a few of the items that will leave your guests with a lasting impression after a visit to your home.

Personalized Barware
With wet bars and wine cellars being standard features of luxury custom homes today, make your mark on your guests personalized barware. From monogrammed wine openers and wine bottle tags to monogrammed coasters and glasses, your guests will be sure to remember the thought you put into your home and furnishings.

Family Photos
Decorate your walls with family photos, not just art pieces. Nothing will encapsulate your home better than pictures of your family. Find a professional photographer to capture family snapshots that you and your family will treasure for years.

Fine goods retailers like Frontgate and Williams Sonoma carry a wide range of these products. It’s all about the details that will truly personalize your Artisan Lifestyle luxury custom home and make it yours.

Artisan Lifestyle Homes is a Green Home Builder

Green home builders are popping up everywhere, and you probably realize that having an energy efficient home has become an increasingly hot topic. In the green market there are numerous options available to choose from, and you want to find options that make sense both environmentally and financially.

If your the kind of person who want's to see a continual return on your investment, then you'll be pleased to find that Artisan has recently implemented spray foam insulation into our list of standard features. Careful review has shown that foam insulation is a green option that delivers a huge return on investment. With it's great insulation and sound reduction qualities, as well as increased rigidness to the overall construction, spray foam insulation just makes sense, doesn't it? Having your new custom home built from Artisan is truly an amazing advantage to you as a new home buyer as it will substantially cut down the cost of your utility bills, allowing you to enjoy the Lifestyle you're looking for.

Imagine the savings you'll see each month, then fill out our quick contact form so an Artisan Lifestyle Consultant can begin discussing other green options for your new home.