Whats in a Million Dollar Home

Have you ever wondered what elegant custom features might be found in a million dollar home that could be transferred to your present or future home?

With the building of a million dollar home, it’s a given that it can be as individual as the owner who builds it. The variations on a theme can be endless ranging from exquisite tastes to the repugnant styling of garish purple columns interspersed with Michael Angelos “David” painted in kaleidoscopic color. So, lets keep this article mainstream, in the sense that we who may create/inherit a million dollars to spend in a home for the first time, would like some suggestions on how best to spend that money on some tasteful, elegant mansion that we will one day build.

Architectural advancements: one of the simplest ways to create your own modern day castle is the use of pre – cast concrete and fiberglass (also glass fiber reinforced concrete) along with modern plastics (polyurethane). These materials can be shaped to form anything from Spanish colonial architecture to the Greek Corinthian pilaster appointments as well as custom designed keystone archways of elegant, stately English manors.

Balustrade hand rails consist of those short vase-shaped columns which have given many an adventurer from Zorro to Earl Flynn the support to leap over the railings in order to continue their scintillating sword play. These handrails can be used to create stately balconies and window porches that cast an elegant look to a home whose only feature may be a plain stucco coated wall.

Pre-cast columns made of concrete always add the power of a stately manner whether used at the entrance of the home or as a columned walkway leading into the garden. Inside, the advantage of man-made stone columns, which can be glass fiber reinforced concrete or fiberglass, is the weight factor. Using this type of material for decorative and ornamental purposes can bring columns indoors as decorative additions to interior hallways. Since this product is almost 75% lighter, it allows the architect to create a medieval appearance without the worry of whether the house can structurally support the weight. From there the builder can accompany columns with various appointment, of molding and trim to create the castle you have always wanted to import from England. Add to this the centerpiece of a fireplace mantle centered in your great room or study, and you have the trappings of royalty. All these appointments help to establish that million dollar feel.

Polyurethane millwork is the plastic version which can also be used especially in climates where high moisture and mold is a problem so unlike wood, it does not split or splinter. There are ceiling medallions that are pre-molded can add an elegant touch to any dinning room. Corbels, pediments, wall light sconces, can all be made pre-molded to exemplify your style. Niches, recesses, sunk into a wall for the reception of a statue, are a nice touch inside or outside.

With the idea of stately opulence you can “see,” consider a foyer with a grandiose enhancement called the chandelier. Chandelier can range from medieval to baroque to extremely modern in appearance. Price ranges from a couple for thousands dollars to exquisitely expensive. For example, the Trump Taj Mahal Casino has over 14 million dollars of the finest Austrian crystal hanging form the ceilings. There are 14 that alone cost an average of $250,000 each and took over 20 man hours to put in place. What makes it have the million dollar feel is the amount of lead it contains, more accurately the % of lead oxide that it contains. Five to thirty percent increases the density of the glass, giving it more desirable refractive properties. Then there is the modern machine precision means of cutting and polishing. This latter method gives the fine edge that some believe adds the fire and brilliance of diamonds, this can create some expensive eye candy.

For the James Bond move, “Die Another Day,” the producers of the film heard of a chandelier that gave the impression of a massive ice form on fire. It was created by Schonberk and is call the “Jubilee”. Schonbek Chandeliers supplied 61 to fill the Ice Palace. There is still a chance to purchase one through an auction, or have them design your own futuristic James Bond piece.

Advanced wiring solution/wireless technology that can support the information age and create an integrated seamless technology is a consideration that needs to be thought through early. Support for home/office, networking between computers, home security systems that incorporate surveillance cameras (no million dollar home should be without) while putting together lighting controls, whole house audio/intercom system and incorporating your multimedia home entertainment center into one swell remote (old school) or wireless touch pads is a pre-construction consideration.

Future homes can be built with the latest cultural sensitivities. For example, “Green housing” incorporates the most efficient use of energy saving products with the most environmentally friendly materials. Preventing exposure to products that may contain excessive formaldehyde, lead and other volatile materials that could affect family health is driving a new way of looking at building materials. Along with promoting cleaner indoor airflow, whole house air-filtration systems are considered to be a standard consideration for the million dollar home.

One of the simplest ways to optimize energy usage is the placement of the house or in this case our luxurious mansions. Those that are placed with the longest wall or walls facing south will be able to benefit from solar designed panels that can reduce energy costs. Interior placement of the rooms in the house can mean all the difference. The highly used rooms should be on the south side, while placing rooms of low traffic or utility on the colder north side takes optimum advantage natural lighting and channeling of solar energy heat flow. This with zoned thermostatic controls of individual rooms means big savings. Which I’ll appreciate year after year considering my dream mansion has 27 rooms.