Sprinkled on shorelines and nestled under city lights are the homes that make the Inland Northwest unique. The South may be known for its villas and the East for its modern apartment buildings. But here in our corner of America, craftsman is king.
With locally sourced lumber siding and dark finishes, the exteriors of these homes have not changed much over the years. But their interiors have been completely reimagined. Steam rooms, high-tech thermostats and apps that control everything from the lighting to the cook time of a pizza are commonplace in luxury homes. The more unusual? Indoor basketball courts, glass floors revealing a lake below, televisions in the ceiling, and, of course, an indoor laundromat.
Each luxury home is unique, but bathroom spas, chef-sized ovens and tech hubs are the bare necessities. The definition of luxury is eternal but, like any decade of design, luxury trends have evolved.
Builder: Aspen Homes
Futuristic Luxury
Giving techy homes a cozy feel
As the technology at our fingertips migrates into our homes, lifestyles can be simplified and routines shortened. With the exception of a few tech touches here and there, many local home builders have not seen a huge rise in “smart homes.” Home theaters, pools, gyms, and man caves have yet to be replaced. Instead, they are enhanced.
Popular gadgets include in-wall tech stations with the ability to control security cameras, room temperatures, lighting, music, and even when the front door unlocks. Many of these thermostat-like-hubs can also video call or intercom other rooms in the home and be synced with a smartphone or tablet.
Luxury homebuilders also install new kitchen tech, like Bosch’s projection and interaction system. It stores recipes in a small box attached to a cupboard and projects them onto the countertop. Sensors detect hand movements, so home cooks can tap and swipe on the counter just like on an iPhone.
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In the bedroom, mirrors can be equipped with hidden TVs that can tell you the weather, the traffic conditions or the time before you even get out of bed. For home gyms, these mirrors can be programmed with fitness routines, so you can watch the instructors and also see yourself during a work-out to make sure you have the right form. These systems also include real-time metrics and live fitness instructors.
“Small doses of technology throughout a home can be cool,” says Shaleesa Mize, owner and principal interior designer at Little Pacific Design Studio in Spokane. . “Too
much technology makes a house feel less like a home and more like living inside a computer. There is a balance of tech and comfort that homeowners and designers collaborate to find.”
The Master Bedroom:
An in-home spa retreat
While luxury kitchens haven’t grown much, the master bathroom has taken up all the extra space.
“Master baths have tripled or quadrupled in size this build cycle… homeowners want their master bath to be their own ‘spa sanctuary,’” says Brandon Johnson, home builder and president of Coeur d’Alene’s Affordable Home Builders.
Luxury bathrooms often include a shower room or wet room, an enclosed shower-like room with several shower heads, built-in seats, steamers dispensing aromatherapy oils, and freestanding tubs.
Architect: Boden Mountain Architecture
Design: Eric Hedlund Design
The once popular whirlpool bathtubs have been tossed aside in favor of a cleaner, more spa-like option: air tubs. These tubs, once used exclusively by European physical therapists, have several jets that blow heated air into the bath water — instead of circulating stale water. Creating more bubbles than its whirlpool counterpart, the air tub is ideal for therapeutic massage, relaxing muscles, increasing blood circulation and soaking in healing salts and oils.
With a variety of spa amenities to choose from, not every luxury bathroom can be a one-size-fits-all. Eric Hedlund, owner and principal designer at Eric Hedlund Design in Coeur d’Alene, suggests a master bath should have pieces unique to each spa goer, much like a real spa would.
“Master baths often have custom-made elements, like vanities custom-built to the height of those using it,” he says. “Custom fixtures and sinks made of unique materials are also pretty popular.”
Traditional towel racks just don’t fit in the luxury spa experience. With hanging towel warmers and heated hand towel dispensers, the word “chilly” never has to be in the homeowners’ vocabulary.
Included in the entire spa package, master bathrooms often have beautiful views and large sliding glass doors with easy access to a balcony or an outdoor hot tub. In the winter, home spa goers can turn on bathroom fireplaces and heated floors to keep feet warm while hopping from bathtub to bathrobe and slippers.
Builder: Aspen Homes
The Kitchen:
Less like a utility room, more like a gathering space.
Kitchens aren’t getting bigger, they’re getting more open. Hedlund says luxury floor plans often unite the dining room, living room and kitchen. Walls aren’t necessary. The only barrier between the oven and the dining room table should be the kitchen island.
Without a wall to block the view, luxury kitchens show off ovens and refrigerators that look like pieces of fine art imported from Europe. French-inspired stoves with big hoods, brass knobs, 10 burners, broilers, pizza ovens, pasta boilers and steamers are not just for the likes of Julia Child.
“Kitchens are becoming an extension of the home’s design,” says, Mize. “Appliances are becoming focal points and art pieces. The kitchen has grown into another spot to gather and decorate, and less like a place to store stuff. ”
Modern luxury kitchens are often equipped with other unique appliances, like in-kitchen herb gardens, mini wine cellars and elaborate butler pantries. Redistributed refrigerators, tucked away in cabinets and hidden inside the kitchen island, allow bigger meals for bigger gatherings. Double dishwashers flanking deep farmhouse sinks guarantee easy cleanup.
Builder: Ginno Construction
Design: Eric Headlund
Open shelving and cabinets without doors are popular ways to display art and decor among homeowners’ kitchen wares, says Mize. The luxury kitchen is all about openness and splashing design elements throughout the home.
“Kitchens are the heart of the home, so not only do the obvious items like appliances get their share of attention, but I see significant design shifts…incorporating the kitchen as a design feature of the home,” says Johnson. “Kitchens are not just a utilitarian room anymore.” N
By Rosemary Anderson
Photography By Joel Riner