Fewer people are buying new homes in Pembroke Pines these days as more people are buying used ones for the convinience of having to do less work.  Sellers are opting to make home renovations to spice things up a little and make their homes more atractive to buyers.

You could turn your bathroom into a high-tech spa or get some smart appliances in the kitchen. Maybe you do some green upgrades or maybe you do something purely for luxury, but be careful you might not want to sell your Pembroke Pines home after you are done! 

Here are some of the Coolest Home Upgrades:

1. It’s go big or go home with televisions these days – but when you bring one of these drive-in movie-sized screens home, it can often wreck the design of the room. When a buyer walks in, they won’t say, “Wow, what a nice house,” but rather, “Wow, what a big TV you have!”

Well now, you can have it all – a big screen and big style. Designers are increasingly choosing to hide gigantic televisions in the wall and cover them with a mirror or artwork so when they’re not in use, you don’t even know they’re there!

When it’s above the fireplace, it can be a framed mirror or piece of art. It could be mounted in the closet behind the mirror, hidden by a removable panel in the closet. You probably want a pro to do this because TVs require proper ventilation.

2. Fountains aren’t new and fire pits aren’t new but put them together – maybe even add some LED lighting and you could say “Welcome to the future”.

A water feature with fire shooting out of the middle can instantly remind you of that Hawaiian vacation (maybe pump some hula music into the outdoor speakers) or just ensure that you not only keep up with the Joneses but knock their socks off when they come over for a barbeque.

They can be rectangular trough-like structures with broken glass in the middle where the fire shoots out. They can be freestanding, attached to a pool or create a big ridge of fire in a stoned wall. Have a seat because you can control it all by remote control! 

3. Home Golf Simulator – Golfers have been practicing their swing at home for years but not quite like this: a floor-to-ceiling golf simulator with a massive screen to let you “play” on some of the coolest courses in the world from Hawaii to England.
A golf simulator is the ultimate addition to your game room next to the pool table and pinball machine.  Not only do you really feel like you’re on the course but it helps you with your game, with sonic ball-tracking sensors and a program that gives you valuable feedback on your swing. They run from $20,000 to $60,000 or more.

4. Glass Rooms on the Patio – Outdoor patios with full kitchens are getting even huger these days, with some nearing 10,000 square feet. They’ve got the Rolls Royce of grills, outdoor wine fridges, fireplaces, sweeping views — you name it. But guess what else they’ve got? Bugs.
High-end buyers with houses in exclusive neighborhoods in South Florida, are increasingly asking for these glass structures, out at the end of the patio where the best views are. They’re turning them into everything from outdoor dining areas and zen gardens to man caves and music studios.  A four-sided glass structure means there aren’t just northern views or southern views, Cotton says, there are north, south, east and west views! 

5. Exotic Landscape Lighting – Spotlights and those little solar path lights are just the first step. Now you can take your backyard to the next level by doing exotic landscape lighting.
Maybe it’s uplighting on the palm trees or in the waterfall that spills over into the pool.  The cool thing is that you can use solar lights so it won’t cost you an arm and a leg in electricity! Take a solar light, put it in a spotlight and turn it upside down shooting up into your landscaping or water feature like a fountain or koi pond. Landscape lighting in the water is very romantic because you get that constant flickering reflection, just like a fire does.

6. Outdoor Shower – These is not the kind you put next to the pool so the kids can wash off the sand, dirt or chlorine. These are luxurious showers made of high-end stone and other natural materials, with lush foliage that create your own personal Eden. You could even add things like a shower head coming out of a tree, creativity is the limit.
You’ll already find this type of outdoor shower in resorts in Bali, Fiji and the Caribbean, but now, homeowners are bringing the resort home. It’s your private shower, you could get completely naked and take a shower outside in your private garden. 

7. Master Control for Energy Consumption – You know you can control your entire house now from a laptop, iPhone or iPad. Here’s taking it to the next level, it is a master control for energy consumption.
This is very new, people are just experimenting with it. It helps make you more aware and more conscious of your energy usage, so you don’t waste energy.

Basically, they’re small digital panels that connect with the utilities and track various appliances and systems in your home. They can tell you everything from your usage to the temperature and how much it’s all costing you.

8. Pop-up Ventilation for the Kitchen – No one wants the lingering smell of smoke and cooking fumes in the kitchen, particularly in South Florida and the hot open-concept of kitchen-living area is right now. But hoods, no matter what high-end materials you use, can be clunky, not to mention they get greasy and dirty.
Enter the pop-up hood vent – You can sink it into an island or other countertop with an underground vent to the outside and then at the press of a button, it comes up, sucks all the smoke and fumes out and then press the button again and it comes down.

9. Cooling Drawer – Let’s face it, kitchens are getting cool. From sleek granite to smart appliances, this isn’t your grandma’s kitchen anymore.  One of the places where the most innovation is taking place is in the refrigerator. Maybe they have double French doors or are hidden by paneling that makes them blend in with the cabinets.
One of the coolest things – literally – is a cooling drawer. These are drawers with several different temperature settings, so you can store anything from soda, wine, snacks for the kids to even ice cream. They’re individual drawers, so you can have any number of them scattered around the house.

These renovations are not only great for your Pembroke Pines home look, but also to lure other members of the family into the kitchen to help or into the patio to spend more time with you as a family. Adrian Valdes‘ advise to you: Make it high-tech – and they will come!