Luxury Vacation Home Ideas

• Consider making your bathroom into a spa in your luxury vacation home. Spas are the definition of luxury, but that doesn’t mean having to spend tons. Invest heavily in one key item, such as fancy stand-in shower or a bubbling bathtub, and then make the trimmings nice. For example, high-end towels can add a lot of luxury to your home without all the bells and whistles.
• Think about the little things. The land alone will probably be expensive enough, so use your space strategically. Instead of making the home large, how about focusing on the little things such as high-quality appliances? Luxury doesn’t have to mean large, and if you invest the money where it matters you can control cost.
• Find a contractor that specializes in the luxury vacation home. If you know people who have luxury vacation homes like the ones you want, find out who their contractors were. When interviewing contractors, take several bids and interview them extensively.
• Get ideas from magazines and make a notebook. Nothing communicates your vision better than pictures, and the more examples you capture the better. Make specific schematics for your dream vacation home and be as detailed as possible.
• Be open to the latest trends, but don’t be too much of a hurry jumping into what could be a fad. This could challenge your reselling abilities down the line. Think about including green features to the luxury vacation home, which will add to its value.
• Consider the lifestyle you want before laying down the foundation. For example, if you’re on the beach you may want a large patio for taking in the view and gatherings. However, the sun, wind and surf could burn you out sometimes, so make sure there’s an adequate living space where you can get away from it all.
• When choosing the location, consider the activities you will be participating in. Do you want to have boating and fishing opportunities nearby? Where will you store your boat?

Other considerations:

• Be aware of the local building codes, and have a building inspector check the work of your contractors.
• Research your contractors, finding out how long they have been in business. Ask customers how they felt about the job the contractors did on their luxury vacation home.