Shopping for a luxury home

Shopping for a new luxury home can be confusing. Many new luxury home builders will try to throw around a lot of real estate and architectural jargon to make the home sound sophisticated and luxurious. Many common amenities have some uncommon or outdated names that builders have resurrected as part of their marketing pitch. This article lists some of the more common luxury amenities found in the high end market.

Accessory Building - Simply a separate structure from the main structure on a property. Usually a workshop, garage, office or storage shed.

Arcade - a walkway covered by a series of arches or vaults supported by columns.

Casita - an attached, separate complete living space with its own private entrance. Also known as mother-in-law quarters or a teen suite.

Clerestory - is a high wall with a band of narrow windows running along the top.

Coffered Ceiling - a ceiling decorated with square (sometimes ornate) recessed panels bordered with trim for ornamental purposes. In the home, coffered ceilings are found in a den or library.

Loggia - usually a ground level gallery or corridor on the facade of a building. One side is open to the air, where is supported by columns or the wall has openings to allow in the air.

Porte-cochere - a French word that is used to describe a porch or portico-like structure covering a driveway at the entrance of a building through which it is possible for a horse and carriage or car to pass to provide shelter while entering or leaving a vehicle. It is also known as a carriage porch. Many late 18th and 19th-century mansions and public buildings have this feature.

Quoins - these are the dressed stones at the corners of buildings with stone facades.

Travertine - is a form of limestone commonly cut into tiles and used for flooring. Colors vary from ivory whites to mocha browns.

Veranda - is another word used to describe a covered porch that runs the length of one side of a home, typically found in ranch style homes.

Wainscoting - a term used to describe a wood or tile covering of an interior wall, usually from a third to half of the wall is covered.

New Luxury Home Amenities

Luxury home builders are hard pressed to keep coming up with newer, more luxurious amenities to draw in luxury home buyers. With new technology being developed at a rapid pace, new gadgets for the home have started to appear. Keyless door locks, heated floors, computer controlled appliances, internet based security and control centers are becoming old news. Amenities for most custom luxury homes are now limited only by the buyer's building budget. Some of the newer trends you'll see are whirlpool laundry basins for washing your delicates (rather so your cleaning staff can wash your delicates), door chimes that you can hook up to your iPod to play your favorite song instead of a boring old door bell or chime and a host of "green" products to cut your utility bills, save money and the environment.

Green Luxury Homes

The green movement hasn't hit the luxury market that much yet. Almost all luxury homes are built to meet the current Energy Star standards and some builders actually exceed the standards on every home they build. There are a handful of green luxury communities popping up across the United States. Most are targeted at the same buyers as other luxury homes, offering the same types of amenities. They will definitely appeal to a certain demographic. Below is a list of some of the terms you'll encounter in green real estate.

LEED - the certification from the US building council that a building is green. There are several levels of "green" certification.

Energy Star – this rating will be listed on appliances and other electrical devices in a green building.

Seer rating – this refers to the energy efficiency of the HVAC unit. The higher the rating, the more energy efficient the unit is. Typically the lowest rating you’ll see in a green property is seer 15.

Other trends in green building are the use of natural fibers, renewable and recycled materials, water conserving fixtures, tank-less or solar water heaters and energy producing solar panels. All of these things can be incorporated into a luxury home without sacrificing the luxury lifestyle.

I hope you found this article useful. When buying a new home, always take your own agent with you. Agents at the community work for the builder.

About the author: Charles Richey is a long time Nevada resident. He is the webmaster for a Las Vegas real estate website that specializes in Las Vegas green homes. Visitors can view the latest condo developments, floor plans, listings, new condo construction and information about the Las Vegas condos market as well.