Home improvements that add romance
Forget about the usual candy and flowers for Valentine’s Day. This year add a little romance to your house with some home improvements. Of course, some might take a while to install. But you can surely get them done by next Valentine’s Day.
Bathroom or bedroom fireplace
If a shower can be built for two, so can a bathtub. And check out the fireplace reflected in the mirror. (Photo: BC Renovations)
This might sound really tricky if you didn’t do it before your home was built, but I’ve done it myself. I built a beehive fireplace in the bedroom and had a natural gas line run to the hearth to fuel the flames.
Remember, burning wood in a fireplace indoors or out is heavily restricted in Arizona; use natural gas or propane. Another issue is how to vent the fireplace to provide air for the fire and to remove exhaust. There are a number of ways to do it safely.
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Vents can be run through walls to the exterior of your home, just like clothes dryers. Vent-free fireplaces are also possible to build but are strictly limited by city and county regulations based on the size of the room where they are being installed. In Phoenix, for example, a vent-free fireplace can only produce 6,000 BTUs in the average bathroom. In a bathroom or small bedroom, you may not have enough space to do a fireplace safely without having a vent or chimney.
According to Russ Gibson of Arizona Fireplaces in Phoenix, plumbers can run gas lines over the roof to the room where you want the fireplace. Or you can install a propane tank just outside the bedroom or bathroom to supply fuel. You also can install an electrically lit fireplace, but it just doesn’t provide the same kind of excitement that real flames will.
One of the newest trends is to install linear (long, skinny style) fireplaces instead of the usual rectangles. For example, a fireplace that was 5 feet long horizontally might be only 14 inches high.
Install a backyard firepit
There’s something about a firepit that will lure you into your backyard. You can build a fairly inexpensive firepit using concrete pavers. You will want to have a plumber run a gas line to the pit to avoid restrictions in Arizona on burning wood. You can fuel your pit using a propane tank stashed in a cabinet nearby.
A firepit is a great place for family and friends to gather for parties or for the grandchildren to toast marshmallows.
Build a shower or bathtub big enough for two
Some homeowners take out the tub in order to install a super-size shower. (Photo: BC Renovations)
“We’ve been doing a lot of those double showers lately,” says Brad Christensen of BC Renovations in Phoenix. “They’re side-by-side showers with two sets of shower heads.”
If you want a supersize shower, you will want to have an assortment of nozzles and spray heads. It’s OK to have them coming out of walls, but what plumbing manufacturers call a rain dome, cloudburst or downpour from the ceiling of the shower is becoming a key ingredient in these megashowers. You want at least one portable spray head on a cord that can be removed from the wall for having water fights.
One of these tricky overhead shower heads is liable to cost big bucks. The Lacava Waterfall, for example, retails for about $1,000.
Dimmer switches for lighting in the bedroom and living and dining rooms
Dimmer switches allow you to set a romantic mood for the evening — whether it’s dinner for two or a crowd.
Installing dimmer switches is possible to do yourself but if you’re not comfortable working with electricity, call a licensed electrician.
A few tips for those thinking about a DIY effort: First, make sure the dimmer switch will fit the bulbs you have and that the dimmer is rated for the electrical load you have. Do not use bulbs with wattage greater than what is specified for the fixture. If you’re planning to use CFL bulbs, you need a special type of switch.
Read all manufacturer’s instructions before doing the installation. Turn off electricity for the room involved at the main electrical box. Turn the wall switch off and remove the wall plate. Use an electrical tester to be sure exposed walls are completely off and don’t carry live current.
Add mood lighting to the yard
Let outdoor lights paint a picture in your yard. (Photo: Think Green Landscaping)
Everybody knows they need path lights, but lighting up your yard at night can be a whole lot more than a safety concern.
Lighting up the yard should be like painting a beautiful picture. You can use lights to tell people what you want them to look at and hide what you don’t want them to see. You want to use different levels of intimacy in nighttime lighting — some places with more light (perhaps an outdoor kitchen) and some quieter spots with less light. You want to accent focal points in the yard like big trees or beautiful cactuses. But be careful, says Bill Jenkins of Think Green Landscaping in Scottsdale, “If you light everything, then nothing is a focal point.”
If you use too many bright spots and they’re pointed in the wrong direction, you could produce a glare-bomb effect, like an overlit parking lot.
Buy sumptuous cotton bed sheets with a 400-plus thread count
In general, a higher thread count can mean sheets will feel softer and last longer. They will keep you cooler in summer, an important factor in Arizona. The count is based on the number of vertical and horizontal threads woven into a square inch.
If the quality of fibers is poor or the construction of the sheets is faulty, the thread count might not mean much. Consumer Reports says once you get above a thread count of 400 the number is pretty meaningless because it’s difficult for a manufacturer to fit that many threads into a single inch.
We recommend buying Pima cotton, grown here in Arizona, or Egyptian, which comes from the Nile River Valley. Both are known for their long fibers that create soft, strong sheets, but Pima cotton is generally less costly.
Next week: Building and rebuilding and then remodeling the White House — that home on Pennsylvania Avenue. It will be just in time for the birthday of George Washington, who played a key role in the first building.
For more do-it-yourself tips, go to rosieonthehouse.com. An Arizona homebuilding and remodeling industry expert for 25 years, Rosie Romero is the host of the syndicated “Rosie on the House” radio program heard in Phoenix from 8 to 11 a.m. Saturdays on KTAR-FM (92.3). Call 888-767-4348.
This article originally appeared on AZcentral.com
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