The Wall Street Journal published an article recently that highlighted some of the unique and innovative things that homeowners are doing to remodel and keep their homes current, whether they are looking to sell now, or in the future. Here are some ideas to keep you thinking.
What have you been doing to your Boston condo?
Cabinets
About 70% of kitchen cabinets installed last year were made of wood, according to the National Kitchen and Bath Association. Clean lines and unusual woods like apple are increasingly being used in contemporary kitchens; manufacturers say traditional buyers are ditching fussy details and opting for dark-stained cabinets intermixed with white ones.
Neff Kitchens ash veneer cabinets, $30,000.
Faucets
Faucets were the most commonly purchased item for kitchen spruce-ups last year, according to the Research Institute for Cooking and Kitchen Intelligence. Retailers say pullouts and specialty faucets such as potfillers are selling well. Brushed nickel and stainless steel are the best-selling finishes, especially in contemporary kitchens; in retro ones, buyers are choosing oil-rubbed bronze, aged pewter and copper.
Moen Showhouse oiled-bronze pot filler. $815.
Lighting
LED under-cabinet lights and chandeliers with energy-efficient fluorescent bulbs, like American Fluorescent’s Chesterfield and Facet models, are popular now, kitchen designers say; Freedonia Group projects this “advanced-lighting” category will grow 14% annually through 2011. Meanwhile, lights in range hoods are becoming decorative as well as functional: Elica’s Wave looks like, well, waves, while its Star hood resembles a disco ball.
Elica Collection wave light/range hood combination. Price not available.
Appliances
For resale, stainless still rules for its status value, real estate agents say. But some homeowners are opting for easier-to-clean glass-front appliances like Jenn-Air’s, or metallic finishes like copper, titanium, graphite and oiled bronze. (Some makers, like Fratelli Onofri, are showing colored finishes, like burgundy and blue.) Whirlpool Corp. says square shapes are losing ground to more contoured designs.
Jenn-Air floating glass refrigerator $2,949.
Floors
Vinyl is still the best-selling flooring, but it has been losing ground to laminates, ceramic tile and wood. Some vinyls now mimic natural materials: Earthwerks’s vintage planks look like distressed wood, while Stainmaster’s Ocean Crest mimics water-washed stones. Better-made bamboos, once thought to be too soft to use in kitchens, are catching on, too: Teragren says its specially processed Synergy bamboo is twice as hard as red oak.
Synergy bamboo flooring $10-$12 per square foot installed.
Countertops
According to the National Association of Realtors, 23% of home buyers consider granite or similar stone countertops “very important” in a home. Caesarstone’s Concetto is made of semiprecious stones, including agate and jasper. New eco-conscious alternatives include counters made from paper fiber, from companies like KlipTech and Richlite, and recycled glass, by EnviroGLAS and IceStone.
Caesarstone Concetto quartz countertop, $500-$600 per square foot installed.
Keith Munsell 
If you are interested in changing the tiles of your kitchen, then there are a number of natural stones available in the market. Natural stones such as granite, marble, sandstones, quartzite and limestone are used and can also be located on the web.