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April home-maintenance checklistFix fences, improve energy efficiency and spiff up your home's entrance.
15 ways to update your kitchenNo huge remodel required; try these clever tips for a fabulous face lift.
Refreshing your kitchen for a resaleThese 5 changes can add a new feel to an old design.
Update your entry on a budgetTransform your home's look with easy updates to your entryway.
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How to pressure wash your houseIf you want a clean house, you must use this powerful tool correctly.
Hearths get hotThe new breed of fireplaces emphasizes design and energy efficiency.
© Martin Novak
Photo courtesy of Creative Home Engineering
Photo courtesy of In-Ground Trampolines
Photo courtesy of Barbara Butler Artist-Builder Inc.
Photo courtesy of Pillar Design Studios LLC
Photo courtesy of Spectrum Sports Int'l.
Photo courtesy of Barbara Butler Artist-Builder Inc.
Photo courtesy of Infinity Aquarium Design
© B. Franklin
Photo courtesy of Barbara Butler Artist-Builder Inc.
Photo courtesy of Garden Lines
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@19 Delta - Based on your grammar and spelling I certainly hope you don't have children of your own...
Anybody who spends $38k on a treehouse ought to be disallowed from ever handling money again.
10 kid-spoiling home additions
By Scot Meyer of SwitchYard Media
Replacing a garage door may be the kind of sensible renovation that adds value to your home, according to Remodeling magazine's Cost vs. Value report 2010-11. But it's also the kind of project that elicits yawns from your kids.
Parents with deep pockets and the inclination to rock their children's world may forget the new garage door and consider installing a secret door under the stairs or adding tricked-out treehouses, wall-sized aquariums and swimming pools that double as skateboard parks.
Many of these projects cost tens of thousands of dollars. If you have that kind of money to spare, the investment should pay dividends in the form of fun and enhanced imaginations. In some cases, it may even add to the value of your home.
10 kid-spoiling home additions
Secret entrances
Cinematic spies and superheroes have long relied on secret corridors concealed behind bookcases or staircases, but why should they have all the fun?
Phoenix-based Creative Home Engineering is among the companies that can build a hideaway for your children. The company built this secret entrance to a playroom concealed in a functioning dresser, and it was featured ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." The company also is working on a chair cushion that opens to reveal a spiral slide to a playroom, says Steven Humble, the company's president.
Most projects cost between $8,000 and $10,000 and are best-suited to children 8 and older.
"Kids definitely appreciate it more once they're old enough to read mystery books and watch 'Harry Potter' movies," Humble says.
Effect on value: None
10 kid-spoiling home additions
In-ground trampolines
Want to put a spring in your child's step — literally? Consider installing a trampoline in your backyard and burying it so that the bouncy surface is flush with your lawn.
That approach offers aesthetic and practical advantages, says Jack Gee, vice president of In-Ground Trampolines, which specializes in these home additions. Putting the trampoline at ground level reduces the risk of injury because many trampoline mishaps involve falling off the sides of raised models, which typically stand 2 to 3 feet high.
In-Ground Trampolines' systems sell for $1,550, and homeowners can expect to pay an additional $800 to $1,800 to have a professional landscaper install one, Gee says.
Trampolines are best suited for children 6 and older, who should be supervised when using the equipment.
Effect on value: None
10 kid-spoiling home additions
Outdoor theaters
"The play's the thing," Shakespeare wrote. If you want to encourage your kids to feel the same way, treat your budding thespians to their own theater. Wannabe rock stars would love it, too.
Barbara Butler Artist-Builder Inc. built this stained redwood theater with a 12-by-9-foot rectangular stage on a raised platform, with front and side walls and a curtain rod. It costs $29,920; delivery and curtain installation are extra. It's appropriate for children of all ages.
Effect on value: Negligible. It might clinch the sale if you find buyers with show business-minded kids of their own.
10 kid-spoiling home additions
Backyard skate parks
Skateboarding is one of the fastest-growing sports in the United States, and the options for anyone wanting a backyard skate park are expanding rapidly.
Rampage LLC sells backyard skateboard equipment, including grind rails for $150 and half-pipe ramps starting at $2,510. Pillar Design Studios LLC creates custom, backyard skate parks, including skateable bowls that also function as pools. The company recently built a 1,500-square-foot bowl for about $45,000.
Skate parks are best-suited for older kids. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children younger than 5 never ride a skateboard and that children 6 to 10 ride only under supervision.
Effect on value: Depends – a skate bowl that doubles as a pool could increase the value of your home, real-estate agents say, but other skate parks could turn off buyers and hurt the home's value.
10 kid-spoiling home additions
Rock-climbing walls
If your kids sometimes have you climbing the walls, maybe you should give them the chance to do the same — for real. Rock-climbing walls can be fun and good exercise. Parents who want to get one for their home have many options, starting with do-it-yourself projects made with plywood, as manufacturer Atomic Climbing Holds suggests.
Climbing boulders, like the ones made by Hyde Park, Utah-based Spectrum Sports Int'l, are another way to go. The company's Canyonz boulder has 31 linear feet of climbing surface, a 4-foot arch and a 14-foot tube slide through the center of the boulder. It costs $9,799.
Depending on their height, climbing walls are suitable for children 5 and older, although younger children should be supervised.
Effect on value: None, though a homemade climbing wall could hurt your home's value
10 kid-spoiling home additions
Treehouses
"An elevated getaway for kids who've outgrown the playground" is how Barbara Butler Artist-Builder Inc. describes its Long Island Tree House. The 30-square-foot clubhouse is attached to a tree 7 feet off the ground and includes windows, a deck and a fire pole for returning to ground level. There's also a ladder for climbing back up. It costs $38,870.
The heights involved mean that a treehouse generally is not recommended for children younger than 10.
That rule may not apply to celebrities. Actors Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes reportedly bought their 5-year-old daughter, Suri, a $100,000 treehouse, complete with running water, electricity and carpeting. But that treehouse is also said to come equipped with nannies and security cameras, so safety may not be such a concern.
Effect on value: None
10 kid-spoiling home additions
Wall aquariums
The success of the film "Finding Nemo" showed that fish can fascinate children, and custom-aquarium maker Infinity Aquarium Design is one of the companies that has benefited from that interest. Co-owner Nic Tiemens says costs can range from a couple hundred dollars for a regular, table-top tank to six figures for a custom wall aquarium. Infinity's designs start at around $10,000.
Aquariums and their denizens appeal to children of all ages, and Tiemens' company has installed tanks in preschools. The tanks require someone responsible on the premises; "Fish are living creatures, and they have to be fed," Tiemens says.
Effect on value: None, but an elaborate custom tank may actually hurt a home's resale value.
10 kid-spoiling home additions
Swimming pools
Pools are a hit with kids, offering fun and an escape from heat. That respite comes at a price, though, which can depend on the kind of pool. Wal-Mart offers above-ground pools for as little as $249, while in-ground concrete pools typically cost between $20,000 and $45,000.
Although a pool can be fun for children of all ages, some safety risks are involved. Even portable, inflatable pools represent a significant drowning risk for small children. Safety experts say a full-size pool must have a security fence on all sides.
Effect on value: Increase — the National Association of Realtors says an in-ground swimming pool can add as much as 8% to the value of a home.
10 kid-spoiling home additions
Playhouses
High-end playhouses can rival real houses in features and price. Designed to complement a client's 1910 English-style Connecticut home, for example, this custom "luxury play fort" was created by Barbara Butler Artist-Builder Inc. for $119,940.
But far less expensive options are available. HomePlace Structures' Backyard Cottage, which includes working windows with screens, shutters and flower boxes, starts at $3,199 for an 8-by-9-foot playhouse with a porch, two dormers and two windows.
Playhouses are suitable for children of all ages.
Effect on value: None.
10 kid-spoiling home additions
Garden railroads
Kids like trains; witness Thomas the Tank Engine. A garden railroad — or a life-size train for kids, designed for the home — is like a "mini Disneyland in your backyard," says Nancy Norris, who writes a column for Garden Railways magazine and designs and builds these small-scale railways.
A basic train set costs a few hundred dollars. For those with bigger plans, Norris offers services that start at $2,000 for a do-it-yourselfer and can reach $100,000 for someone seeking a more elaborate, custom-built garden railroad.
Norris says outdoor trains are most popular with children 4 to 14.
Effect on value: Negligible.
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