How Can Adults Get More Privacy At Home?

Q. We have four teenagers living at home. My wife and I are climbing the walls and are willing to redo the house in order to have more privacy. What do you recommend? (Milo in Las Vegas, NV)

A. Milo, if you're approaching a complete home rehab, it's time to think about adding more to your master bedroom to create a sitting room situation that will function as your inner sanctum.

We hear from parents of older children all the time. Televisions and video games blast away, and small knots of kids hang out in the backyard, playing pool or ping-pong. Teens and preteens have a tendency to proliferate throughout a house, colonizing one room, two rooms, and more. The balancing act is having your home be a welcoming place for everyone in your family. Children of any age should feel comfortable, relaxed, and free to entertain their friends. There should be ample space for kids to work on class projects, study for the big test, or just relax.

That might leave weary parents wearier at the end of a long workday, or looking for sanctuary from teens. The master bedroom, traditionally the largest bedroom in the house, has now evolved into a master suite, with en suite bathroom (a bath that is accessible only from inside the master suite), a walk-in closet, and a sitting room. In an ideal world, there would be his and hers master bathrooms, the height of luxury. Or you could share a single shower and have two separate toilet and lavatory rooms. Having that private place to soak in a tub, step into a steam shower, or sink into a bubbling personal spa is the adult equivalent of having your own Disney World at home.

The master bedroom suite is a refuge from teens and the rest of the world. Fill it with luxurious personal amenities so you won't have to go wander out into the rest of the house (if you don't want to). Some private sitting rooms are stocked with a small refrigerator, wet bar, coffee machine, television, and sound system. What more could you want!

We're not advocates for total retreat and isolation within any family, mind you. Experts suggest setting up some important family sit-down dinners and other activities that bring the entire family together.  But master suites can help the adults in any family maintain their balance. Everyone needs privacy and a place for relaxation and togetherness. Here are some of our favorite master bedroom suite resources, and good luck creating a sanctuary from your busy teens:

• We love electric beds, remote-control adjustable to watch TV and get out of bed easier (Dormia makes a good one)
• Dorm-sized refrigerators, especially the kinds that come in designer colors, are great in a master suite for keeping water, juice, beer,and chocolates at just the right temperature
• Look into the Balneo bathtub by BainUltra, with a heated back and hydrothermal massage air jets
• Add a gas fireplace to your master suite sitting room for cozy privacy and mood-setting romance
• Toto makes toilet/bidet combinations in their Washlet Series, and these are becoming more and more popular (Americans wash their hands after going to the bathroom, but we don't wash the rest of ourselves afterwards!)
• We like the Toshiba 23HLV87 23-inch LCD TV/DVD combo for the convenience of switching effortlessly from a favorite movie to regular channel surfing -- without all the extra equipment like tuners and DVD players

What Latest Kitchen Design Trends Do You Recommend?

Q. We're completely gutting our kitchen. What should we incorporate into our new kitchen to keep on top of the latest trends? (Cheryl in Miami, FL)

A. Cheryl, our first kitchen redo recommendation is to spend serious money on high-quality details and materials. Avoid fake anything, like ceramic tile that is made to look like wood grain or terra cotta.

Many of our clients live and die by their countertop and backsplash selections. It can be very stressful for them! They see neighbors with black granite countertops, and they have to have them, too. We don't believe a kitchen can be made or broken on this selection alone. In fact, we love more humble materials like Formica and Corian. They can be great fun and offer excellent, easy-to-clean food prep surfaces. Our favorite materials are recycled or more "green" and eco-friendly composites like Silestone and CaesarStone (and many others).

We also applaud green flooring materials, like cork, bamboo, linoleum, and others. For green materials you can incorporate in your new kitchen, go to a website like www.greenpeople.org or www.ecoproducts.com and search for the materials you are looking for.

Many of our clients are having a love affair with steamer ovens. The combination of a steamer and an oven, in a handy built-in combination wall unit, is a trend we love to support for the great cooking results. Fish and meat retain their moisture while skins can brown and crisp better. The added humidity to the cooking process is excellent, and clients report that veggies are delicious. They retain their color and nutrients, won't dry out, and their exteriors can be made soft or crunchy. Gaggenau (the model pictured here), Miele, and Kuppersbusch make good steamer ovens. The Neff Slide & Hide Steam Oven also has some nifty features and 14 different cooking modes.

Go to the iVillage GardenWeb Home Forums at http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/ to check out homemaker blogs and recommendations for all the latest appliances and other kitchen decorating advice.

Here are a few other "trends" that really aren't so trendy that we can highly recommend for your kitchen, Cheryl:

• Built-in coffee machines like the Brew Express
• Dual-fuel ovens, combining gas and electric benefits
• Warming drawers (both 27 and 30 inch wide)
• Drawer-style 18-inch dishwashers
• Smaller or bigger dishwashers (the standard is 24 inches, but you can get 18 or 30 inch models now)
• Incorporating two refrigerators into your kitchen, a small one near the breakfast area for milk, juice, and snacks; a larger one with the usual plethora of items nearer to your food prep
• Small appliances specifically tailored to small kitchens and apartments
• Disguised appliances, with exterior facings that match your kitchen paneling and molding
• Fun and funky hiding placess for appliances (example: Liberace put a microwave in an armoire)
• Undercounter lighting using Little Inch fluorescent lights from Alkeo (they save energy and light up prep surfaces with lower temperature; halogen undercabinet lighting tends to be very hot and heats up your kitchen cabinets)