In luxury landscapes, not every feature gets the attention it deserves. While warm, sculptural, and social, fire pits tend to get lost in the visual noise of infinity pools, sprawling patios, and dramatic views.

If your outdoor space already makes a strong impression, you may need to be more deliberate to pull focus. Here are four ways to make your fire pit the focal point.

1. Arrange Seating With Intention

Where you place the seating matters just as much as the fire pit itself. For a luxurious setting, consider curved bench-style seating or deep club chairs arranged symmetrically around the pit. The goal is to create a defined, enclosed zone that feels like a destination within the yard.

Avoid overly spread-out layouts. Instead, keep seats within 36 to 48 inches of the flame to maintain intimacy and scale. It also helps frame the fire pit and draw guests inward.

2. Choose Cohesive Materials

Using consistent materials can strengthen the visual link between your fire pit and surrounding elements. Think beyond function—textures, finishes, and stone types should align with nearby surfaces to prevent the fire pit from feeling like an afterthought.

How to choose the right decorative stone for landscaping, for example, depends on both visual harmony and durability. In modern outdoor designs, tumbled limestone or honed basalt can echo the tones of surrounding patio tiles or wall veneers. If your space uses warmer materials, consider travertine or clay brick to maintain a natural palette.

Include one dominant material and limit additional finishes to one or two accents to avoid visual clutter.

3. Style With Fire-Resistant Accents

Minimal styling can make a fire pit stand out when you carefully consider it. Tempered glass, ceramic décor, and low-profile concrete planters introduce shape and tone without drawing focus away from the flame itself.

Try to use restraint here. A sculptural log holder, for instance, can function as both storage and visual interest—no need for extra clutter. Ensure that all materials are fire-resistant and non-reflective for the best results.

4. Use Purposeful Lighting

Lighting should draw attention, not compete with the flame. Instead of overhead fixtures, consider integrating low-path lighting, wall sconces, or in-ground uplights to create a warm glow that draws guests in.

Aim for warm white light between 2700K and 3000K. Stick to shielded or downward-facing fixtures to preserve the fire’s natural ambiance while enhancing its presence after dark.

A Design Detail Worth Revisiting

After considering these four ways to make your fire pit the focal point of your backyard, start thinking about the ongoing upkeep. The most thoughtful design will lose its presence when soot accumulates or materials begin to fade.

Make a point to wipe down surfaces and remove ash every week to keep the area clean and sharp. A fire pit that looks well-maintained will continue to command attention and stand out in a space where nearly every detail is competing for notice.

The post 4 Ways To Make Your Fire Pit the Focal Point appeared first on Luxury Home Digest.

Fast Company recently reported on a stiletto designed by someone who put comfort first. It seems Christopher Dixon, an aspiring designer, was hired by Serena Williams to design a clothing line. He asked about the comfort stilettos in Serena’s closet, and she responded as most women would and complained about discomfort but loving the look.

Dixon set about designing a stiletto that would be as comfortable as a sneaker and created the stunning and lovely Christopher Coy Collection.

The high platform, as others have discovered, helps level out the foot. Dixon also decided to add desired stability and did so by creating a stiletto with two heels. At first, the two-heeled shoe looks odd or like something a rock star would flash on the red carpet. But after the initial shock, these are really attractive shoes.

But the inside of these stilettos in the Christopher Coy Collection are like none we have seen or experienced. There are the cushy aspects and memory foam we love in our athletic shoes. And calfskin leather linings.

Be still my heart!

Sixty lucky women tested the shoes and all said these were the most comfortable high heels in their closets. Inside each pair of stilettos is also a microchip that also connects to one’s smart phone and explains the shoe’s individual design and where the elements came from in Italy. It also helps identify the shoes as being genuine Christopher Coy creations–and not a knock-off.

Prices for Dixon’s lovely Christopher Coy heels start at $425 and currently top out at around $1100.

My personal favorite Dixon design? The Alcia! But there are a couple of others that have caught my eye as well! 

by Roberta Murphy

The post Luxury of a Comfy Stiletto appeared first on Luxury Home Digest.

In Praise of Black Appliances

Several years ago, we sold a luxurious oceanfront condo in San Diego. The buyer, from Palm Springs,  loved the views, the spaciousness of the remodeled unit and the highly upgraded kitchen. The only thing she couldn’t stand was the stainless refrigerator (which the seller was happy to take with him).  In fact, she wanted to replace everything with black appliances.

I asked why she was so averse to stainless.

She replied that with three sons, she couldn’t stand seeing their fingerprints on stainless surfaces day in and day out. A black refrigerator was to be one of her first purchases.  I saw the condo after they moved in and the stainless kitchen had turned into a seriously sexy one. The black appliances perfectly contrasted with the warm wood cabinets with black trim. I was impressed.

Fast forward a few years and after seeing countless more stainless kitchens (including my own), we’ve become restless for change. The cherry cabinets have darkened over the years, and during the last few months I’ve found myself holding black objects up to the cabinets. Black for sure was more appealing than stainless. My hardware is also black and beckons for company.  A noir kitchen was on the horizon, for sure!

Appliances, fortunately, eventually wear out–or wear on patience. I have long pined for the induction cooktop I once had–and decided this last week that life is just too short. And our stainless refrigerator was a senior citizen at the ripe old age of 12.  Today, we headed over to Pacific Sales and ordered black appliances, which includes a lovely 6-burner Bosch induction cooktop and the JD Powers premier 3-door Samsung–all in black.

I asked the sales people if there had been an uptick in black, white and colored appliances and they said this is the case. Many people are tiring of the stainless kithens and are generally opting for the newer black or white appliances–and very often go for more colorful washers and dryers sitting in a laundry room that could use a big spark of color.

Taylor Murphy, a vocal landscape designer and tasteful designer, is also a fan of black appliances. She feels stainless is just passe and love the warmth of black with rich woods.

And in Europe, there seems to be a definite trend toward black and white appliances–perhaps though, because of higher costs for stainless, according to The Improvemente Center site. Will the glossy Noir or Apple White kitchens catch on more broadly in the United States?  Will stainless remain number one?

Nothing is permanent but change.

The post In Praise of Sexy, Black Appliances appeared first on Luxury Home Digest.

by Roberta Murphy

My new best friend in the kitchen is Alexa, also known as the Amazon Echo.

She plays my favorite music, answers quirky questions, reports weather, and was amazingly simple to set up. The 360 sound is very good and carries well throughout the downstairs area–and even carries well into the back patio and yard area.

Alexa’s size is both elegant and unobstrusive, with a diameter of a little over 3 inches and a height of less than 10 inches with a responsive circlular blue light on top that shows when she is awake. The volume is controlled by either gently twirling the top or using the magnetic remote control, which we mounted on the wall. I’ve played with distance commands, which seem to work pretty well from up to 15 or 20 feet away, as long as there isn’t a wall separating us–which can cause Alexa to misunderstand requests.

Overall, Alexa is a great 360 speaker system that plays like Pandora and also serves as a pretty cool personal assistant who not only answers a fairly wide array of questions, but is also provides sports info, alarm and time services.  And because the Amazon Echo pulls everything (except the physical controls) from the cloud, I am hoping Amazon will expand information offerings. Alexa will not, for example, give me stock quotes or finanacial information, which would be nice–and I am sure there are numerous other holes in Alexa’s body of knowledge.

She does have a sense of humor, though. When Alexa did not understand my request for a BP stock quote, hubby Mike called her a dumb ass. Alexa’s response? “That’s not very nice to say.” Ask a religious question, and you might get a straight answer–or a suggestion to search for books on religion at Amazon.

I signed up on Amazon’s wait list for the Echo as soon as I heard about it and was rewarded months later with notice of delivery. This is a review I would have put on Amazon’s site, but they’re not allowing it yet. I was fortunate as an early wanna-be-buyer to get my Echo for $99.00 which I think is a raging bargain. Still think it’s an outstanding buy at the current price of $199.00 for Amazon Prime members.

Have you tried it yet?

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In fact, if most people were to walk into their favorite bar or restaurant and notice their wine was being served through a tube, they would do a double-take. However, an increasing number of luxury restaurants and bars across the U.S. are jumping on the trend, and for good reason: Wine on tap is eco-friendly, cost-effective, and maintains the flavor and integrity of the wine to a pitch-perfect degree.

Four Essential Elements of Serving Excellent Wine on Tap

If you’re considering this trend, keep the following elements in mind:

1. Storage Temperature

The storage temperature of your kegged wine should be about 55 degrees fahrenheit, with a minimum temperature of 40 degrees F and a maximum up 75 degrees F. Since the keg is less susceptible to variations in temperature and the high volume of the liquid can withstand temperature fluctuations, the range here is a bit larger than the range for traditionally stored wine. The same storage temperature applies for both red and white wines.

2. Serving Temperature

There’s a pretty major difference between the serving temperature of white wine on tap versus red. Reds can be served at temperatures ranging from 55 to 65 degrees fahrenheit. For wine wines, aim for a chilly 40 to 45 degrees fahrenheit.

3. Gas Type

Although you can use either nitrogen or argon for wine on tap, most people recommend nitrogen. The ideal blend is about 75% nitrogen and 25% carbon dioxide, and it also happens to be readily available. Guinness, a staple in many restaurants and bars, uses this blend too.

4. Equipment

A high-grade stainless steel dispenser (304 or better) is imperative, since a lower grade will taint the flavor of the wine. Fortunately, since stainless steel is an increasingly popular choice from fermentation to storage, finding the right dispenser for your wine on tap is easier than ever. For your tubing, consider Barriermaster Flavourlock, which prevents oxygen permeation and therefore changes in flavor.

—Meg Northrup is a writer and wine connoisseur who works for Micromatic.com, a leader in the wine on tap trend

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We once lived in Big Bear Lake and had a redwood-stained deck that meandered as a set of platforms through the pines.

During the warm summer months, we would dine outdoors and savor the quiet setting.

The only problem with those decks and the harsh winters that buried them in snow is that we had to have them refinished every couple of years. It was no easy task.

Today, we would use a product like Trex that doesn’t rot and doesn’t require bi-annual refinishing.  When browsing for deck ideas, I ran across this Trex photo and couldn’t resist sharing. It reminded me of summer dinners and laughter with friends in the mountains.

Equally enticing is that Trex is a green solution, in that it manufactures its product from recycyled wood and plastic that requires cleaning, but not the staining and refinishing we endured with our wood decks.

The post The Luxury of a Warm Wood Deck appeared first on Luxury Home Digest.

Leave it to Italian designers to create the ultimate in luxury rocks for sexy lightscaping around the home.

These remarkable lighted rocks by Oluce look as if they might have been swiped from the lawn of a distant planet. In reality, though, they were created by Italian designers Marta Laudani and Marco Romanelli with Massimo Noceto. Made from weather-tested polyethelene, these lighted Oluce stones glow with the aid of a screw-in fluorescent bulb.

Dont expect to find these luxe rocks in your local hardware or lighting store though. They are available by special order and then only in large quantities–whatever that means. Current prices for the rocks generally run in the $500+ range, while the glowing Oluce table lamp runs over $1700 on Amazon.

I hope to see some of these luminous beauties in San Diego’s luxury homes before too long. They would look lovely sitting on a table or other surface providing soft and romantic accent lighting.

For additional information, you may call ylighting at 866.428.9289 (This is an unpaid, unexpected and unsolicited commercial)

I wonder if these lighted rocks would attract bugs???

Other fun and imaginative luxuries for the luxury home:

D. Porthault Sheets and Linens

The Luxury Blingdex

The Intuitive Luxury Home

As well as other recent luxury reads:

The Snoring Room
The Self Service Spa (Do it at home?)
Long-Lasting Roses
Induction-Cooktop for the Luxury Kitchen
Ultimate Phone for the Luxury Bath
How to Hide the Bedroom TV
Switchable Mirror Glass Windows
SONOS: The Ultimate Sound System
Haute Refrigerators for Cool Kitchens?
The Overflowing Infinity Tub
Wine Storage for Oenophiles
The Illuminated Bathtub

The post Glowing Rocks for Luxury Homes appeared first on Luxury Home Digest.

Bloomberg reports that Louis Vuitton, with its monogrammed bags and luggage, handily outranks its luxury brand competitors for the fifth straight year. With a reported value of $19.8 billion, Vuitton ranks 29th worldwide for all industries–and more than twice the combined value of Hermes and Gucci combined.

Even though the luxury sector of the market has experienced an overall decline of 3 percent in value, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Gucci and Tiffany managed to grow their businesses by focusing on craftsmanship, heritage, and pricing maintenance said Bloomberg. Included in the Brandz 2010 study cited in the story are other brands in the top 10 luxury ranking. They include Chanel, Henessey, Rolex, Moet & Chandon, Cartier and Fendi.

Prada, regrettably, was dropped from the top 10 rankings.

The most valuable brand in the world, though, would have to be Google, with its estimated value of $114.3 billion according to the Millard Brown Optimor’s 2010 Brands raking of the most valuable luxury labels.

In our closets and chests, though, most of us would prefer to have labels such as Vuitoon, Hermes, Gucci, Tiffany, Rolex, Cartier or Fendi.

In our stock accounts? A thousand shares of Google would do quite nicely!

The post Louis Vuitton Tops Luxury Brands–Followed by Hermes, Gucci appeared first on Luxury Home Digest.

I love the genius behind Dyson engineering and products.

Instead of thinking outside the box, these air gurus study the box very closely and re-engineer it into device that works better than its predecessors.We love the Dyson vacuums and find them intuitively simple to use.  They are also nearly indestructible.  The Dyson wizards have also invented a hand dryer that really works–with air that travels in the neighborhood of 400 mph.

A tip of the top hat to Paul Taylor with the Financial TImes, who released this story whereby inventor James Dyson claims his bladeless fan–or the Dyson Air Multiplier,  works by forcing a jetstrem of air out of a narrow circular slit and then over an aerofoil-shaped blade, and is proving to be at least as efficient as its bladed counterpart, while reportedly being more comfortable and much safer.

The Dyson fan is controlled with a remote slider, which allows for more precise air flor. The cost ranges from a hefty $300 for the 10-inch model and $330 for the more powerful 12-inch air multiplier.

The fan, or air multliplier, is reportedly and currently available at select specialty stores in the US–and will hopefully soon be available on the Dyson site as well as Amazon.

The post Luxury Gadget: Bladeless Fan appeared first on Luxury Home Digest.

As summer hurls to a close, I had to review one of the best white wines I have ever sipped. I stumbled upon the Zolo Torrontes one day at our local Costco. What caught my eye was the markdown.

The week prior this wine was $8.99 a bottle–and now was only $4.97!

Even at that price I was skeptical, because I am not a fan of South American Wines– and I had never had or heard of a “Torrontes” white. Throwing caution and my own prejudices into the wind, I grabbed 3 bottles–and later wished it had been 3 cases.

Doing some research, I discovered that Torrontes grape is cultivated in Argentina–and that wine that made from this grape is considered to be the best of its kind in the world.

I now understand why!

The evening after my purchase, I opened this bottle of wine and immediately knew I was going to love it. The citrusy scent of this wine immediately escaped when the cork was popped. The glass I poured was pale yellow–and it looked like tiny bubbles were dancing around.

The nose of this wine is incredible. Not only is there crisp citrus–but hits of lush tropical fruit as well. This is unlike any white wine you have ever had! Once you take a sip, you will understand my gushing. This wine is nothing like any Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, or Sauvignon Blanc you’ve tasted. The Zolo Torrontes is refreshing, crisp, light, and bursting with amazing flavor–without any cloying sweetness.

I am a red wine gal. Usually I only drink white wine when either it is hot outside or there is no red wine. This wine has me singing (and sipping) to a different tune.

Unfortunately there are not many stores that carry this gem. You can find it online, but the best price (besides the Costco close-out) I have found was at BevMo. Right now it is priced at $9.99 and if you buy 6 you get $1 off per bottle, bringing it down to $8.99 each. This is a bargain for such a delicious wine……you will thank me!

White wine tip: If you serve white wine too cold it will not open up and will numb your palate and you will not be able to fully enjoy your wine. If it feels almost too cold to hold it is too cold to serve. Best temperature should be between 45 to 58 degrees.

Other Wine Articles and Reading:

Wine Storage for Oenophiles

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