![]() Did you know?: For those who can make the dates, Sotheby’s London will auction the wine collection of “a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist” on Oct. Sotheby’s Hong Kong sold part of an American collector’s cellar in April for $5.1 million. Serious oenophiles can make a handsome profit selling the vintages they accumulate. Value: It depends on the wine you put in it. The top-of-the-line “Platinum” series features racks made from all-heart redwood, and a selection of custom moldings and cabinetry. Cost: Wine Cellar Innovations of Cincinnati, Ohio custom-builds cellars that can hold 1,400+ bottles, and range from about $4,000 to $71,000. Why you want it: You (and your collection) have outgrown that Crate & Barrel wine rack on wheels. The home - which apparently hosted some lascivious bachelor parties - went up for sale for $10.9 million this year, the New York Times reports. Did you know?: When Robert Kaufman died in 1995, he left behind a five-story Manhattan townhouse with a sauna, hot tub and an enormous indoor pool measuring 8 feet deep. A pool “is generally positive and significant” to a home’s value, Sirmans says. Stacy Sirmans, a real estate professor at Florida State University, found swimming pools add 8 to 13 percent to a home’s selling price. Cost: A fiberglass in-ground pool from Endless Pools of Aston, Pennsylvania starts at about $25,900 for a model measuring 8 ½ feet wide, 18 feet long and 60 inches deep. Why you want it: Swimming year round for exercise beats just about any domestic alternative, especially heart-attack-inducing snow shoveling. Did you know?: In some cases, heated driveway systems can reduce the cost of homeowner’s insurance due to reduced risk of accidents from walking on slippery property. ![]() Value: A $2,000 investment in a heated driveway equals of 80 man-hours of shoveling, if you paid two local kids $25 each to shovel your driveway for an hour. ![]() Heated Driveway Systems, a division of Warmzone in Salt Lake City, Utah, estimates operating costs at 28 cents per 100 square feet per hour. ![]() Why you want it: Who wants to shovel during a snowstorm when you can flick a switch and melt the white stuff away? Cost: About $1,500 to outfit 100 square feet of driveway with radiant heating elements and controls, according to Warmup United States of Danbury, Connecticut. Did you know?: Music engineer/producer Jeremy Kipnis designed a home theater system that reportedly cost more that $6 million, and incorporates three dozen-plus speakers and a motion-picture screen measuring 18 x 10 feet. and Canadian dollars.) However, this is one asset you can take with you to a new home, as many of the components are portable. Value: A survey conducted by Axiom Home Theaters in Dwight, Ontario, Canada found that a 375-square-foot home theater can add $15,000 to $25,000 to a house priced between $150,000 and $350,000. Rich Conklin, a principal engineer with Grand Home Automation in Grand Rapids, says the company’s “Signature Series” surround systems range from $15,000 to $30,000. Cost: Estimates vary widely, but figure a minimum of $5,000 for a high-end setup that includes 7.1 Dolby Digital surround sound, at least seven speakers and a subwoofer, amplifiers and a 73-inch rear projection TV that can reproduce 3D and HDTV images. Why you want it: Screening movies in your own theater - complete with rump-shaking sound and a larger-than-life picture - can bring out the Hollywood mogul in anyone. ![]()
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