What’s the next luxury “must have”? Heated floors top the list in a recent survey of affluent home owners.

The survey recorded the new desires of consumers who have a home valued more than $1 million and investable assets of at least that amount. The findings reveal that many home amenities that once were highly sought-after by luxury home owners — features such as designer kitchens, formal landscaping, and home entertainment centers — are now considered standard in high-end homes.

Approximately 72 percent of respondents say they already have a designer kitchen, 63 percent already have formal landscaping, and 34 percent also say they have a wine cellar. Additionally, 72 percent have a room in their home devoted almost exclusively to entertainment, and 30 percent have theater-style seating in those rooms.

What constitutes a luxury amenities is evolving quite a bit. High-end kitchens and entertainment rooms are now givens in luxury living.

Owners who don’t already have these amenities plan to add them. Survey results show that 21.6 percent of respondents are either committed to or considering adding a designer kitchen and 27.9 percent have a home theater in mind.

So what amenities are likely to be on the wish lists of today’s affluent homeowners? Heated floors were landed at the top of the list, with 21 percent of respondents planning to add such floors in the near future and 23 percent who already have them.

Other responses revolve around sports and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. These add-ons don’t come cheaply. For example, the cost of a regulation-size tennis court, which 19 percent of respondents say they plan to add (10 percent already have one), can run as much as $60,000 or more.

Other high-end attractions: boat docks, bedroom kitchens, indoor pools, and putting greens.

Outdoor fireplaces, high-end outdoor kitchens, upscale furnishings in outdoor rooms are also the rage in all markets.

Replace the flooring. Install laminate floor over old linoleum, vinyl or chipped tile. It costs just $1 to $5 a square foot and looks like wood, stone or tile.
Replace the lighting. A new ceiling fixture costs less than $100 and will brighten up the place. Adding some under-the-cabinet lights will illuminate work surfaces.
Give the cabinets a new life. A coat of paint and new knobs is the cheapest way to go. If you’re able to spend $4,000 to $6,000 on the project, hire a refacing company to replace the doors and drawerfronts.
Refinish the appliances. For a few hundred dollars, an appliance refinisher will re-enamel your stove, refrigerator and dishwasher door in the color of your choice, including a stainless steel look-alike.
Update the backsplash. Replace the space between your cabinets and the countertop with fashionable stone or inexpensive wallpaper.

Really neat home design idea: a staircase that doubles as a set of storage drawers.

Each step has its own drawer. I saw something just like this on Small Spaces, Big Style and they mentioned the idea comes from yachts and other boats where space is at a premium and under-stair storage is pretty common.

Some do-it-yourself mold test kits are a simple and inexpensive way to uncover a mold problem. But choose carefully, as other are a waste of your money, says mold specialist David C. Straus, a professor of microbiology at Texas Tech University. The simplest and most effective tests, he says, are those that rely on a piece of adhesive to transfer a mold sample to a Petri dish filled with a nourishing growth medium. After the mold grows, the user sends it to a lab where it is identified and evaluated. The lab also provides advice on removal. Cost is about $50.

Tests that purport to capture mold from the air are not worth the money, Strauss says, because most homes have a significant amount of mold spores that fly in from the outdoors but aren’t growing in the house.