Whether you are looking to buy, rent or invest, why settle when it comes to a vacation home? With mountain, forest and beach front properties available, Mexico is the new spot for top vacation homes.Beauty and affordability, Mexico should be at the top of your list for vacation home locations. Get inspired and make your dream getaway a reality. Here are five of the most amazing homes in Mexico to encourage your creativity.
Beachfront Villa – Cabo San Lucas, Mexico: An inspiring home focused on natural beauty. A large terrace with infinity pool will allow you to enjoy obstruction free beach views and the cool ocean breeze any time of day. A shaded area complete with an elegant outdoor kitchen is perfect for outdoor entertaining.
House In The Woods – Valle de Bravo, Mexico: A conceptual home focused on nature. Construct and decorate while paying attention to the natural surroundings. Main focal points and unique beauty can come from incorporating surrounding elements into your home’s foundation. Consider focusing on sustainability andecology.
Home with Mountain Views – San Miguel, Mexico: A mountain home focused on the vast, awe-inspiring landscape. Built into a mountain side, be pleasantly surprised with limitless views of surrounding mountains and terrain. Consider large floor to ceiling windows to enjoy these views year round. With moderate weather, enhance your home with lush gardens and water features.
A Colorful and Whimsical Cabana – Zihuatanejo, Mexico: A vivacious and fun home focused on the vibrant colors of Mexican culture. Incorporate lively shades, local textiles, decor and native building materials found locally. Incorporate indigenous culture into your design and instantly escape to the home away from home you’ve always wanted.
City Casita – Puerto Vallarta, Mexico: A beautiful home in the city focused on providing non-stop entertainment options. Any popular tourist destination will provide you with all the comforts of home with the lively culture and cuisine of Mexico. Consider multiple bedrooms and large living space for group getaways and accommodating your friends and family. Chic, contemporary designs can be incorporated to give your home a luxurious atmosphere. Options with a city homes are limitless and will provide you with all the conveniences of city living.
When considering a vacation home, these five amazing homes in Mexico have the top features everyone should consider when designing and decorating. Use these top five picks as inspiration to highlight and enhance your design aesthetic and to create the ultimate vacation experience.
With the 2013 tax season coming to an end on April 15, there is very little time left to finish your taxes and hopefully reap the reward of a hefty tax refund check. There are certain tips that homeowners can do to increase their refund amount. Below are five useful tax tips that all homeowners should know.
Deductions for mortgage interest: This allows homeowners to reduce their taxable income by the amount of interest paid on their loan. If you recently bought a home or refinanced, this is definitely not something to overlook since the majority of mortgage payments go towards interest in the beginning.
Deductions for mortgage insurance premiums: Insurance premiums are still deductible which helps homeowners since insurance is normally required for loans with a balance of more than 78 percent of the home’s value.
Deductions for home office use: If you have a home office that is used exclusively for a small business, chances are you are able to claim a deduction for any office related expenses such as repairs and depreciation.
Credit for qualified home improvements: The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 allowed homeowners a credit of up to $500 for making improvements that increase a home’s energy efficiency. This would include improving insulation, windows, roofs and other energy efficient upgrades.
Unqualified home improvements when selling home: Although not all home improvements and renovation projects would qualify as energy efficient, these unqualified home improvements play an important role when selling your home. Homeowners are able to deduct any renovations that helped boost your home’s value from your total profit.
For most people, a bathroom is just a room to use for bodily functions. For others, it’s a place to display creativity and imagination. A trip around the world will turn up some of the most interesting bathrooms you’ve ever seen. Both public and private, these bathrooms offer something not commonly seen.
Weirdest Bathrooms Video:
Wacky Toilets
Around the world, there are toilets that have been transformed from a basic bowl and water tank into something worth checking out. If you’ve been jaded by the toilet in your own home, take a peek at these interesting alternatives.
This bizarre-looking skull toilet is found in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, where you don’t flush paper down the toilet due to bad pipes. Instead, the toilet paper is dropped into a wastebasket . . . in this case, the missing molar at the back there. Toilets with teeth never seem to be a great idea, even when they’re non-biting ones like this.
This overly adorned toilet is found in Turkey. As if the serial killer motif weren’t creepy enough, some of the toys actually talk to you. Definitely an interesting toilet that you would only want to use when desperate.
Did you ever worry about a toilet monster when you were a child? This toilet makes that nightmare a reality!
Photo Source: http://loscuatroojos.com
Unusual Urinals
For some reason, men’s rooms tend to have more interesting themes, perhaps because urinals just lend themselves to oddities like those shown below.
Rising Urinal Video:
These giant mouths seem to be a common theme in several bars around the globe, but these first ones are tame . . . take a look at the ones further down in the list!
If you’ve ever wished your indoor bathroom were designed to make you feel like you were outdoors, this waterfall urinal might just do the trick. It’s found at the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Not many bathrooms let you play games while you pee, but this urinal at an undisclosed location in Zurich, Switzerland, is designed for fun. The more you drink, the more likely you are to make a goal!
These urinals may seem a tad feminine for a men’s room, but hey, they’re art, after all. Designed by Clark Sorenson, these cost upwards of $6,000, so you probably won’t see them in a public bathroom near you anytime soon. The ones below can be found at Dobbies Garden World in Scotland.
Photo Source: http://www.clarkmade.com/
Crazy Sinks
A bathroom vanity sink is just for washing your hands, right? A large percentage of the population doesn’t even use them . . . but these sinks fairly beg you to test them out!
Cool Sink Video:
Forget splashing around in a sink in some bathrooms. This hand sanitizer gets rid of the age old worry of how to turn the water on and off without getting germs on you again; it simply sprays disinfectant on your hands when they are between the two bars. The disinfectant evaporates rapidly, leaving you with germ-free hands. At least, until you touch the bathroom door.
Photo Source: http://gajitz.com
Why not go back to nature with a rock as a sink? This hollowed-out piece of the outdoors makes a lovely, if not chunky, bathroom sink.
Photo Source: http://archzine.com
Speaking of nature, this elegant bathroom vanity shell sink looks more like a piece of art than a place to scrub up, but it’s a prime example that art can also be functional.
Photo Source: http://simping.com
There’s nothing like some live animals to make your hand-washing and tooth-brushing experience just a little stranger. This sink features an enclosed aquarium, complete with live fish. Unfortunately, if you want it, you’ll find that HomeClick seems to have discontinued the product.
Photo Source: http://www.ohgizmo.com
Trippy Tubs and Showers
Tubs can be pretty standard . . . but we’ve managed to find a few that really stand out in their class, along with some interesting showers you might want to take a look at. Why should bathing be boring?
This shower looks like something out of the future. With so many gadgets and buttons, it might take you a few years to figure out just how to turn on the water, but this shower features steam, acupuncture shower jets, and a touch screen TV, plus its own water heater. Oh, and it can be yours for just $4,300!
Now this is the true definition of a walk in bathtub! Anyone who is really into shoes will love this shoe-shaped bathtub, and it comes in a variety of designs for the shoe connoisseur.
Photo Source: http://www.luxurylaunches.com
Ever fancied bathing in an egg? That’s what this interesting shower offers – the aesthetic pleasure of bathing in a rather odd-looking shower stall.
Forget the toilets: These bathrooms are all about the walls! From murals to mirrors, they stand out thanks to some very interesting art.
Looking for a special place to take care of business? The Peace Palace at The Hague in the Netherlands goes all out with the decor in their bathroom. Even the stall dividers are made of marble, and the entire place is sheer elegance. You’ll feel like royalty when you’re using these toilets.
At Dinosaur World in Plant City, Fla., you’ll find this decidedly prehistoric men’s room, complete with a brontosaurus or two walking across the wall. The entire bathroom is painted up with this mural, making it a pretty impressive place to pee.
Sometimes you just need to look at the whole bathroom to really be impressed. These washrooms are designed to wow, freak you out, or just make you want to remodel your own.
Aquarium Bathroom Video:
This bathroom in London looks mirrored on the outside, but from the inside, you can see everything going on around you. It’s enough to make more than a few people shy away from using the bathroom, although no one can actually see in. The toilet is actually an art exhibit by Monica Bonvicini, titled “Don’t Miss a Sec.”
When it comes to big and beautiful, this Singapore bathroom at the Changi airport is big enough that you’ll want to hang out there instead of at your gate! Photo Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/qeny/3677024490/
This bathroom is actually quite tasteful, but we’re betting you won’t see too many other bathrooms with stripes like that on the floor. This Venice hotel bathroom at La Saturnia could have also been filed under most spacious . . . look at all that room!
This bathroom in Egypt really conserves space: The toilet and sink area doubles as a shower stall. Just make sure you take the toilet paper and towels out of the bathroom before you turn it on! Photo Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/endlisnis/451371061/
Whether you view bathrooms as a basic necessity and nothing more or you find them an interesting study in decor, these bathrooms are most definitely some of the more intriguing ones you’ll find anywhere in the world.
Bath vanities are for…. well, they are for being vain. So we thought that we’d take a look at beauty trends throughout history in this infographic. Enjoy.
Eye-catching transformations are taking place in many unique and various ways and have expanded beyond the bathroom mirror to a person’s entire physical and mental capacity.
Whether they are celebrities by their own right or are known purely for their drastically modified appearances – for better or worse – each of the following people have undergone a makeover so extreme that they simply cannot go unnoticed. Love ’em or hate ’em, these individuals capture the attention of all.
Christian Bale
“American Psycho”
Watching Christian Bale’s weight fluctuate is a lot like watching a pendulum swing. As the Oscar-winning actor lands a major role on the big screen, he’s forced to lose or gain a large amount of weight accordingly. It started with him bulking up for his role as a self-obsessed killer in 2000’s “American Psycho.”
“The Machinist”
Then came his dramatic and unsightly slim down when he lost 60-plus pounds for “The Machinist” in 2004. Bale had just one year to regain the weight for “Batman Begins,” which he did, but admittedly found it difficult to build back up the rippling muscles that he donned in “American Psycho.”
“The Fighter”
Most recently, Bale’s weight was the topic of discussion as he played a washed-up boxer in 2010’s “The Fighter.” Managing to make his body appear decrepit from years of drug abuse yet toned enough to believe he could knock somebody out may just be Bale’s greatest body trick to date.
To fully grasp the incredible changes we’ve all seen in Michael Jackson’s face throughout the last few decades, it’s best to view the whole timeline – before and after pictures really won’t cut it. Peering at MJ’s fresh, young face when he was part of The Jackson 5, we see a happy kid with the whole world in his hands.
By the time “Thriller” saturated the minds of MTV viewers, Jackson’s nose was noticeably pinched, his eyebrows a bit raised, and his skin a few shades lighter.
From there, his choice in cosmetic procedures caused his facial features to become more severe, more feminine, and, undoubtedly, even lighter.
MJ in 1998
Some may say his self-inflicted deformed appearance was a result of low self esteem and family issues, but whatever the motivation was, few can disagree that the
A few years before his death in 2009
King of Pop’s transformation helped to keep the attention on him.
You may not be able to tell from just looking at her, but Heidi Montag doesn’t have anything on Cindy Jackson, the “Guinness World Records” holder for the most cosmetic procedures. At 55 years old, Jackson has had nearly as many birthdays as cosmetic procedures – 52, currently.
Jackson before and after
Ranging from a typical nose job to an obsessive five face lifts and knee liposuction, Jackson’s cosmetic surgeries that “enhance” almost every part of her body don’t look as grotesque as they sound. Rather, she appears to be a woman who’s jumped on the anti-aging bandwagon a time or two. Yes, she looks young. Yes, you can see where an area on her face has been blown up and another part of her body deflated some. However, if you saw Jackson in the produce section of your grocery store, you might not look twice, or if you did, it might be because overall she really is an attractive lady, despite her many procedures. Do your eyes behold her beauty?
Photo Source:
body-philosophy.net
Jocelyn Wildenstein
Even if the majority of us disagree with many celebrities’ extreme plastic surgery choices, few, if any, could believe that Jocelyn Wildenstein’s botched face was done by design. Dubbed “Cat Woman” and “The Bride of Wildenstein,” this wealthy socialite has reportedly shelled out $4 million to take on the appearance of a large cat.
While Wildenstein’s wild side is certainly not in question, her decision to trade in her “regular” good looks to resemble a feline is hard to fathom – much like a single person requiring double sink vanities. Possibly the most bizarre twist to the story is that Wildenstein is proud of her post-surgical looks and never misses an opportunity to bat her lashes at the camera or sneak her way around the charity circuit.
Photo Source:
dailymail.co.uk
Theresa Baxter
Baxter before meth
While she did it to herself like the others in this list, Theresa Baxter’s shocking transformation is not something she necessarily wanted. After just three and a half years on methamphetamines, Baxter’s appearance took a beating – a bad one. Prior to her meth addiction, Baxter was a pretty, normal-looking young woman who, had she chosen a healthier path, could have lived a happy life.
Baxter after meth
The downtrodden woman she has become, as seen in the “after” picture, looks over 10 years older than she did less than four years before. Missing and rotted teeth, cysts hidden behind bandages and a loss of 40 pounds are Baxter’s daily reminders of how the downward spiral of meth left its mark on her appearance. We can only imagine the damage done inside her body.
Photo Source:
adultaddstrengths.com
David Smith
Smith throughout his transformation
Now that he’s not carrying around an extra 400 pounds everywhere he goes, David Smith is accomplishing a lot. With a flourishing career as a personal trainer, a special on TLC, and, most importantly, his good health, Smith’s future is bright.
Smith before and after
However, his struggle to morph from a 630-pound 24-year-old to a handsome, fit man in less than two years wasn’t easy. Surprisingly, Smith avoided surgery to achieve his weight loss goals and did it au natural through diet and exercise. Of course, turning to a plastic surgeon to remove the excess skin, and a dentist to enhance his smile, were just par for the course. There’s no doubt that Smith now enjoys what he sees in his bathroom vanity.
The image of Kelly Osbourne dressed in all black and hanging with her crazy family for MTV viewers to gawk at wasn’t just the beginning of her reality television movement; it was also the start of Osbourne’s metamorphosis.
Osbourne now
Few would have anticipated the chubby, drug-addicted teenager would blossom into a stylish young woman with both teenage boys and grown men pining for her. But, alas, the woman first famous for being Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne’s spawn has earned some bragging rights all her own. Her “Dancing With the Stars” stint in 2009 led her to drop 20 pounds, but she didn’t stop there.
Now down an inspiring 50 pounds, the lighter – and blonder – Osbourne is turning heads on magazine covers, red carpet shows, and as a co-host on E!’s “Fashion Police.” At a svelte 112 pounds, Osbourne has proven that a complete bodily transformation is possible.
Photo Sources:
3yen.com, bittenandbound.com
Jim Davis
Davis before
Jim Davis’s Army career began with him breaking both of his legs during basic training. He recovered and conquered that mishap, but then two injuries to his back ended his service time and put him on the VA’s partial disability list. His back pain escalated throughout the years, and in 2002, he took a nasty fall in his garage that tore his bicep tendon from his left elbow and damaged his hand’s nerves.
During Davis's transformation
He had surgery for arthritis in 2003, and a hiking accident in 2004 led to his right quad ripping off at the tendon. After that, Davis couldn’t walk up a curb without assistance.
Davis during a competition
Finally, in 2007, the right neurosurgeon was able to patch him back up for good and Davis began his journey of drastically reducing his body fat – from 34% to 8% – and building up his muscles. At 56 years old, Davis now struts his stuff in bodybuilding championships. Quite shocking, wouldn’t you agree?
Photo Source:
2leep.com
Transgendered Woman
Her name is a mystery, but her transformation from a masculine, bearded man to a completely different person – a beautiful woman – is unmistakable. Sure, changing her name, dropping pounds, losing the facial hair, and gaining breasts are changes you would expect to see in a man becoming a woman. But thanks to the effects of HRT (hormone replacement therapy), this woman truly appears to be all woman. Even her facial features and posture are completely feminine. In addition to her incredible body transformation, her self-esteem increased ten-fold and her story offers hope for anyone who doesn’t feel comfortable in their own skin and wants to do something about it.
Geraldine Morgan is not a newbie to the world of bodybuilding. Since she was 15 years old, Morgan has been training her muscles to bulge and ripple like a champ. Her foray into competitions began in 1998, and she maintains her status as a confident and – ahem – muscular woman.
Morgan competing
Like many women bodybuilders, Morgan continues to aspire for bigger muscles and is diligent at practicing her craft. How her body has changed throughout the years is pretty obvious; she started out as an average-sized woman and now fits the label “mega-buff” quite easily. While it is easy for those outside of the bodybuilding community to say that her physique is simply not meant to look that way, Morgan’s profession as a civil engineer refutes the belief that she may be off her rocker.
Photo Source:
funnuri.com
While you may not agree with them all, the awe-inspiring transformations here are proof that anyone can change not only their appearance, but their attitudes as well. The next time you come across an area in your life you wish you could change, read through these stories again and you’re sure to be inspired to finally make the transition!
