Shelter from a Storm, and Storage for Your Shoes?

A room where you can store jewelry and guns, send email – and survive 250 mph tornado winds? It’s called a storm shelter or “safe room” and is a surprise popular home renovation, even amid the current laggard real estate market.

These aren’t the dank bunkers your father hid in, as we discuss in today’s WSJ story. And they aren’t cheap. Many of the new shelters are above-ground $4,000 to $15,000 prefabricated pads that can be bolted to the garage’s concrete pad, or even installed inside the home. They boast names like “StormRoom” and “Iron Eagle II” and often lead double lives of offices, tool sheds, closets and even wine cellars in less turbulent times. DuPont makes one reinforced with bullet-resistant Kevlar.

Pictures of the “Iron Eagle II,” “Safe Dome” and even an 800-pound “floating” shelter here.