Planning to remodel, repair or build a new home? Looking for some terrific features to include that can save you tons of time in shortcuts, efficiencies and saved steps? We can help! We started collecting over 1,000 uncommon, affordable convenience built-ins in 1998, when we first began writing books and consulting to help people have truly extraordinary — but affordable — homes. Here are some of our favorite ideas that'll change your life via the time they save you. Add any of these to your next project, and you'll be on your way toward creating a home that's truly beyond the ordinary!



• A shallow closet or weatherproof cabinet at every outdoor hose faucet, for storing a hose at an easy-to-reach height where it will stay relatively clean, out of sight and out of the way. No more risk of tripping over a hose left in a heap on the ground! (And even recoiling and flat hoses can be awkward and dirty to move from faucet to faucet, especially if they're stored outdoors.) This makes gardening a snap, as well as hosing down the deck, patio or outdoor furniture, or washing windows. You'll also want flooring inside that prevents the unavoidable drips from encouraging mold.

• A non-porous, nonskid, self-leveling garage floor coating, so that soil and oil can easily be hosed away. (If you have a drain in the floor and flooring that slopes toward it, use a similar coating that's not self-leveling.)

• A sewing machine permanently plugged in and set up on a desk or inside a well-lit closet or alcove. Be sure there's space behind the machine for the fabric from large projects to accumulate.

• Remote-controlled window shades, especially on hard-to-reach windows or skylights. Choose among remote controls that can be operated manually; via a timer or photocell; or through any on-site or off-site computer, personal digital assistant or cell phone. Besides being safer than attempting to reach out-of-the-way shades by hand, easy-to-maneuver shades help control light and heat in a room, minimize fading of a room's or closet's contents, and the automatic or off-site controls can make an empty house appear occupied.

• Dedicated space for wrapping gifts that's near where you store your wrapping supplies and tools. No more hauling stuff around!

• A doorbell intercom outside the door that can be answered from every telephone in the house (also via your cell phone while you're out). No more dropping everything to run to answer the door!

• Shallow shelves with only one row deep of canned or dry goods, medicines, supplies, tools or equipment, for instant identification of and access to whatever's stored. These can often be tucked into a space that's otherwise unused.

• At least one full bathroom on every level of the house.

• A laundry chute from closets, cabinets or bathrooms to a laundry room on a lower level. No more hauling dirty laundry down stairs when gravity will do the job! And no more dropping items on the way to the laundry room that you might trip over!

• A pot-filler faucet attached to a wall near your cooking burners, that swivels into various positions as well as out of the way. No more moving heavy pots of water from the sink to the stove!

Like this article? Then you'll love our books chock-full of uncommon, affordable convenience built-ins that increase your quality of life and your home's resale value! We also offer a free e-book at the link below, The 34 ExtraOrdinary Home Principles: Plus Over 70 Fabulous, Affordable, Innovative Ideas That'll Improve Your Life and WOW You!

© Copyright 2005 - 2006 by Carol Abrahamson/ExtraOrdinary Homes. All rights reserved.