Designing your new home should be fun and exciting. Your focus will typically be on making the home aesthetically pleasing and energy efficient, while considering quality, resale value, and, of course, cost.

But if you really want a functional house that makes life simpler, consider including these small, often overlooked features that can help create a truly livable environment for you and your family.

A valet.  Think about how many items you put down and pick up when entering or leaving the house—keys, cell phones, glasses, and other devices. Add a valet to store these items, and put it next to the door you use most often. Include a phone charger for added convenience.

Mail sorter and recycle bin. Place a mail sorter and a recycle bin next to the front door—or the door you come in most often—to  help reduce clutter, organize important mail, and dispose of junk mail—in the recycle bin.  We are seeing more and more study nooks - barn doors are a nice segue to these areas.

Keyless garage and back door entry systems. Adding these features will keep you from locking yourself out of the house and will also provide access for housekeepers and other invited guests.

More drawers, fewer cabinets. Reaching into cabinets and past other items is frustrating and usually leads to a cluttered storage area. Choosing to install drawers instead of cabinets can give you easy access to items and provide a way to compartmentalize contents.

Drinking water filtration system. Adding this feature at the kitchen sink provides convenient access to filtered water without the expense, inconvenience, and waste of bottled water. Connect filtered water to the refrigerator for chilled water and ice—you’ll be encouraging everyone to drink more water.

Sliding pot-and-pan storage trays or drawers. Stacking pots and pans in kitchen cabinets is inconvenient and messy. Instead, place them in sliding storage trays or drawers that pull out completely for easy access to cooking equipment, especially when you may have only one available hand.

Pull-out trash can in kitchen. If you do a lot of cooking, you know that running back and forth to the trash can—or dragging the trash can across the kitchen—is a major inconvenience. With a pull-out trash can, you can easily brush away trash and trimmings, saving time and footsteps.

Appliance station or appliance garage. An appliance station with lots of electrical outlets can be hidden in a closet or tucked away behind doors of an appliance garage to provide a convenient place to store and hide small kitchen appliances while keeping them nearby for immediate use.

A raised dishwasher. Bending over to load or empty a dishwasher seems to be the status quo. Make it easy on yourself and others by installing a raised dishwasher drawer.

Spice rack options. Locating often sticky and messy spices in a cabinet is difficult. Consider adding a spice rack mounted to a door or wall or one that slides out of a cabinet. Problem solved.

Closet system. Organizational storage space always ranks high on the convenience scale. Many companies specialize in designing and installing closet systems that meet your specific needs.

Industrial wash bin in garage. Add an industrial wash bin to the garage and you can clean tools, sports equipment, toys, shoes, and anything else you don’t want to clean in kitchen or bathroom sinks. Include a space or shelf to store items while they dry.

Extra lighting in garage. Even if you are not a do-it-yourselfer, you will appreciate having adequate lighting in the garage. And it’s safer.

Recycling bins with convenient access. A recycling bin is as important these days as a trash bin—but it is rarely considered in new construction. Include a place for a large recycling bin, and don’t forget to make it easily accessible.

Many of these features can be added after construction is complete. But some must be included during the construction process. Discuss these items with your builder or designer during the planning stages, so they will be included in the final plans and estimates. And get ready to enjoy your more convenient, livable home!