9 Unique Features That Set a Home Apart

Whether it’s something simple as vintage decorative tile or as elaborate as a home movie theater, there are myriad distinctivefeatures and furnishings that can be added to a residence to make it more attractive and perhaps more marketable. Here’s a list of nine items for inspiration.

Key features: Small vinyl-lined steel panel pool that can be built indoors or outdoors, and above or in the ground.

Pro: Easier to clean and takes up less space than conventional pool. Hydraulic pumps creating waves provide a better workout. Costs start at nearly $13,000, or about half of what the cheapestconventional pools would cost. Easy to dismantle and move.

Con: Takes at least 30 hours to install. Fits eight people maximum.

Upkeep: Minimal, inexpensive maintenance. Water must be changed at least every two years. Ionization system keeps water clean.

Key features: Customized seats, large screen, and a sound system with sight lines adjusted for optimal listening and viewing.

Pro: Tremendous value. Don’t have to spend a penny for parking, admission, or refreshments. A residential movie theater is more marketable in urban areas, such as Chicago’s Lincoln Park or Washington, D.C.’s Georgetown, than the suburbs.

Con: Costly. A dedicated space for state-of-the-art technology and seating for adozen or so movie goers will set you back at least $80,000.

Upkeep: Minimal. Light housekeeping for furnishings and remote AV equipment repair.

Key features: One-of-a-kind vintage cast-iron clawfoot tub with porcelain finish.

Pro: Conversation piece, part of a dwindling supply nationwide. Nearly all stamped with year of manufacture on the bottom (typically between the 1870s and 1930s). Easily adaptable to modern plumbing systems.

Con: Very heavy and brittle; most are 30 inches wide, 18 inches deep. Three styles of cast-iron legs, which aren’t interchangeable. Not easily moved.

Upkeep: Some need to be refinished. Repair work can be done on site with high-density plastic spray. Exterior can be repainted.

Key features: Linchpin of the entertainment area. Built-in refrigeration, beveled mirrors, display area for collectibles, warming drawers, beer taps, wine captains, and a flat-screen TV.

Pro: Encourages owners and their visitors to spend time at home. Excellent craftsmanship.

Con: Expensive. Antique versions, such as residential models constructed by Chicago company Balke-Collender from the 1920s to the 1940s, are hard to find.

Upkeep: Standard barkeep tasks — beer tap, wine captain, and refrigeration maintenance.

Key feature: Unique light fixtures from a bygone era.

Pro: Easy to match it to the style of the house. Quality and price of originals often trump reproductions.

Con: Often need to be rewired, which is sometimes supplied in-house by the seller. Hard to acquire a matching group of sconces.

Upkeep: Replace bulbs when they burn out.

Key feature: Beautiful colored window panes from the Victorian era, the height of stained-glass use in American homes.

Pro: Ideal for privacy. Affordable at the low end. A 1920s English window is $100.

Con: Fancier and rare versions are more expensive. A Victorian landing window from an old mansion can range from $10,000 to $100,000; a Frank Lloyd Wright original is $50,000.

Upkeep: Relead windows as needed.

Key feature: Makes building less susceptible to lightning strikes. If the building is actually struck by lightning, the charge is conducted to the ground.

Pro: Lasts indefinitely if the building remains in good condition. Weather vanes can also be incorporated into a lightning protection system.

Con: Appearance. Plain models aren’t as attractive as those topped with old-style glass ball finials, a look that dates back to the 1700s when the rods were invented.

Upkeep: Minimal, particularly if the roof is unchanged. The glass balls are strictly decorative; if hail or wind breaks the glass, the rod still works.

Key feature: Unique decoration makes these tiles a centerpiece for any room in the home.

Pro: Plentiful; easy to find matching tiles by the hundreds thanks to salvaged walls and floors in countries such as Argentina. The best tiles were made during the Art Nouveau period, 1882-1900, although high-quality tiles can be found from the 1920s. Antique tiles are often cheaper than contemporary ones.

Con: Hard to match if one breaks and the original supply is exhausted.

Upkeep: Regrout as necessary.

Key feature: Named the Monitor Top since it resembles the top of the Civil War ship, the USS Monitor, this was the first affordable family fridge made by GE with an all-steel cabinet.

Pro: Available by the thousands nationwide. The common single-door variety will set you back $250-400; two- and three-door versions are more costly. Suitable for a kitchenette. Coolant rarely leaks.

Con: Tiny freezer space. The original coolant, sulfur dioxide, is deadly if it leaks.

Upkeep: Defrost freezer section monthly. Refrigerator can be retrofitted if needed.