“Gifts” you give your home are truly gifts you give yourself! Herewith, a list of our favorite things that you'll never regret having incorporated into your home and your life.

1. Radiant-Heated Flooring
Imagine the pleasure of stepping onto a warm floor on a chilly morning. Also a good choice for kitchens, entries and additions, radiant electric heat works well under tile, stone or laminate floors and, when insulated, even under wood. And it’s a lovely heat, not dry, like forced hot air.

These days, roll-out mats containing regularly spaced electric cables make installation fairly easy. The mats are so slim that when the flooring above them is put back, it's barely raised. Want the bathroom warm in the morning and the kitchen warm in the evening? Get thermostats with timers, an energy saver.

2. Wine Storage

If you’re an oenophile, you could treat yourself to a wine cellar in your home. For ample shelving and proper temperature and humidity controls, a basement space is ideal. Why? Because it’s easier on the amps to keep the temperature around the recommended 57 degrees F in an already cooler basement. Also, for many homeowners, that’s where space can be found. Custom installations can give you good-looking, organized shelving. Add a seating and uncorking area for like-minded guests and revel in your own wine “cave.”

A simpler solution is to turn an existing closet into a wine “cellar.” Or opt for a freestanding wine cabinet with thermostatic controls. Choose sleek stainless for the kitchen or a traditional furniture design for the dining room.

3. Central Air-Conditioning

You and your family will breathe, work and sleep better for it. Adding central air-conditioning to an existing house is rarely a problem. Smart systems offer zone control so you cool only the rooms that need it, as well as humidity control and filters to eliminate dust and other particulate matter.

Adding central air-conditioning to a house with existing hot-air ducts is easiest, but for others, new products exist to circumvent major new ductwork. Be sure that the refrigerant used is Puron, not the older Freon, which is being phased out. Then—aaahh! Give this "gift"...

4. Whole-House Water Filter

Lower your anxiety and help your health by investing in a water-filtering system that serves the whole house. Moreover, by filtering sediments, chlorine, hardening chemicals and other contaminants that are increasingly found in our water supply, the system can protect the life of plumbing appliances as well as your family. A reputable supplier will help clarify choices based on tests of your existing water and the volume you use—go to www.advancedwaterfilters.com.

Another note: Studies show that bottled drinking water isn’t always purer than tap water. And think of all the plastic bottles piling up in landfills!

5. Sunroom

Want to share your life with nature—in the comfort of your own home? A glass-walled sun porch can be constructed to suit the architecture of your home. Best of all, you and the hibiscus plant can enjoy the room and its view almost all year long, despite the chilly winds outside.

Choices range from custom-designed additions with Victorian or classical details to ready-made structures. Add a little stone fountain, a bar or a shelf for orchids!

If you're looking for someone to help you make any of the above ideas come to life, here are our recommended resources:

Putting in the radiant floor: Floor Coverings International

Shelving your wine cellar: California Closets

Installing the air-conditioning: Handyman Connection

Checking water filtration systems: Pillar To Post

Painting that subroom: CertaPro Painters