In my (cold weather) state, an exterior hot water bib is an inexpensive and very much well regarded addition.

As a buyer, I'm more interested in function than form. If the flow and layout are good, if there is adequate storage where it is needed, if the kitchen isn't a complete disaster - I'm an interested buyer. Your mosaic floor tile would not make me interested in a house that didn't have the storage space I wanted.

A lot depends on the style of the house too.

For me it would be lots of outlets, and lots of storage space with quality shelving vs those awful wire shelf units.

Additionally if it were a more traditional or transitional home, I'd want at least 5" baseboard molding and comparative crown molding and slightly wider moldings around the windows.

In terms of what else, I'd say look to interior design magazines and what looks luxurious in terms of the overall look and use that as a basis. You can make a space look luxurious for very little money.

AnnKH - Yes, understand function over form however my question specifically asked about a small additions that add to a "luxury feel" not anything to do with layout or storage.

Ann is right. My old home had 3 (!!!) linen cabinets. Hard to put those in after the fact. Actually, all the cabinetry was done by a local maker. It really did stand out. House sold in 4 days for more than asking at the top end of the comparables range.

There was a similar thread, that contained a link to a blog, that might be helpful. I have to agree that light fixtures make a difference. I go to open houses on a regular basis and it stands out so badly when spec house builders put in cheap light fixtures. Thick base molding and cabinets to the ceiling are other ways to make a house feel more custom/luxurious IMHO.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/3658104/what-makes-a-house-look-well-built-as-opposed-to-kind-of-cheap

http://diyhomedecorblogs.com/a-tale-of-3-craftsman-homes-tips-on-building-a-house-best-upgrades-to-spend-money-on/

Ok so storage is out.

How long until potential sale? You could upgrade builder basic plumbing to slightly better. But beware of trends. They are trying to push that gold tone on us again. Or the fake bronze that is actually paint that wears off in a couple years.

But upgrading shower system etc might pay off in showings if it's not too far in the future. Same with light fixtures.

Lighting plan in general has some payback. If all your lights are flush mount in the center of every room, try to fix that.

I guess 9 foot ceilings are in the category of too late for that.

Finished garage?

The Tale of Three Craftsmans blog post was great. Here are the main take-aways from that post:

Lights (windows + can lights everywhere).
9' ceilings.
Substantial base+case.

^^that

Upgrade things you cannot do yourself later. For example, the size of the window would be very expensive to change, but DIY additional molding around the window isn't hard to do at all. Giving a smaller home 9-10 foot ceilings makes a world of difference. You can DIY tiling, paneling, more substantive floor base moldings.

For electric outlets, I am not sure if future buyers pay that much attention at the time. But, it isn't hard to put more in if you place the first thoughtfully and have enough electrical resource. For example, we added plugs to our pantry from plugs on the other side of the wall. We added plugs to a bathroom the same way.

The house we recently bought - they really skimped on outdoor electric and hose access. Those are more challenging to fix. very frustrating....

Good luck with your build.

An open single story layout is king in my market (and in short supply). Sticking with neutral and timeless finishes/products that are difficult/expensive to replace/update.

Ample windows, storage, taller ceilings and molding are on everyone's list (including mine).

For convenience I'd agree with nightowl on outdoor outlets and spigots. I'm big into my yard and its a peve of mine when you don't have the necessary outlets and spigots.

Placement of outlets and HVAC is another big one for me.

Agree with Virgil Carter for the basics. From a building point of view, besides 9' ceilings, open floor plans, wood floors and crown molding, I'd go for decent light fixtures (tons cheap on line) above builder grade; under cabinet lighting in kitchen; non-builder grade plumbing fixtures; non-builder grade granite. You can find great remnants for the bathroom countertops for a song. Add a dollop of mosaic/trim tile in your showers, at eye level. I've seen a piece of horizontal trim molding in an office, with white walls and a little more trim molding making a box below, and a colored wall above, and it looks like expensive wainscoting.

Good bones.

Right space sizes.

Flow.

I would suggest designing space in the attic that could be converted to habitable space later. Too many designers fill an attic with trusses that make future expansion impossible

In my experience little things might help sell a house but not increase the selling price. Something you are proud of may be in a dumpster the week after closing.

But I would avoid tile counters, short base boards, clam shell or standard colonial molding, bright light fixtures in the center of ceilings, hollow core doors with cheap hardware and between-the-glass or snap-in window mullions.

The house we recently bought - they really skimped on outdoor electric and hose access. Those are more challenging to fix.

.

Extremely easy and inexpensive to fix.

IC - thanks. Challenging for a DIY, at least for us. For water, we ended up hiring a sprinkler guy who put a bib in the back yard off of one of sprinkler lines we ran to the garden we built. The basement is totally finished. If we get around to it, we will find someone to do a few exterior plugs. Having to cut through the house and all that is more than this DIY wants to try.

^^ JDS. My sister made an amazing space in their attic.

Certainly good design is the major determination of resale sale after location but the best bang for the buck for added features is future convertible space. It can be an open insulated attic, unfinished dry basement, a closet that can become an elevator or a bathroom. I know this because I am old enough to have seen many of my projects sold and I have renovated many of them for the new owners.

But I can tell you what doesn't work: guessing what others think is attractive or comfortable.

It doesn't have to be challenging, night owl, as long as you have an unfinished basement.

IC - Our basement is finished.

Luxury feel to me is sufficient electrical outlets, plenty of storage, not tripping over things from one region of the home to another, and a good yard that has been maintained without looking like a ton of herbicides have been dumped on it.

To be honest, form is something that will vary so much from buyer to buyer, that worrying about the proper mosaics or the latest in window treatments will probably not be what (most) of your potential buyers will care about. Tastes are not likely to overlap!

At least one floor outlet in the living room -- and if you have a home office, a floor outlet in there as well. This will make it more livable for you, and will allow you to stage it better for resale later.

Any home I've lived in without a floor outlet has driven me CRAZY. We're currently in an apartment while we build, and I just spent 2 hours trying to re-arrange the furniture and there is truly NO arrangement where I can have power by my couch (for my laptop and lamps) without stringing a cord across a walkway. I have little kids, so the trip hazards make me especially nervous. Pushing furniture up against walls is a sure-fire way to make a room feel awkward, small, and just mess with my feng shui / chi, man.

In our last home, we had a floor outlet under the couch (YAY!!!) but didn't have one in the office. It never bothered me, but when we staged it for resale we had to kind of fake it.

I agree with the others - luxury to me, isn't likely to be luxury to someone else as finishes etc. are very taste dependent. When we were looking, a lot of the things that were supposed to make the houses "worth the price" (granite, etc) weren't done to my taste anyway. Paying a premium for something I wouldn't have chosen was a hard pill to swallow. I would do what makes your home feel luxurious to you. If you're truly worried about resale, I would choose very neutral, understated hard finishes. As I said, most granite and back splashes, tile work etc., that I saw in houses was too busy/not in color palette's I liked anyway. I think luxury is walking into a house that feels like a quality blank canvas. I liked the idea of many pot lights that someone gave above. Well placed outlets too - if I was going to build, I might go so far as to ask friends about locations they wished they had outlets. Honestly what made us buy our current house was location, room sizes (all nice sized, so we have a lot of flexibility as to how we use them), closets and as simple as it sounds, everything was freshly painted in a neutral color. I think the neutral paint made it seem like more of a blank canvas.

What gave me greatest pause about this house and still does, is what the builders probably thought of as the luxury items! The living room has floor to ceiling wood library paneling and stained glass transoms. It was probably quite the fashion statement in the 80's when it was built :) It could still be a beautiful look if it was painted and the dated stained glass removed, but my husband is stuck in the 80's and won't let me change any of it. My point is luxury changes over time, too.