We're not talking real butlers here. The origins of this ante-room indeed stem from the Robin Leach crowd, but its new uses are practical as well as attractive. Usually designed as a pass-through area between kitchen and formal dining room areas, this little area can include extra cabinetry, a wine cooler, a wet bar, or a warming oven, so that gourmet hosts need not trek to the kitchen to access entertainment necessities and subsequent courses. Now used even in modestly-sized production homes, these little cubbyholes can make great use of space and offer efficient entertaining possibilities.

Translating from the Spanish for "little houses," detached cottage-style structures can have a myriad of uses. Aside from serving as a guest cottage or in-laws quarters, these stand-alone little houses placed on a home site can be used for artist studios, massage rooms, exercise rooms, hobby rooms, maid's quarters, music studios, pool cabanas, home offices or simple retreats from the main house. They can be one or two story, but are usually small in footprint square footage. Casitas can be located in the front of the home, helping to enclose entry courtyards and make practical and attractive use of front yard areas, or be placed on the side or back of a property for more privacy and detachment.

We're not just talking wine racks here. We're suggesting a room within a house or built into a courtyard that is used for entertaining and delighting wine aficionados. These rooms are usually lined with stone, slate, or brick walls for coolness, with extra climate controls built in for keeping wine investments safe. John Laing Homes includes rooms in their homes for this purpose in both their southern and northern California markets, and offers to enhance them with wrought-iron gates and serving areas.

It's not unusual to see model home master bedrooms decorated with an elegant coffee cup-laden tray casually placed on the overstuffed king-sized bed. The built-in coffee bar takes it one better, with its own wet bar, cabinets and room for the cappuccino maker within the room. Why trek to the kitchen for a cup of coffee when you can lounge in your bedroom and celebrate the moments of your life? These little counter-top areas are usually located as one enters the master, and can add an interesting and luxurious touch. And just when you thought master retreats were on the decline. . .

Builders are constantly seeking ways to use areas that were formerly wasted that can add an extra architectural touch to the home's exterior. Now they have come up with observation decks. These are raised floor areas, usually located in a windowed corner of a room that can be used for a reading corner, telescope parapet, or, perhaps the place to which you may gravitate with that cup of cappuccino you just prepared in your master bedroom coffee bar. Recently having seen one in a model home, I thought of the movie "Ten" as well as the old classic, "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir." I guess I am dating myself here.

Some homebuilders with British roots imported this architectural addition to two-story homes, which features a smallish area at the top of the stairs for a few chairs, a desk or a sofa. A handy upstairs gathering place, these can be designed for the communal homework area, TV viewing, or a play area. Built-in desks or computer niches can also make this the family Internet Mecca of the house.

I suppose a society that embraces PT Cruisers and still considers Graceland one of its historic landmarks is ripe for the old, new, borrowed or blue in new home construction. The value we place on genteel, architecturally delightful niches and areas such as these is a heartwarming one, helping make us a country of new uses for old ideas.