To Budget-Friendly Kitchen Makeovers (NAPSA)—It’s been called The Stay-Put Economy. And if yow’re still living in a house you'd hoped to sell by now, you probably know why. Too many potential buyers are waiting to see if home prices have further to fall. And too many homeowners who mayactually have got- ten some bites—morelike lowball nibbles, really—are locked into mortgages that would require tak- ing so big a loss on a sale that their heads hurt just thinking aboutit. “Recessions have a way of freezing things,” The Atlantic magazine recently wrote. Andso, like you, they stay put. Andask themselves, Now what? Well, the realistic approach, experts say, is to accept that this new reality is likely to last for the foreseeable future, and concen- trate on making your current home more comfortable. Attic con- versions are big in somecircles. But unless you’ve got a relative camping out on the living room sofa till the job market turns, you might want to stick with the one room—the kitchen—that’s the hub of most homes’ activity and needn't cost a fortune to spruce up. Read on for some budget- friendly makeoverideas: Floor and Backsplash Tiles. Consumer Reports says kitchen remodeling today “is all about what you need, rather than some over-the-top designer’s checklist.” In other words, “out”: imported hand-painted ceramic; “in”: porcelain, glass, metal and glaze. A Handy Tip: For a fresh and unique look, use different-sized tiles laid out in elegant patterns. Cabinets. Entire budgets have been eaten up on just the cost of high-end cabinet replacements alone. Of the other two alternatives—refacing and refinishing— the latter (which also includes repainting) is the most economical. According to DoItYourself.com, all wood and plywood cabinets can be repainted, whereas metal, laminate or melamine pose more of a challenge. A Handy Tip: Use a spray-on finish for the most uniform coverage. The return from kitchen remodeling can reach 72.1 percent. e Appliances. If you’ve long coveted a sleek gourmet kitchen but the cost made you wince as much as you did when you heard Meryl Streep’s voice in that Julia Child movie, yow’re in luck: The luxury brand Dacor has come out with a new “Distinctive” Series” line of appliances, including a range, dishwasher, cooktops and wall ovens that provides an upscale look and quality for less than other high-end models (www.dacor.com). Andsince the kitchen is responsi- ble for nearly half of a home’s energy consumption, here’s one place you can (truthfully) tell your- self that upgrading saves money over time, since new appliances tend to be much moreenergyefficient. A Handy Tip: The exclusive Pure Convection system on the Dis- tinctive Wall Ovens features a triple-meshfilter that allows you to cook multiple items at the same time without worrying about fla- vors transferring from one dish to another—thus making for faster meal preparation. One last thing to remember: If and when you do finally sell your home, the return on investment from kitchen remodeling can be as high as 72.1 percent, depending on the work that was completed. Now do you feel better?
