The Economy And Its Effects On The Home Improvement Scene

OK guys sit back and brace yourselves this one is not going to be funny. After I posted my blog on last Friday regarding my take on todays eonomy I began to see other opinions especially regarding it\'s effect on the modern day homeowners plan\'s or lack thereof on home renovations. In a blog posted 2/1/09 on Walletpop entitled Home slump hits home decor trends, Zac Bisonette cites fancy kitchens and fireplaces that were so important to buyers during the housing boom are going out of style. He goes on to say It\'s hard to know what to make of these trends. Are they long-term changes in taste or is luxury just taking a leave of absence while people cope with plummeting job security.Even if luxury items like granite countertops and fireplaces are desirable, they may not be desirable enough to justify the additional expense.
In the high flying days of the past ten years homeowners had available easy credit in the form of home equity loans, readily available credit cards and revolving credit terms from retailers. In 2008 with the U.S. banking and real estate crisis in full free fall these facilities have all but vanished. Banks have stopped lending, home mortgage loans are virtually a thing of the past and credit card companies have raised their interest rates and lower the credit available even to their best customers. Its easy to see why Americans taste for luxury items has diminished. The fact still remains, as I pointed out in my blog of 2/13/09, that this does not eliminate the need for refreshing of that tired old kitchen or bathroom to make your house more saleable if that is your fate or to make you home feel better to your family in these tough times. What it does mandate is a more frugal approach. Frugal does not mean cheap but instead indicates a more careful reasoned approach to how something is expended. Can you afford to replace your old laminated countertops with granite? Can you reasonably replace that linoleum in the kitchen with real hardwood floors? Can you afford custom made cabinets? new stainless steel appliances? Glass tile backsplashes? And the list goes on and on. In general the frugal answer is NO! This does not mean that you cant make reasonable, attractive and useful changes to your kitchen or bathroom. You just have to be smarter in your choices as well as shopping smarter.
Here are some recommendations. Instead of granite you can choose from a wide assortment of man made surfaces, such as Corian, which in most cases can be half the cost of Granite and a whole lot easier to maintain. You can choose from dozens of forms of laminated flooring, such as \"Pergo instead of hardwood floors again saving 50% or more. When recently finishing a family room/kitchen project in our basement I was able to find a weekend sale on laminated flooring at a major retailer for $.99 a square foot. Thats less than the $9.00 per sq.yard and less than the least expensive carpet plus my son was able to install it. We could not have installed carpet and that would have added another $3 to $4 per sq.yd or more to the price and we had the look of hardwood at a fraction of the price. As for custom made cabinets the best buy in cabinets and vanities today is in prefab cabinets which come broken down flat in cartons and you assemble them yourself. The most familiar of these come from vendors such as Ikea or like Kraftmaid available at the large home improvement stores. Not only are these cabinets a great buy but are high in quality and features. Cant afford stainless steel appliances? Look at Craigslist any day and you will find great deals in practically new appliances at a drastic cut in price. The bottom line is shop smart and make educated choices. Take these ideas and team them with the suggestions I made in my previous blog such as upgraded faucets, sinks, new paint and other fixtures and you can have a great looking functional new look and space in your home at a reasonable attainable price. To reiterate my point, it is far more important than just vanity that we consider making these improvements. The economy is consumer driven. If we expect things to turn around quickly we all must regain our confidence that the American economy is resilient and has been a shining example to the world for 200+ years. To this end we need to invest in reasonable improvements. We need to spend carefully but we need to spend. Money sitting in a savings account drawing zero interest is not helping the economy. The banks arent lending the money, they are sitting on it. Investing in home improvements creates demand, creates jobs and works to restore the public confidence in our economic system.

About the Author:

Im a retired disabled accountant with vast knowledge in the DIY area having built several houses and worked on my own projects for 30+ years. I spend most of my days reading and responding to over 30 forums and discussion groups. I currently author and manage a blog site for a friend's builder supply business. I include personally written articles on the subject of home and home repair along with featured specials on products offered by the company

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