Your Home Improvement Place

(ARA) - A kitchen is one of the most used and important areas in a home. Even as home prices across the country decline, a kitchen remodel can still add value to your home.

But affter tough fourth quarter, remodeling business looks set to heat up again

click thumbnails for larger pics For awhile now we have been thinking about remodeling our kitchen. Galvanized steel countertops and poor quality veneer cabinets have to be replaced. Eventually we would also like to get new appliances. Unfortunately, kitchen remodels can be expensive, especially when looking for high quality items and materials. Using unconventional or recycled furniture in a kitchen or dining room can save you money and add character. • 1 Venessa Zochetti is a journalist

(ARA) - Years ago, the kitchen served a very utilitarian function - a place to prepare food and clean the dishes. Today, it’s truly the nerve center of the house where families eat meals, discuss the day’s happenings, plan calendars, check e-mail and even entertain.

by Carl Esonhouse Never try and fathom from beforehand what could be the average cost of remodeling a kitchen. The idea is almost similar to that of how many angels can dance on the head of a pin or who would care to look if a tree falls in a forest. The question is a philosophical conundrum. This is only because no two kitchen remodeling projects are alike and that involves the difference in the cost. The projects vary in size and manner and so it is difficult to draw an average cost for that