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Universal Design Recognition Project honoree in Residential Kitchen Under $40,000 DJ’s Home Improvements Inc., Franklin Square, N.Y.

As the tough housing market forces more people to stay put homeowners are personalizing their space during a remodel rather than move according to a poll conducted by the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) in honor of National Home Improvement Month.

Poll results showed that 26 percent of respondents are planning to stay an additional 16 to 20 years in their homes because their home values have decreased during the recession. Twenty-three percent reported they are going to stay an additional six to 10 years in their homes.

The U.S. Census Bureau reports combined existing and new single family home sales decreased 5 percent in 2010. “This is very telling of what homeowners are experiencing as a result of the recession,” says NARI National President Dean Herriges, MCR, CKBR, of Urban Herriges & Sons in Mukwonago, Wis. “Because many homes have recently decreased in value, people are deciding to stick it out for much longer than they had originally planned.”

This in turn, has sparked a new remodeling trend that centers on making homes better reflect individual lifestyles and tastes as people decide to live in them longer. “Remodeling used to be about increasing resale value-making improvements that are appealing to the majority of buyers in order to boost the value of the home,” Herriges says.

Universal Design Recognition Project honoree in Residential Bath $30,000 to $60,000 Jones Design Build LLC, Minneapolis, Minn.

But that is simply not the case anymore.

“More and more people are throwing out the resale theory and making specialized improvements that suit their needs and their needs only,” he says. And this trend stretches far beyond flashy paint colors and finishes. Homeowners are opting for spas with exercise pools, caterer kitchens, art rooms, yoga studios, motorcycle garages, dog spas, wine cellars and tasting rooms, helicopter pads, 3-D murals, built-in teppanyaki grills, sewing rooms and meditation rooms.

Herriges cautions homeowners, though, that it’s important the customizations make sense to their lifestyle. “Make sure that whatever your adding is going to be something that you really intend to use, otherwise the space will end up being underutilized and make you unhappy,” Herriges says.

The entire poll results are as follows: 13 percent responded they had not planned to stay longer in their homes, 28 percent planned to stay one to five years longer, 23 percent planned to stay six to 10 years, 10 percent planned to stay 11 to 15 years longer and 26 percent planned to stay 16 to 20 years longer.

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