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It is the busiest room in the house and one that often needs the most improvement: your kitchen. You dream of having a culinary oasis like those showcased in design magazines, but you can't imagine having to dip intoyour children's college fund to get this custom look.

The truth is, you don't need to spend a fortune. Leading cabinet manufacturer American Woodmark Corporation offers some tips on how to achieve your dream kitchen at an affordable price without compromising quality or style.

Here in Savannah, remodeling has become part of the "in thing," mainly because people see the benefits of remodeling over rebuilding an entire home or buying a new home to shy away from the old home style.

"People are frequently deciding that improving their home is a more prudent investment than going through the aggravation and expense of moving,"Scott Richards, owner of One-Stop Remodeling said.

In Most cases, the remodeling project from deciding to remodel your home until the actual project is completed is roughly two years. Richards said this is not an easy decision to make, and the customer takes his or her time to make sure they have exhausted all their resources before deciding on what rooms they will remodel and who will do their remodeling job.

Richards also said that in many cases, the remodeling job they do the first time will lead to other remodeling jobs in the future. They also get their work based on word of mouth.

Since more than 60-percent of their work is done by referral, the proof of satisfied customers can only mean bigger things for his company.

"If you do it correctly, you will do three large jobs on a home," said Richards. "It is a life-time relationship. The customer trusts us."

Mark Palmer of Atlantic Coast Kitchen and Bath said there are people of all ages that want their kitchen or bathrooms remodeled. The trend, he said, is that people usually do a complete remodeling job once the style of room is older than 16 years.

"It is not something you change out like painting on the walls," Palmer said. "

In many cases, people will do a remodeling project if they buy a home and don't like a particular room or they have two homes and want to upgrade the home into which they want to move.

"The are some cases in which people might have a second home in Savannah and would want to make it their full-time residence. Then they will want to remodel their kitchen or bathroom," Palmer added.

Palmer also said that in most cases a kitchen will create an 80-125 percent on their investment while a bathroom will return 80-100 percent of the investment. Also, there are all types of jobs and customers who come through Palmer's business in both Savannah and Jacksonville.

"We do remodeling jobs for people of all ages," Palmer said.

• Determine your budget

Unless money is no object, the first step to any renovation is to create a realistic budget. The National Kitchen & Bath Association estimates that the average kitchen remodeling job costs between $15,000 and $20,000. You can easily save yourself money by doing your homework and planning ahead. Defining your budget will help prioritize items that are most important to you and prevent impulsive and costly purchases later on.

You may find that a large part of your budget can go toward replacing cabinets and appliances alone. However, home improvement centers like The Home Depot offer a wide variety of affordable cabinetry from American Woodmark and other companies that will help you stay within budget.

• Consider your space

Once you determine how much money you have available to spend on the project, take a moment to think about how the space is utilized day-to-day.

Does your kitchen get as much foot traffic as Grand Central Station? For most families the kitchen is the hub of the home - a place where they prepare meals, entertain guests, and do homework. Keep track of activities. They will help decide on personalized spaces you'll want to incorporate into your new design.

You may want to consider adding a home office and desk complete with a mail kiosk, file drawers, and open shelves for books and collectibles. Additional customizing options can help you create built-in pieces to accommodate your lifestyle such as hutches, baking centers, wine cabinets and islands.

"Kitchens today can be just as hardworking as they are beautiful," says Connie Edwards, certified kitchen and bath designer and author of "Beautiful Built-ins, Plans for Designing with Stock Cabinets."

"By customizing your space, you can give your kitchen a fresh, updated look, one that is welcoming to guests and uplifting to the people who will use it every day," she says.

If your space is limited and you are looking to maximize storage, wine racks, plate racks, and glass-front cabinets display china and crystal while adding functionality and an interesting focal point to the room. You can also free up more room for cabinets and create additional storage space by installing a large freestanding range stove instead of a cook-top stove and a combination wall oven.

• Define your style

How do you define your style? Is it Traditional, Asian-inspired, or your own personal mixture of design elements?

"You can create an entirely new theme - such as contemporary or evolved - by dressing up kitchens with elaborate crown molding, decorative furniture legs on islands and work stations, and ornamental hardware on cabinet doors and drawers," said Edwards.

Once you have determined your budget, assessed your space and have a design style in mind, head to your local home center. There, you'll have access to free or very low-cost services from professional designers who are available to help you turn your dream kitchen into a reality.

Tom Beytagh, of Bloomquist Construction, said that he has clients come in to see him who want to remodel a room or their entire home. The key to making everything fit for their budget is to see what the customer needs and make the right decisions as to what they can afford.

"There are a certain number of clients who come to us and tell us they have a budget to work with," said Beytagh.

As part of the project, Beytagh and his staff will offer suggestions to customers so they might not have to completely remodel a room or their home.

Beytagh also said there are some instance, where customers will come to him after trying to remodel a room by themselves only to become overwhelmed by the project.

In all cases, finding the right remodelor is essential to making the project work. If the customer and the remodelor are on the same track, the project will run smoothly.

"If you get the right remodelor, you can hammer out a plan," Beytagh said.

Some material in this story was taken from ARA Content.