Homeowners keep renovations simple, budget-friendly

— -- Glitzy is out and comfy is in as Americans take a simpler approach to home renovation.

With real estate values still in the doldrums, people are seeing their houses less as investments and more as, well, homes. Since they're staying put, they're taking on targeted — rather than extreme — makeovers aimed at livability.

Home remodeling is expected to pick up and post solid growth in the second half of this year, making 2012 the strongest year since 2006, according to a report Thursday by the remodeling futures program at Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies. Driving the market will be midsize kitchen and bath projects, maintenance work and energy-efficiency upgrades.

In fact, unlike a few years ago, Americans are now spending more on remodeling than on new construction, says Stephen Melman of the National Association of Home Builders. He says they're moving less now than at any time since World War II, so they're thinking less about the resale value of a remodel.

"They do it, because they want to. That's a major change in the psychology," he says.

Yet with home equity loans in short supply, many Americans are paying cash for renovations, so their projects tend to be smaller and focused.

"Everyone is value-oriented," says Debra Toney of Three Week Kitchens/Baths in a Week, a remodeling firm with offices in Denver and Texas. "They're just more cautious," she says, citing their willingness to pick basic appliances rather than Sub-Zero refrigerators and Wolf ranges.

More consumers, 61%, said it was important to get the most bang for the buck last year than did so, 56%, in 2010 and slightly more said they'd spend extra time looking for bargains, according to a reader survey released in February by Better Homes and Gardens magazine.

The survey found consumers are most interested in style upgrades to countertops, flooring, faucets and fixtures, followed by general maintenance, decor updates, efficiency and home organization.

"I suggest people try simple changes first," such as new light fixtures or paint colors, says designer Stephen Saint-Onge, author of No Place Like Home (Wiley.) He recalls a couple in Manhattan who wanted to gut their condo, but after he moved their furniture around for a few minutes, they saw new possibilities and a less extensive makeover.

Informality reigns

A cultural shift may be afoot as a response to the Great Recession.

"There's a shying away from being ostentatious," says architect Sarah Susanka, co-author of Not So BigRemodeling (Taunton Press.) She sees this even among people who have little reason to worry about finances.

"The trend we keep seeing is a move from formal to informal living," says Jerry Levine, president of the Washington, D.C.-area remodeling firm Levine Group Architects & Builders. He says his high-end clientele, who spend an average of $240,000 on renovations, want spaces to be comfortable, not fancy.

Take Sherry Hiemstra, for example. When she remodeled a 2002 duplex in the nation's capital, she shrank the luxury kitchen (it took over half the first floor) and added windows to the dining area to bring in more light and views of the holly-rimmed patio walkway.

"We wanted something that was very comfortable and met our lifestyle," she says.