Few families can afford the home improvements needed to significantly increase the value or marketability of their home. Layoffs, cutbacks and a plummeting housing market have many families looking for less expensive ways to improve the appearance and usability of their home.

Any room in the home with a counter can be transformed from acceptable to incredible simply by replacing it. The dramatic change in appearance is underscored only by the low cost of this home improvement project. These areas notoriously receive plenty of hard use and, eventually, it begins to show. Scratches, nicks, burns, and gouges detract from their appearance and usefulness over time and replacement counters can make a huge difference in the appearance of your home.

Transform Your Kitchen

Kitchen countertops are, perhaps, the most heavily used part of your home. Food preparation, an easy place to put things, and a family meeting place, kitchen countertops suffer the effects of dragged backpacks, mishandled knife blades and countless pots and pans. Over time, kitchen countertops no longer look as attractive as they once did. Instead of a complete kitchen remodeling job which can cost thousands of dollars and disrupt your entire home, replacing kitchen countertops requires only a few short hours and minimal expense.

Dollar for dollar, replacing your kitchen countertop is the best kitchen improvement job you can perform for the biggest return on investment. Your well-worn and trusty kitchen countertop can be replaced in an afternoon -- completely transforming the look of your kitchen. A few well placed, color coordinated kitchen towels later and you will feel as though you have an entirely new kitchen for a fraction of the cost.

Bathrooms Made Better

While bathroom counters do not receive even a fraction of the abuse experienced by kitchen countertops, their replacement can be just as stunning. A dowdy and drab bathroom can become upbeat, pristine and elegant in only a couple of hours. The entire color palette can shift, creating an entirely new mood and feel for your bathroom.

Add a few plants, some new towels, and your bathroom looks better than new because it reflects your choices and your personality, rather than what the builder could get on sale that particular week. A replacement counter in your bathroom is easily affordable by even the tightest budgets and results in a significant change in the look and feel of the room.

Find The Right Replacement Material

Bathroom and kitchen counters can be made of natural stone, wood, stainless steel, glass or synthetic materials. Synthetic materials currently available, such as Formica, concrete, engineered quartz, and acrylic plastics such as Corian, Avonite and Meganite, all make great choices. They are inexpensive, simple to install and easy to keep clean. They are also highly resilient, making your investment dollars last longer.

Natural stone options are made from granite, marble, limestone, or soapstone. These materials are simply elegant. Other homeowners choose terrazzo, tile, and epoxy or cast-in-place resins.

When shopping for replacement countertops, it is always a good idea to stick with familiar brands that have withstood the test of harsh cleaning products and time. DuPont Corian and Zodiaq, LG Hi Macs and Viater, Caesarstone and Icestone are all reliable names known for quality products and materials.

With all of the colors and materials available today, you can begin the home improvement projects you have always wanted to complete and be done in only a matter of hours for surprisingly little cost.