Milwaukee ? American homeowners are expected to spend $214 billion this year on remodeling, to a large extent putting their money where their mouths are: In the kitchen.

Whether life’s stresses drove them to this age-old refuge or economics convinced them real estate is the safest investment bet these days, people are spending more time and money in the kitchen. In the process, they’re transforming the once humble room’s look to a point eerily similar to yesteryear’s living rooms — sometimes complete with fireplace and comfy chair.

“The kitchen is the living room today, the focal point for the house. Kitchens bring families together, for eating, for entertainment — for everything,” said Mark Brick, president of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI).

Among the touches his company, Glendale, Wis.-based B&E General Contractors Inc., puts in homes these days: “dramatic lighting, surround-sound systems, appliances that look like pieces of furniture, paneled dishwashers, flat-screen TVs that are also computers.”

All that is costly, but people are in an indulgent mood. The remodeling business is booming and kitchen jobs are its leading edge, said Gwen Biasi, marketing and communications coordinator at NARI headquarters in Des Plaines, Ill. Kitchens account for about 20 percent to 25 percent of all spending, “the most expensive room to remodel because of all the appliances and materials used,” she said.

Especially the restaurant-quality appliances and luxury materials favored of late — marble, granite, copper, slate, brick, Italian tile, oak, maple and cherry wood. Customers are shelling out up to $10,000 for minor update work, $40,000 to $60,000 on major renovations and twice that or more for remodeling projects that increase a home’s square footage, remodelers estimate.