Patricia Gaylor has a healthy perspective on today’s kitchen and bath market – the right outlook, and the right approach, for coping with a business environment that’s certain to present both challenges and opportunities in 2010.

A New Jersey designer who has navigated her business through ups and downs, Gaylor sees the New Year as a time for industry pros to take a collective breath, remain positive and focus on their core values – yet make the changes needed to flourish in a market that remains volatile, fast-changing and down markedly from past highs.

In other words, focus on the opportunities 2010 presents – not merely on the challenges.

Gaylor’s advice should be seriously considered. That’s because analysts are projecting, at best, only a modest rebound in the housing and remodeling markets this year – what’s likely the start of a long, uphill climb fueled by an improving economy, pent-up demand, a stabilization of house prices and positive affordability factors (see Forecast 2010, Page 36).

In the meantime, kitchen/bath design firms will no doubt be forced to slug it out again in 2010, coping with a market that’s presented a wide range of challenges, including revenue declines that have led, for many, to a downsizing of staff, showroom space, marketing outlays and other expenditures.

So what, exactly, are the opportunities?

One, of course, is the opportunity to rethink – and perhaps reinvent – your business to reflect the market’s new, and perhaps permanent, realities.

A growing number of dealers are reporting, for example, that they’ve adopted strategies focused on honing their management practices and financial controls, while placing a renewed emphasis on “up-selling” and customer service initiatives. Others are diversifying into new products, market niches and trading areas. Still others have retooled their offerings to include handyman services, prepackaged kitchens and baths, and partial renovations such as countertop replacement or tile work.

Critical to this is the recognition that the slumping economy has impacted consumers’ values and buying patterns. While many are deferring high-end, discretionary projects until conditions improve, a growing number are abandoning the “uncompromised” kitchens that marked the industry’s boom years. In contrast, emphasis now is on smaller spaces, accessibility, organization, Universal Design, and projects that focus on “green” – renewable materials that promote energy efficiency and provide environmental sustainability.