You anticipate your tax refund with dreams of big-screen TVs and luxurious vacations. But cooler heads say you should spend the windfall to improve your home.

The average refund is $2,548, according to recent IRS figures, enough to have an impact on the look, the feel and, possibly, the value of your home.

"This is the time to go around and be nosy. Look into your neighbors' homes. Go to open houses," says Sid Davis of Farmington, Utah, author of "Home Makeovers That Sell" (2006, Amacom, $15).

But be reasonable.

"You don't want to go overboard if you're looking for value," Davis says. "You could install granite countertops and love them. But if everyone in your neighborhood has laminate countertops, a buyer may love your granite countertops, too, but he's not going to pay any more for them."

There is one improvement project that usually elicits a big "ugh."

But Kathy Maguire, an experienced Scottsdale, Ariz., home renovator, believes homeowners should address it before they break out the paint rollers.

"Clean and declutter. It's huge. Even if you have to rent a storage space to do it," says Maguire, a Realtor for Re/Max Fine Properties. "It will give you a 973 percent return on your investment."

That said, Maguire, Davis and Scottsdale, Ariz., fine-home specialist Chris Forrester share their other tax-return project ideas (see chart at right).