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In this land of rugged individualists, people go to considerable lengths to personalize their dwellings. Where are the heavy spenders that Pier 1, Crate & Barrel and Bed, Bath & Beyond hope to attract?

American Demographics teamed up with Redlands, Calif.-based ESRI Business Information Solutions to find out. The accompanying map, based on consumer spending data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, reveals high concentrations of spending on home furnishings in major metro areas and their suburbs - extending along the Washington, D.C., to Boston corridor in the east, and from San Diego up to the Bay Area on the west coast. The counties in our PopUpdates are among the top 25 based on how much the average household spends on gussying up its home. The most extravagant buyers in 2001 hailed from Fairfax County, Va., where the home furnishings bill averaged $3,935 per household. Big spenders can also be found in the inland enclaves of Fayette County, Ga., just outside Atlanta, and Pitkin County, Colo., which is home to Aspen, as well as in the farthest reaches of the country, such as the Dillingham census area in Alaska.

In 2001, America's 105 million households shelled out some $425 billion to spiff up their homes, up 28 percent from just five years earlier. The total includes everything from big-ticket items, such as furniture and major appliances, to chrome-plated brass soap dishes, fluted earthenware mixing bowls and blown-glass candleholders. The more enterprising buyers lurk on eBay's auction Web site, waiting for the right moment to pounce on vintage Shaker tables that will set them back several thousand dollars. Or they troll appliance aisles for brushed stainless steel Sub-Zero refrigerators and professional-quality Viking cooking ranges. Some of the purchases may seem frivolous, but it's all worth it. After all, there's no place like home