Easy Kitchen Updates

House Beautiful has some great tips for updating your kitchen without breaking the bank with its “10 Ways To Make Your Kitchen New Again.” Accessorize, accessorize, accessorize! These small additions or updates can breathe new life into the your kitchen:

1. Table lamps–an unexpected light source.
2. A fun new kitchen gadget. There are some real space-age ones out there!
3. Install a pots-and-pans rack over your stove or island.
4. Store pantry items in cute baskets rather than original packaging.
5. Start a small culinary herb garden on your kitchen windowsill.
6. Hang mirrors to create new reflections.
7. Spruce up old tile with stick-on decals.
8. Paint the insides of your kitchen cabinets an eye-catching color.
9. Mix up dining room seating with new chairs or chair cushions.
10. Replace old cabinet and appliance fixtures.

Small Bathroom Space Solutions

Small bathrooms are great for efficiency, but perhaps not for space. Here are some decorating tricks you can use to create the illusion of spaciousness in the tiniest of bathrooms:

• Play up vertical space with wallpaper, paint, and other decorative elements
• Well-selected accessories add style and unity to small spaces
• Use transparent/translucent materials such as glass to create visual space
• Explore angled surfaces and corner units to decrease visual clutter.
• Stick to a single color scheme.
• Place mirrors in spots that will reflect light.
• Add interesting elements like a single painted wall or chandelier.

For more photos and ideas for small bathroom space solutions, see this article on houzz.com.

12 Award-Winning Kitchen Designs

Sub-Zero and Wolf appliance manufacturers sponsor a yearly kitchen design contest that generates fresh ideas and trends for the rest of us. The latest contest results reveal modern minimalist looks are replacing ornamentation in the kitchen and eco-friendly materials and energy-saving appliances are also popular. Find out how you can incorporate these designer trends in your kitchen by viewing a slideshow of the award-winning designs on the Elle Decor blog.

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