Bathrooms
14 Smart Moves For Your Next Kitchen Or Bathroom Reno
Updated on April 25, 2025
Planning a kitchen or bathroom makeover? Steal these clever room ideas that can help you maximize your spaces and add a fresh design flare. Learn how to disguise your bulkheads, add storage to your bathroom, get the most out of your kitchen island — and more.
1. Get More Out Of An Island
In this 834-square-foot condo kitchen, the island performs not one but three different functions. It’s a cooking zone, a place to eat, and a TV is mounted on it. What else could your island do?
2. Try Barely-there Wall Outlets
Outlets are a necessity in a kitchen, but they’re usually not the prettiest thing to look at. If you have a beautiful wall of marble or a feature wall of tile, opt for seamless, flush-mounted wall outlets like these ones from Bocci that fade into the background.
3. Install a Counter in Front of a Window
Conventional wisdom says never to obstruct the view from a window. However, in compact quarters like this condo, running a counter across the window to create an eating space makes perfect sense. Who wouldn’t want to look out at this view?
4. Disguise Your Bulkheads
Dealing with an awkward overhead heating vent is a challenge in any space. Wallpapering over it seems like it would bring more attention to the boxy protrusion but, in fact, it helps it disappear. The key here is to wallpaper the ceiling as well, so that the lines of the bulkhead are blurred.
5. Indulge in a Gas Fireplace
It’s definitely a luxury, but worth it if you always find yourself entertaining guests in the kitchen. Install the fireplace at eye level so you can see it over the cabinets.
6. Frame a Window in Stone
If you’ve chosen a large slab in marble or soapstone for your backsplash or counters, you’ll have offcuts of the material left over. Work with your fabricator to maximize the number of cuts you can get from your slab and use them for the trim around your windows.
7. Opt for a Tile Runner
Along well-used circulation paths in a kitchen (such as in front of a sink), consider adding a permanent tile runner. Lay the tile flush with your other flooring for a seamless transition between the two materials. Easy-to-clean and durable tile will stand up to heavy traffic and last for years to come.
8. Leave a Nook for Towels
Break up the design of a vanity with a variety of door styles. The fluted drawers here open by touch-latch and hold hair dryers and brushes, while the centre portion is left open for a stack of fresh towels.
9. Plan for a Built-in Bar
The dead space behind drywall is often forgotten in newly built homes and renovations. This alcove features a wine rack and bar counter up top, and fridge and freezer drawers hidden behind cabinet panels down below. Co-ordinating the panels with the kitchen creates a seamless experience from one room to the next.
10. Hang a Corner Mirror
If you’re faced with a situation where you can’t move a window, get creative. Here, a swivelling mirror was installed off to the side, leaving the opening undisturbed.
11. Add a Pullout Shelf to Your Coffee Station
Make access to your morning cup of joe that much easier with a shelf that extends outside of the cabinet. This is particularly helpful if your coffee station is on the small side, and it also makes cleanup a breeze.
12. Two is Better Than One
If you love entertaining or just hate doing dishes, investing in two dishwashers might be the way to go. Use one for your plates, cutlery and glassware while the other handles the bigger pots and pans. Either way, your kitchen tidying will go by super fast.
13. Consider the Charm of a Curtain
Add pattern to your kitchen by replacing a typical cabinet door with whimsical fabric. Try it in front of an often-used appliance like a microwave to make quick access a breeze
14. Rethink the Medicine Cabinet
Finding a medicine cabinet that works with your design scheme can be tricky, plus they can be bulky. Instead, tuck one off to the side in a drywall opening. Here, it’s so discreet you could almost miss it.
Kitchens + Baths