How to Renovate a Room

Add light any way you can. Replace solid exterior walls with glass doors leading to a patio. Remove non-load-bearing walls to make small rooms into one big room. Raise the ceiling in a cottage or tract home by using crawl space or an attic. Install a skylight or upgrade old fixtures to sleek LED lights or white paper pendants.

Curate the colors and keep them spare. White is the expansive color for a kitchen, but vary all-white painted walls and the ceiling with a high backsplash of white subway tile behind the sink and stove. Paint cabinets glossy white and replace old pulls and drawer handles with contemporary brushed aluminum or glazed white ones.

Eliminate bland elements by removing Formica countertops and putting in long stretches of butcher block or white Corian, punctuated by a brushed metal sink and stove. Don’t be afraid to cover or refinish floors in rich ebony or dark chocolate cork tile in a galley, or bamboo or blond wood in an open-space kitchen-dining room.

Adapt the amenities to your style. Replace upper cabinets with open shelves to display pottery bowls, mixers and blenders that are often used. Turn an unnecessary lower cabinet into a small, refrigerated wine cellar. Build in shelves with custom wicker baskets to hold dry goods, potatoes, onions or baking tins.

Invest in the right furnishings. A contemporary bistro size table and two stools make a big design statement in a tiny corner. A farm table and modern aluminum chairs bridge the indoor-outdoor spaces of a kitchen that opens to a terrace or patio. A painted white work island lets the cook chat with guests and serves as a buffet in an open kitchen.