Another episode of Sarah 101 and this time its a kitchen! Like I posted before, Sarah is brilliant at using Ikea cabinetry to create a custom look and this episode really showed off her mad skills.

The "before" kitchen was every cook's nightmare... a very small space, lacking storage, and poor layout. It was a galley kitchen with an island parallel to the wall of cabinets. It was so tiny you literally had no room to move about if the oven door was open! I really didn't know how Sarah & Tommy were going to "fix" this kitchen.

Once again, Sarah proved why she's the top designer by doing away with the free-floating island and replacing it with a peninsula (try for a dimension of 3'x5', she says) perpendicular with one of the galley walls. That small change really opened up the space, improved traffic flow, and connected the kitchen with the adjoining lounge, while still maintaining a bit of visual separation. Brilliant!

The cabinetry was Ikea but some doors were professionally sprayed to give it a custom look. My favourite touches were the vintage pendants, the cohesive green & white palette in both rooms, and the emphasis on creating functional yet still stylish rooms. If you've been a fan of Sarah's since her "Room Service" show days, you'll be pleased to see she pulls out the old vinyl decals for a bit of old school DIY'ing too.

Tips from today's show:

• Create designated workspaces. Have dedicated lighting (pot lights) in each work area, then add some decorative lighting for panache
• Tie a colour in two adjoining rooms by using accent pillows. Further unite the spaces with the same flooring material.
• Every space needs softening. Do that with fabric!
• In a room with low ceilings, mount your curtain rod high to elevate the ceiling
• In a room with no architectural interest or details, do something to add some pop in the space. In this episode, Sarah put a vertical stripe which went up the middle of one wall, across the ceiling, and down the other wall. Unconventional and interesting!