The kitchen is often the heart and soul of a home and usually reflects the owner’s tastes and lifestyle. If you have a small kitchen you may feel like the design possibilities are limited, but there are plenty of things you can do to maximise the space – this simply requires a little thinking outside the box and an ability to scale back any elaborate plans.
So, there are a few things to consider before any kitchen design and planning goes ahead. Firstly, what is the purpose of a kitchen? Obviously it is to prepare and cook food, but it is also a room of functionality, productivity and efficiency. Think of all the storage you require, the ease of accessibility and the comfort of cooking, feeding and entertaining in the kitchen. Granted it is difficult to cater to all these demands whilst still maintaining the style you want, but the perfect kitchen will end up being a compromise between your dream designs and your practical needs.
Some ideas of how to make the most of a small kitchen space
- Tall cupboards are good as they use every space possible to store things.
- Use understated units, the simpler they are, the easier they are on the eye creating the illusion of a bigger space.
- Choose reflective materials
- Combine your prepping and dinning space in one.
- Install French doors or a skylight to increase light in a small dingy space.
- Integrate appliances within the design.
- Installing lights under cupboards may soften the hard edges of kitchen units.
- Hang pots and pans and other storage saving devices such as an island with cupboards.
These kinds of tricks help to maximise the space in your kitchen without making a small space look or feel too cluttered. First off it’s worth having a good clear out to get rid of any unnecessary clutter, think wisely about the smallest of details such as colour and the types of units you go for. Get help from a professional too if you are struggling to economise on space, it will cost extra but is better than settling for a design that doesn’t make the most of your small kitchen space.
Another important tip is to research kitchen designs (on the internet or kitchen studios) and build a range of references, perhaps compiling a mood board in order to find the colours, textures and fittings which you feel would suit your space best. In addition to this, there are plenty of kitchen design specialists who would be sure to advise and help you generate ideas for your small kitchen, also they would be useful when thinking about costs, as these will drastically vary depending on materials and appliances.