Whether you’re planning on remodeling your kitchen or just making better use of what’s already there, small kitchens can feel limiting. In reality, small kitchens are a great way to force you to get creative to create a unique look you’ll love.
With advice from Bright Builders General Contractors, here are some small kitchen design tips and hacks to help you make the best of your small space.
1 - Choose colors carefully:
The colors you choose and, more importantly, the way you choose to use them, can make a huge impact on how large or small the space feels. Here are some examples of how color can affect space.
- Continuing a color theme from the kitchen to adjoining spaces can make the kitchen feel larger. Choosing a different color scheme for the kitchen can make it feel more isolated and smaller.
- Dark colors can make a space feel small, but an accent wall can create a beautiful focal point without shrinking the feel of the room. Unique ways to incorporate a pop of color in a small kitchen are to use blackboard paint on a small wall for leaving messages or doing a brightly-colored backsplash.
- Different colors relate to different emotions. Yellow, for example, is associated with sunshine and happiness, while burgundy is a more elegant, classic color. In this way, you can influence the feel of your kitchen by choosing which colors to accentuate.
2 - Make the most of the space:
Every inch matters when you are dealing with a small kitchen. These hacks will help you make the most of your small kitchen.
- Remove handles from cabinets. Having cabinets that open without handles or knobs not only make a space look sleeker, but they actually give you more room so you don’t bruise yourself just moving around.
- Don’t have enough drawer space? Hang your utensils. Using space on your walls frees up drawer and counter space.
- Install lazy susans and sliding racks to make the best use of cabinet space. No more wasted space in the back of a corner cabinet!
3 - Integrate lighting into the design:
Have you ever thought about how lighting can affect the feel and mood of your kitchen? Lighting should be beautiful as well as practical.
- Consider adding recessed lighting to the bottom of cabinets and shelves to optimize space and make the kitchen look larger
- If you have high ceilings, take advantage of the vertical space by using a chandelier.
4 - Plan storage space:
Storage space is limited in a small kitchen, so you need to plan storage space carefully to make the best use of the space
- Move the coffee maker to another room. Coffee makers can take up a lot of valuable counter space. Consider buying a small Keurig machine and keeping it in your bedroom or another area of your home.
- Have a window? Use the sill to store glasses, spices, or other small items.
- Use drawer organizers. It’s easier to keep track of everything when each item has a home. It also helps prevent you from stuffing a drawer so full that it won’t close.
- Use magnetic strips to hang storage jars underneath cabinets and shelves.
- Add higher cabinets or use the tops of existing cabinets. If you’re remodeling your cabinets, don’t be afraid to put cabinets slightly out of reach. Using a small stepladder to grab items you use infrequently is a small inconvenience to add more storage to a small kitchen.
- Add shelves. Have available wall space? Adding shelves can give you more storage space without the bulk of cabinets.
5 - Consider what appliances are necessary:
Remodeling your whole kitchen? Maybe you don’t need every appliance.
- If you mostly buy fresh ingredients every few days, a mini-fridge may work just fine, leaving more space for cabinets.
- Hate to cook and clean? Leave out an oven in favor of adding a dishwasher.
- Countertop stoves and mini ovens are also great options.
6 - Additional small kitchen design hacks and tips:
Not every tip fits nicely under another category. Here are some other things to keep in mind when redesigning your kitchen.
- Do your research. Figure out what you do and don’t like and plan a theme before making any purchases.
- Do a deep clean first. Figure out what you actually need in your kitchen. Throw out or donate things you no longer use and store items you use infrequently.
- Create and stick to a budget. It’s easy to get carried away when designing your dream kitchen. Know exactly how much money you can afford to spend and ensure you stick with that budget.
As you can see, there are plenty of ways to optimize and accentuate the space you do have available in a small kitchen. Keep these design tips and hacks in mind during your next remodel for a kitchen you’ll love.
