Small Kitchen, Big Cook: How to Maximise a Small Kitchen

It’s the inner city real estate conundrum – a great apartment but the kitchen is lacking. Surprisingly, some modern house designs omit the kitchen completely! But there’s no need to throw the home out with the dishwater, so to speak. There are several ways to maximise a small kitchen, and here are 11 of them.

1. If you have the luxury of renovation on your side, consider opening up the walls that separate the kitchen from other parts of the house. Open plan kitchens are not only functional, but they create a feeling of spaciousness.

2. Think vertically as well as horizontally by installing floor to ceiling storage. Purchase a ladder to access your stored items – it’s practical and the height creates the illusion of space.

3. Store specially-selected, regularly-used utensils on the bench. Decorative jars add texture and depth to your design.

4. The addition of a mirrored splashback and/or a mirrored kicker will trick the eye into thinking your kitchen is bigger than it is, particularly if its orientation enables the reflection of the outdoors.

5. Clean colours, especially white, make kitchens feel brighter and more spacious. If you have windows, try to emphasise them – natural light is the best and least expensive way to widen any space! The incorporation of a skylight is a magical way to brighten a windowless kitchen.

6. Store items that you use infrequently away from the kitchen, including big platters, specialty utensils and crystal glassware.

7. Magnetise or paint the kitchen cupboards with chalkboard paint to create a quirky focal point, which is also handy for keeping the kids occupied while you cook dinner.

8. If drawing on cupboard doors doesn’t take your fancy, remove them. You could either take them off entirely or replace them with glass. Windowed storage is chic and creates the illusion of space.

9. Adding long, narrow shelves to the walls creates a streamlined look and makes the eye travel further, visually lengthening the room.

10. A rolling cart (also known as a moveable island) is a small kitchen’s best friend – wheel it out when you need it, stow it away in another part of the house when you don’t.

11. Use every inch of space in your cabinets by installing drawers rather than cupboards. Drawers nearly double the usable space. Difficult corner spaces can be better utilised for ‘magic corner units’ or ‘le Mans’ shelving. Find out more about this and other smarter space ideas here.

Want to know more ways to get the most out of your small space? Contact smarterBATHROOMS+ on 1300 662 838 to book a free in-home consultation with one of our award-winning designers.