Planning every square footage is crucial when designing smaller homes. In most cases, homeowners choose to build a small kitchen to get a home office and more spacious lounge areas. Luckily, well-designed and decorated small kitchens offer plenty of charm. Here are some ideas that you should give a try:
Choose a layout that efficiently works with the space available
In budget kitchen renovations where there’s very little to no demolition possible, adapt an efficient layout that suits the space available. Here’s a small U-shaped kitchen tucked in a corner of the apartment.
Custom floor-to-ceiling cabinetry
Install floor-to-ceiling cabinetry in your humble kitchen for it creates the illusion of a higher ceiling, and makes the area look more spacious while providing additional storage.
Opt for a crisp white colour scheme
Simple white kitchen interiors are the way to go when you only have a few square feet to spare.
If not white, any light-coloured, reflective, and minimalist surfaces will be suitable.
Free up wall space without losing functionality
Open shelves are perfect when you have a slanted ceiling in your kitchen area. Takedown upper cabinets, lay stunning tiles on the wall to create a feature, and install shelves. This helps to open up space and make it feel more light, airy and spacious.
Opt for bold and decorative tiles
Instead of accessorising your kitchen with too many elements that take up space, decorate using bold and decorative patterned tiles on the wall, floor, or splashback to add interest and create depth.
Sleek and slim appliances and features
Saving space is always the priority when designing small kitchens. Skinny islands like this provide additional benchtop surface without taking so much floor space. The thin benchtop and the minimalist cabinetry profile also help the space to appear visually lighter more and streamlined.
Consider replacing your rangehood with a slim induction stove to visually free up more space. Opt for induction stove models with an extractor hob like the one below, or retractable downdraft that rises up when cooking and lowers back when not in use.
Take advantage of natural light
Good lighting is essential in the kitchen. When possible, open up the walls and install multiple or large windows as seen below. Windows like this keep the kitchen well-lit during the day. Use blinds to control the amount of light coming in the room.
Choose operable windows to ensure the area is well ventilated. Open the windows when you need to cool the kitchen after cooking or when you need to let steam or smoke out.
Extend the benchtop to create a better kitchen layout
Many homeowners living in studio-type residences have corner kitchens next to their living room. Consider extending the benchtop to create a peninsula kitchen layout. The dining bench offers additional workspace and separates the kitchen from the adjacent area.
Install special cabinet organisation
It’s easy to end up with cluttered cabinets and drawers so consider installing cabinet add-ons to utilise every nook and cranny of your kitchen storage space. There are cutlery trays for shallow drawers so you can separate your forks, knives, and spoons. There are roll-out expandable racks for corner cabinets, so you can use them to store pots and pans.
Hang pot racks and other DIY storage
Take advantage of vertical space. Use dishtowels, single or tiered wire baskets and pot racks to store essential tools in the kitchen. This way those items won’t take up valuable storage space anymore.
Small kitchen? No problem!
Working with a limited square footage is a challenge when creating a functional and stylish kitchen. Good thing that there are lots of small kitchen ideas that maximize storage and efficiency. With proper planning, execution, and project management, you will end up with the kitchen that you adore.
Here at Superdraft, we have designers and draftpeople who are ready to help you work on your dream kitchen. Get in touch with one of our project consultants to get you started on your project.
