We’d all love to have a vast kitchen with oodles of space but with a few clever ideas and a generous helping of design, even the smallest kitchens can look impressive and be delightful places to work in. Here are our top 5 tips for creating a spacious feeling small kitchen:
1. Keep it simple
We all know that light coloured, neutral kitchen units give the illusion of space to instantly make your kitchen feel larger. But there are lots of extra tips for making your kitchen look bigger. An uninterrupted flow of units will create a long line perspective so avoid fussy details that complicate your kitchen design, instead opt for handle-less units or sleek fittings for a clutter-free look. This includes your appliances too, concealed integrated appliances won’t disturb the row of units and will create uniformity and neatness. Under the counter appliances also maximise available worktop space. The simplicity of upstands and splashbacks will help your kitchen look wider, whereas tiles will bring the kitchen walls in to make your room feel smaller.
2. Light matters
Let the light in! Keep tall units away from your windows to help all available daylight flood into your kitchen, and replace bulky curtains with fuss-free blinds which take up less space. When planning what lighting to install, an effective balance of ambient and direct task lighting will give you control over your environment to either open up those dark corners and make your kitchen sparkle, or create a more relaxed atmosphere with added versatility to your space. White is a good choice for a small kitchens and is easily accessorised with bright ‘pop’ colours. High gloss units and reflective surfaces will bounce light around your kitchen to help it feel more open, and mirrors give an illusion of additional space too – a great cheat to make your room look bigger.
3. Out of sight
Nothing makes a kitchen look smaller than clutter. Clearing out excess ’stuff’ will reduce the amount of cupboard space you need to accommodate only the things that you use and love. You’ll feel great and your kitchen will look much emptier and larger too. Maximise storage with deep drawers, pull-out shelving units and corner carousels to utilise every inch of usable space. Mounting your microwave on the wall or choosing a cupboard integrated microwave will liberate your worktop and add width to your room beneath the wall units. The same applies to other small appliances so find cupboard space for anything you don’t use daily. And don’t forget your floor space, rubbish bins are bulky and often unsightly so opt for built-in waste bin drawers; it’ll make recycling day much simpler too.
4. Open up
Being able to see all four walls of your kitchen will add precious width to your room. The benefit of freestanding kitchens is that you can move them around as your needs change, and because the units are on legs you can see the full expanse of floor beneath the units and retain the feeling of space. Likewise, mid height wall units allow you to see the complete width of the room at eye level. They also generate ample space above the tops of your cupboards as the perfect spot to put that microwave, or to display tall or bulky objects.
5. Get creative
When space is limited, don’t be afraid to think creatively. If you don’t have space for a table and chairs in your kitchen, an extended worktop will double as low level breakfast bar and provide extra worktop space. Scatter cushions on a window ledge provide ideal extra seating. If cupboard space is limited, open shelves provide contemporary and informal storage for you to display your favourite crockery or tableware. But be careful not to let them look too cluttered and use baskets or boxes for small or messy items.
We’d love to discuss your kitchen design dreams with you
Call us on 01608 690870 or email [email protected] to discuss how we can create the perfect kitchen for your home.