Most people would admit to wishing they had at least a slightly larger kitchen. But when dealing with a particularly compact kitchen with little to no room for maneuver, your need the help of these interior design hacks.
Truth is, there is plenty that can be done to make a smaller kitchen look bigger. There is also much you can do to make better practical use of the space available, in order to make it feel bigger.
Opting for a physical extension of the space itself simply isn’t an option for most. Along with being a highly disruptive and intrusive renovation, the costs of a typical kitchen extension can also be sky-high.
Therefore, the preferred option for most is to play around with what they already have, in order to create the look and feel of a bigger space. Specifically, the following eight interior design tips and tricks could make a real difference to your compact kitchen:
1. Draw the Eye to the Ceiling
First up, anything you can do to draw the eye away from the four walls around you can help. Particularly if your home has a relatively high ceiling, drawing the eye to the ceiling can make a room feel significantly larger. This can be achieved by the usual decorative accents and adornments, or by installing high shelving, elevated cabinets and so on.
2. Get Creative with Kitchen Storage
Creative kitchens storage is essential for making the best of the space you have available. Everywhere you look, you’ll can see something that has a strategic storage potential. The undersides of shelves for hanging pots and pans, maybe a suspended rack you can hang from the ceiling or perhaps even hidden cupboards beneath your lower cabinets behind the kickboards.
3. Consider Switching to Integrated Lighting
The problem with decorative lighting in a smaller kitchen is that each feature eats into the limited space you have available. It can therefore be much better to switch to integrated lighting, wherein the room is flooded with an abundance of light (also essential) but the fittings don’t actually protrude into the space.
4. Install an Extendable Table
If your kitchen has an incorporated or accompanying dining space, an extendable table can be just the thing to create a roomier look. Choose a table that perfectly suits your everyday needs in its compact form, but which can also be extended to accommodate any guests you may invite over. This can be a significantly more space-efficient option than a large fixed dining table, which could take over the entire room.
5. Keep the Colour Scheme Simple
You can go with whatever colour you like for your kitchen, however bold or understated it may be. However, it is typically advisable in a smaller kitchen to limit the number of colours you combine within the same space. The use of too many colours can result in a cluttered and cramped feel, which could have the opposite of the intended effect.
6. Install Ornaments and Accessories That Reflect Light
Mirrors and reflective surfaces are the ultimate interior design accessory, when looking to create the look and feel of additional space. This is just as true in the kitchen as it is elsewhere – a space where ornaments and accessories that reflect light can make a real difference. At the same time, it’s important not to take the whole thing too far, as too many reflective surfaces can put a real strain on the eye.
7. Declutter Aggressively and Regularly
Decluttering the kitchen does not necessarily mean throwing out or giving away as many possessions as possible. It simply means taking anything out of your compact kitchen that does not need to be there. Appliances you rarely use, ingredients you turn to infrequently at best, cookbooks gathering dust on the worktop – all the kinds of things that could easily be allocated a new home.
8. Consider Open or Glass Fronted Cabinets
Last up, it’s also worth considering how much space your cabinets are occupying in your kitchen. If your cabinets are the predominant feature in the space – as is typically the case – consider switching to open or glass-fronted cabinets. In both instances, you’re not actually making any difference to the physical space available in your kitchen. Nevertheless, the removal (or replacement) of the cabinet doors can make a compact kitchen look exponentially bigger.