Small kitchens - design ideas for a small kitchen (March 24, 2009)

When designing for small kitchens you need to focus more on achieving a functional and efficient layout than thinking about the actual limitations of your small kitchen.

Ideally you should be looking to increasing your countertop space by eliminating those items which would normally sit there. Small gadgets, knife blocks, bread bins etc should be put away and brought out when you really need to use them. You could also go through all of your pots and pans, small appliances etc and get rid of the things you hardly ever use.

A small kitchen can benefit from careful planning as well as good use of colour and light, coupled with strong design. For instance, bringing in more light (such as skylights) into your kitchen will make it appear larger and brighter. Strong use of horizontal lines (using kitchen cabinets) can draw the eye outwards to visually lengthen your kitchen. Using light colours in your kitchen colour scheme can also make your kitchen appear larger. A good trick is to use a monochromatic colour scheme (that is doors, countertops and splashback in a similiar colour) to increase the apparent space of your kitchen.

Here are a few kitchen design tips for small kitchens.

• Opt for drawers instead of doors in your kitchen. This can increase your storage space by as much as 30%
  
• Run your wall cabinets and tall cabinets up to the ceiling or soffit to increase storage space
  
• A pullout countertop will give you more counter space
  
• A smaller sink will give you more counter space (use in conjunction with a removable drainer that can be stored under the sink)
  
• Consider using smaller appliances (oven and cooktop) and multi purpose cookware
  
• Make use of wall space for hanging racks
  
• Glass fronted cabinets appear visually 'lighter' than full door cabinets
  
• Glass shelving is also visually 'lighter'
  
• A boiling water / chilled water tap is a great idea and gets rid of the kettle off your stove or counter top
  
• A pull out garbage bin (inside a floor cabinet) will free up kitchen floor space.

A small kitchen requires a bit of lateral thinking. However, once you have started you will find that you can do a whole lot more than you originally thought. A small kitchen should be efficient and practical and hopefully I have given you few ideas that will help you with your new kitchen design.

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