Small kitchen design is challenging and takes the right remodelers who understand how to
work and make the most out of a small kitchen space. When a kitchen is small, it is easy to initially think there are no options for design, functionality, and amenities for such a small area. We have experience in small kitchen design and know that even if your kitchen is small and space is restricted, there are many designs and changes you can make to transform the small kitchen space into a functional kitchen. Following are the major design hurdles that must be overcome when working with a small kitchen.
1. Kitchen Storage In A Small Space
In a large or small kitchen, storage and available counter space is always an issue. While this holds true for large and small kitchens, it is especially true for small kitchens as all space is extremely limited. Making the most of your space is helped by having as many cabinets for kitchen storage as possible. By storing kitchen products in your cabinets, it cal help clean your counter space of clutter making your small kitchen appear large. Storing things away like small appliances, cups, and dishes in your cabinets will give you more space to work with. In addition, our contractors can install deeper cabinets and counters to help increase work space in your small kitchen. When space is an issue, you want to keep the clutter down in your small area to prevent a small kitchen from looking smaller.
By creating deep counter space and deep counter space, you will be able to store more and clear the clutter. In addition, storage makes your kitchen more practical through organization. Your kitchen will be organized by frequency of use and ease of retrieval. For instance, items like plates and cups will be lower and more accessible then blenders or food processors, items that may not be used every day. To make the most of the small space, your pots and pans should be stored next to your stove while your plates, cups, and silverware should be organized next to your dishwasher. In small kitchen design, it is not just about working in a confined area, it is about making the most out of storage space to reduce movements around the kitchen.
2. The Right Appliances
Every kitchen needs appliances, even a small kitchen. When considering small kitchen design, our remodelers always look for appliances that can be built in to the existing area. A cause of clutter in any kitchen is appliances. While some small appliances can be stored in cabinets, some appliances, such as a toaster oven or microwave, will most likely be left out because they are used more often. Having these appliances taking up the little counter space you have in a small kitchen can make it feel crowded.
Many appliances can be built in to your design such as mounting a microwave / toaster oven /oven in your kitchen and eliminating a stand alone oven by replacing it with a range top. Even a trash can can be stored as a pull out cabinet to maximize space. All traditional elements that are normally left out in a kitchen, if organized correctly, can be built in to your small kitchen design to maximize your space.
3. A Small Kitchen Needs A Pantry
For large kitchens, the most convenient aspect is a pantry or a closet to store your food, can goods, and even a trash can and appliances. In a small kitchen, having a pantry is an unachievable dream – not really. If you don’t have the room it does not mean you cannot have a pantry in your small kitchen. Small kitchens can utilize a pull out or roll out pantry or use a lazy susan as a corner storage element in a kitchen. And, if your kitchen is even too small to accommodate a roll our pantry or lazy susan, often times a closet can be built into an adjoining room to use as a pantry. Small kitchen design is all about getting creative and using the small space the best you can. Sometimes this means moving kitchen elements to other adjoining rooms.
4. Miscellaneous Kitchen Considerations
A few other points to consider in a small kitchen include lighting. Kitchen lighting is a big part when you are working with small spaces. With the right lighting, you can make even the smallest spaces appear larger. This is the same concept when putting a mirror in a room to make the space look larger. Lighting has that same effect in a kitchen. To make your kitchen look larger, we often use large recessed lighting, stay away from hanging pendant lights, and install under counter lighting to illuminate the dark areas to make make your available space look larger.
Another important part of design is your kitchen sink. We always put the largest kitchen sink so it will not look awkward in the design and will not take away from cabinet space. Kitchen sinks don’t need to be wide as a deep kitchen sink is just as useful – if not more – as a wide kitchen sink. If you have a small kitchen, imagine how cramped and uncomfortable your kitchen will feel with a large mound of pots and pans in your sink. Sink “storage” is just as important as cabinet storage.
Throughout all of these points for your small kitchen, one common thread ran through all, storage. With a small kitchen, storage is the most important element. When you design a small kitchen properly, you need to make the most out of your space by offering the most storage as possible. Our kitchen remodelers carefully consider all points discussed above to create the most functional and clutter free small kitchen design.
As a Design+Build General Contractor, I offer my clients a one-stop shopping approach to all of their home remodeling projects. I work with my clients from initial conception of a project through its completion. Every aspect of the job is managed by me and my professional crew. You will be included in every step of the design process until the final drawings are completed. No detail is left to chance. General Contractor Specializing in Kitchen & Bathroom Design and Remodeling Throughout the Los Angeles area.
Written By:
Offer Steuer
President
OTM Designs & Remodeling, Inc.
For more information you may contact us via email at service@otm1designs.com or you may call us at 888-981-1415. Our website is www.otm1designs.com.