How to Make the Best Use of a Small Kitchen | Kitchen Blog | Kitchen Design, Style Tips & Ideas

When it comes to kitchens, size isn’t everything. Or, to be more precise, it doesn’t have to mean everything. We can get a bit overly concerned with size and space in the home; some would even say obsessed. And, no, we’re not trying to make out that space isn’t important or not a godsend in the kitchen. It’s just that – sometimes – we just need to be realistic. We can’t all be blessed with mansion-style detached houses with kitchens the size of the average 3-bed semi. If you have a small kitchen; it is not the end of the world. If you haven’t got much space to play with, you just need to make the best use of what you’ve got. So, without further ado, let’s get onto to our guide for how to make the best use of a small kitchen.

Make Best Use of a Small Kitchen – Top Tips

Okay, so it’s true you’re unlikely to see small kitchens featured in too many Pinterest boards or glossy home improvement coffee table magazine features about dream kitchens. However, not only can a smaller kitchen be entirely functional and practical, even the tiniest of kitchen spaces can be made into a great place to be. Follow these top tips to make best use of a small kitchen.

Declutter the Space

If you want to have any hope of making best use of a small kitchen it has to start by decluttering the space. You need to develop a ruthless streak too. There can be no space for junk or clutter in a small kitchen. While most of us have a ‘junk drawer’ in our kitchen, there can be no place for one in a smaller kitchen.

Similarly, when you have limited counter space, you can’t really have a lot of canisters or appliances on display. There simply isn’t room for them.

Overall, you really need to take a step back and think very carefully about what you have in the kitchen. Basically, if it doesn’t serve a specific purpose, or it’s not something you will get a lot of regular use from, you should seriously consider moving it to a different place in the home.

Create Counter Space

Storage space is one thing, but countertop space is even more important day-to-day in any kitchen. It’s here where the bread and butter of cooking and food preparation takes place. You need to look for opportunities to add extra counter space – possibly over an appliance, for example. Furthermore, you need to clear the counters themselves as much as possible. Is there a way of utilising the walls more?

The walls of a kitchen really are a fantastic opportunity to make best use of space. A painted wall might look good but it’s actually not particularly effective use of space. It doesn’t do anything for you – it is dead space. Make the most of the walls and they can actually become a real feature of a busy kitchen.

Hiding and hanging important items is a good way of making best use of a small kitchen. There are certain things that you absolutely need in the kitchen all the time. What’s more you need them to hand and easily accessible at all times. Think of the likes of tea towels and kitchen roll – these are necessities. But they don’t need to go on free-standing holders that take up a lot of precious space. Holders can be bought to hang under cabinets or on the back of a door. There’s always a way of keeping things out of the way buy still within easy reach.

Get Organised to Make Best Use of a Small Kitchen

Probably the key to making best use of a small kitchen is organisation. This is very much the watchword for success. You need to get organised.

If you live in a relatively small home anyway, you probably already understand that organisation isn’t really an optional extra – it’s vital. Everything needs to have a place and – more importantly – everything needs to be in its place. That’s the part where most of us fall down!

In a small kitchen, it’s no different. In fact, it’s even more important. Decide where everything should be and do your very best to ensure that the allocated space is the place each item stays.

Being organised in the kitchen isn’t just about keeping things tidy and keeping spaces clear. It’s also about making sure that only the items that you get regular use of actually stay in the kitchen. Only the pots and pans and gadgets that you use a lot deserve a place in the kitchen. Anything else can be shipped out elsewhere in the home.

Finding the best way to organise your kitchen has an element of trial and error about it. However, once you have arrived at the organisation method that works for you, stick to it.

You will be all the better for it.

Moving Things Out and Move Things In

As well as clearing gadgets and pans that don’t get a lot of use out of the kitchen, you should also consider moving foodstuffs out of the kitchen too. It might not always be a possibility, but if there is a way you could repurpose a space in the under-stairs cupboard, the garage, or the utility room, the idea is certainly worth looking at. This can free up vital space in the kitchen and takes the pressure off it.

As you move some things out, you should be moving things in too – storage.

In small spaces, storage is a necessity and a lifeline. We’ve already covered some of more practical ways of storing certain items – kitchen roll holders under cabinets and utensils on the walls, for example – but with a bit of creativity and ingenuity, you can always do more.

Whether it’s taller cabinets, extra shelving or using baskets to store things on open shelving, there are plenty of ways you can add storage to a small kitchen.

Indeed, opening up your shelves is a really good idea. In a smaller space, there’s a tendency to clear things out and to box things in neatly. You want things tidily tucked away. It is obviously sensible to do so.

Conversely, it can be really effective to do the opposite and to open things up. The problem with having everything boxed in is that it can make the space seem somewhat stuffy. Open shelves give you some breathing room and breathing space.  From a design aesthetic point of view, opening up shelving can actually make a space appear bigger because it stops everything from looking closed off. It can also offer a practical solution to a problem that is often faced in small or unusually shaped kitchens. It can be difficult to open cabinet doors easily. Take the doors off and the problem is solved. Open shelves can also be used to house jars and containers and help to reduce counter clutter.

Lighten Up and Open Up

Although dark colours can look fantastic in small spaces, the general principle of choosing light and bright colours for smaller kitchen spaces tends to ring true. Just because your kitchen is small doesn’t mean that it needs to feel small. Decluttering, using open shelving and your choice of colour scheme are the main ways that you can impact on that and create the illusion of space. It goes without saying, that if you have a window in the kitchen, you should natural light work its magic.

And, last but not least of our top tips to make best use of a small kitchen is a really simple but a very important one – keep it clean! It can always be tempting to put off doing the dishes or wiping down the countertops or cabinets. However, in a small area if one part of it is dirty, it can make the whole space feel dirty. Keep on top of things and you will really feel the benefit.

If you would like more advice about what to do with a small kitchen, why not get in touch with the Kitchen Warehouse team? We’re always happy to help.