Design Strategies For Small Kitchens: How To Make A Tiny Space Seem Larger

Construction & Contractors Articles

A small kitchen can make your home feel cramped and cluttered. Fortunately, a few simple design changes can help your current kitchen feel much larger than it actually is. Here are a few things you can do to bring some spaciousness to your cooking space when your square footage is limited.

1. Lighten Up

Lighter colors help a room to feel more open. If you have dark cabinets, a dark floor, or poor lighting, these can easily make your small kitchen feel even smaller. Consider:

• painting your cabinets white, cream, or light grey in order to bring a lighter tone to the kitchen, especially if you have a cabinet-style pantry that extends from floor to ceiling.
• adding a backsplash of white tiles to make it seem like the space extends further back than it does.
• replacing or painting dark countertops with lighter ones.
• replacing old light fixtures with ones that set into ceiling. Add more light under cabinets and above the sink for a brighter feel.
• removing shutters or curtains from any windows that might be in the kitchen.
• replacing dark floor tiles with smaller, lighter ones. Also, keep grout lines light in color, as darker grout sections off a space, making it seem smaller.

2. Customize Cabinetry

While replacing your cabinets altogether might be out of your budget, you can do a lot with your cabinets to improve the space. Upper cabinets can really affect how big your kitchen feels-- too many uppers makes it seem small. However, a small kitchen needs all the storage you can get. How do you get the best of both worlds? Try:

• hiring a professional to replace the solid cabinet doors with new doors fitted with custom glass. Custom glass cabinet doors allow people to see into your cabinets, but they also give more depth to sight-lines in the room. You can also include more glass in your overall design; the clear or semi-clear nature of glass helps to make the most of your space. Use a custom glass table or cut out a portion of the wall for a glass look-through to the rest of the house. 
• use shelves instead of cabinets for upper storage. Open shelving has become very popular for home designs. Rooms feel much more open when there are no upper cabinets. As an added design bonus, you can extend the light-colored backsplash up and around the cabinets for a more streamlined look. 

3. Update Appliances

Smaller homes are becoming popular, and smaller appliances are being made to fit the demand. If you have a bulky, double door fridge with an ice maker, this appliance will take up a lot of focal room in your kitchen. Consider single door, narrow varieties for small kitchens, and use a light-colored design like stainless steel or bisque. Replace drop-in ranges with glass-topped slide in models (these remain flush with the cabinetry), and choose a slim dishwasher instead of a standard width. Try to have as few buttons, handles, or features on the front of the appliances. Clean fronts help to minimize visual noise in the space. 

4. Decorate With Doors

If you do have wall space in your kitchen, it's best to leave it open. Try not to fit many decorative art pieces or dishes on counters or walls. Instead, spend your money on upgrading doors. If you have door to the kitchen, replace it or have it refitted with custom glass. This will let in more light, but it will also open the kitchen up to adjoining rooms or the outside. Sliding patio doors should be replaced with large french doors that can both open to the outside. The patio space can become an extension of the kitchen when entertaining. 

To contact a custom glass contractor to follow the above steps, check out a site like http://www.wildwoodglasscompany.com.

3 December 2015