The kitchen space cries out to be shared, whether it’s a catch-up over coffee, cosy meals with friends or cooking with the kids. But what do you do if your kitchen is on the small side? As a design and build company we come across plenty of inspiring ways to optimise a small kitchen space for sharing, so here’s 6 of our top tips.
1. Add a Folding Table to Your Kitchen
For many people the kitchen table is what makes it the beating heart of your home. But it can also eat up a huge chunk of your precious floor space. Enter the innovative folding table! There is now an array of tables that not only fold, but also provide compact shelving for storage as part of the design. Perhaps you could consider a wall cabinet which folds down to provide a table for work or dining – with storage.
2. Add a Butler’s Pantry
Breakfast or lunch can sometimes feel more like a rugby scrum in a small kitchen. If you’re looking for something a little more Zen, without banishing the family, perhaps you might benefit from a Butler’s Pantry. Traditionally this is a scullery room adjacent to the kitchen, but the 21st century version is a customised cabinet where drinks can be made, bread toasted, and cereals poured – keeping the main part of the kitchen clear for other tasks.
3. Use Your Wall Space
Small kitchens need to get clutter off the surface and into storage spaces. This doesn’t necessarily mean endless blank cabinets. If you like colour and texture in your kitchen, think about adding a wall mounted dish rack for a touch of the traditional. You can hang your kitchen utensils from rails and hooks and create an open pantry using kitchen wall organisers.
4. Think of Your Garden as a Kitchen Extension
Space is all about light and perspective. If you have a kitchen that looks onto the garden , it gives you plenty of opportunities to open up the space and expand its potential:
- Replace your kitchen wall with glass. Bi-fold doors will flood your kitchen with natural light and provide an attractive extension throughout the warmer months.
- Turn your kitchen into a room with a view. Install a waist-high picture window, framing your garden and increasing the amount of light available.
- Add a new dimension to your kitchen by installing a skylight, or rooflight.
5. Improve the Flow in Your Kitchen
Are you constantly running between cupboards and cooker, or dining area and utensils drawer? Try grouping together the different functions your kitchen fulfils. The moment that everything you need to cook, for example, is in one place, you’ll discover new and innovative opportunities other areas of the kitchen.
6. Zone Your Kitchen Space
Instead of worrying about your lack of space, begin by considering what you want to be able to do in your kitchen. Need somewhere to enjoy crafting? Get a kitchen cart with combined storage and workspace. No room for coffee? Think about a bar table with stools, or a fold down ledge. Desperate for a home office? Find a ‘dead’ wall with available space, create a work top, and get yourself a comfortable chair.
Got Plans to Optimise Your Kitchen?
If your plans involve building work, you may find Construction Supermarket a good place to start. However modest or ambitious your home improvement project, we can support you by finding vetted builders in your area who will carry out the work for you. We provide a risk-free process that ensures that the work is completed satisfactorily, at the right price.
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