MENUIt’s easy to get distracted by all the amazing large kitchens on Instagram with islands the size of your kitchen, but there are lots of easy features you can include in your small kitchen to make it feel much bigger.
If you’re happy to give your kitchen a lick of paint, the first thing to understand is that lighter shades will give your kitchen an instant illusion of space and air. Brighter colours will make a space feel bigger where as darker colours naturally make a room look smaller – especially if you don’t get much natural light in a room.
You could always go with a neutral white shade – but not too white, you don’t want a medical feel. Subtle pastel shades of yellow, green and even blue will give your kitchen a hint of colour without overpowering the room. This will also give you a good colour base to incorporate similar or brighter colours when it comes to plates and utensils, which don’t have to be boring at all!
If you’re unable to change the colour of the walls, apply this method to your cupboards and/or surface tops as they will provide a similar result.
Naturally if your small kitchen is lacking in space and you feel like there is stuff everywhere, you need a proper organisation system. One place to start would be to throw out anything in your cupboards or drawers you definitely don’t use.
Next is to create organised spaces within your drawers. Don’t just have everything chucked in one draw to let it roll about, purchase cutlery organisers and other separators that lets you give everything a home. This will instantly make drawers feel cleaner and you might find you have some extra space left for other utensils.
Storage boxes are your new best friend; you can use them for anything, Tupperware, ramekins, jugs, mugs, you name it. Getting plenty of these to dedicate space for items in your cupboards will make the space feel less clunky and prevent delicate items such as glassware from tumbling around and getting damaged.
There are lots of funky gadgets and décor pieces that can utilise any wall space. You could even hang a decorative mirror, which as we all know, instantly gives the illusion of more space, as it reflects the room but also the light that comes in.
Wall shelves can also be a great addition to small kitchens if you feel your cupboards and drawers just aren’t spacious enough or you want to dedicate certain items to be visible such as glassware or tableware.
Depending on the space you have available, you might want to look into floating shelves, corner shelves or even some form of modern pegboard, which allows you to hang several items at once. These can be so efficient to hang cooking utensils such as spatulas, spoons or even a hanging plant to give your small kitchen a lovely piece of the outdoors.
If you’re in desperate need for more seating space but your kitchen doesn’t allow for a normal size dining table, take advantage of tables that can be attached to the wall and folded down and put away when needs be.
These are ideal when you’ve got someone over a for a coffee and just need a place to sit and relax. They’re also ideal as small breakfast bars and when you’re all done, you can simply fold it away again.
This surface could also be decorated with an eye catching pattern to contrast against your walls, giving you a small feature that draws the eye.