The average kitchen size in the United States is about 161 square feet. If your home’s kitchen space is smaller, you may feel like you can’t do everything you want in it.
But with the right strategies for design and layout, you can take a small kitchen and get everything you want out of it. Here’s how to maximize your tiny kitchen space.
Get Creative About Storage
Experts recommend about 14-18 cubic feet of kitchen storage per person. That may not be realistic for the existing storage space in your kitchen. But with some creativity, you can add all of the storage space you need to meet your goals.
Here are some ideas:
- Go for a wall-mounted dish rack
- Add a moveable kitchen island with storage
- Take advantage of closets and cabinets in nearby rooms
- Use wall hooks to hang cooking equipment
- Try magnetic knife strips
- Consider adding a second shelf inside your cabinets
Start with this in your small kitchen, and consider what items take up the most space. Maybe your dishes. Or perhaps it’s your pantry food.
These will be your most extensive opportunities for saving space. So once you’ve identified them, you can start considering alternative methods of storing those items.
Try Folding a Table
Your home’s table may be taking up more space than anything else in your tiny kitchen. If that’s the case, finding a way to get rid of your table when you don’t need it could be all you need to maximize your tiny kitchen.
Folding tables are one method for doing that. The concept is pretty simple. When you’re not using your table, you can take everything off it and fold it against the wall. Then you can bring it back out when you’re ready to eat at it again.
Folding tables exist in many different sizes, shapes, and colors, so it shouldn’t be hard to find one that fits your kitchen. You can start by visiting a company like Ikea to understand your options.
Make the Most of Corners
Every kitchen has corners where the walls meet. But most people don’t even think about them. Unfortunately, you can’t afford to be like most people if you’ve got a small kitchen. So you need to optimize how you use every nook and cranny in your space – corners included.
The easiest way to get some value out of the corners in your kitchen is to install corner shelves on them. These will give you extra space for cooking utensils, spices, dishes, or anything else you need to store.
It’s an excellent example of the type of creative thinking that you need to do to maximize tiny kitchen space. If you can find ways to use parts of your kitchen that most people would ignore, half the job is already done.
Optimize Your Cabinetry
Perhaps the best thing you can do to start getting more out of a tiny kitchen space is to install better cabinets.
Customized cabinets will ensure you get as much out of your limited space as possible. You can extend them to the ceiling, order them in odd shapes and sizes, and generally do whatever you need to to get the storage you need without taking up too much space.
If your goal is to find something like custom kitchen cabinets in Exton, PA, an online search is a good place to start. You can evaluate local providers, check reviews, and ask for quotes (most companies will give you a free one).
Open a Wall For a Pass-Through
Sometimes, a kitchen will feel smaller than it is because it’s enclosed with restrictive walls on every side. If that’s the case in your space, then opening up a wall for a pass-through could be the ideal way to solve your kitchen woes.
A pass-through is just a hole in the wall that connects your kitchen with the rest of your home. Many people will put barstools where their pass-throughs are as well. This can give you a brand new seating area, which may even be enough to eliminate another table that’s taking up space.
Play with Patterns
Finally, sometimes, maximizing your kitchen space isn’t about actually adding anything to it. But about making it feel bigger when you’re in it. If that’s your goal, then playing with the patterns and designs you use in your kitchen could be just what you need.
For example, you could install a mirrored backsplash to help add an extra dimension to your kitchen. Or you could use geometric patterns to draw the eye’s attention and make your space feel longer or taller.
You can do a lot with patterns to make your kitchen feel larger than it actually is, so be sure to check with a designer if you think that would help you optimize your space.
