Making the most out of a tiny kitchen starts by searching the room for space on the walls, floors, ceiling, countertops, appliances, even the insides and outsides of cabinetry. When you can start seeing the storage potential in everything, you can squeeze every square inch out of it.  Let us share our best tips for making the most of your small kitchen!

Hang It Up
Using your cabinets, ceiling and walls, hang up everything you can!  Anything that you can hang up saves valuable counter space.   While a lot of people think to use the outside of their cabinets to hang items, few think of using the space inside the cabinet doors.  Think of the drawer space you’ll save by using the inside of the cabinet door to hang up your measuring spoons and cups.  Mount a magnetic strip to the inside to hold all of your cutting knives.  Attach a few single wire spice racks to the inside of your doors and save the rest of your cupboard space for your groceries, dishes, and appliances. By installing shelves, rods or pegboard, you can move utensils off the counter and onto the walls.  You could probably rescue entire cupboards by hanging up anything and everything that has a handle attached.

Go Vertical
If your cabinets stop short of the ceiling you’re missing out on valuable storage space so consider adding another foot or two of storage by replacing them with cabinets that go all the way to the ceiling. That much-needed space will hold those rarely used items perfectly.   If you can’t add to or replace your cabinetry then simply set baskets on top of your cabinets for that additional storage space.

Making sure your cabinets go all the way to the ceiling will help you capitalize on more space. You can also add in glass fronts to make your kitchen seem more light and airy!

Go Horizontal
Gaining another foot or even more counter space is a big victory and can be accomplished with a minor remodel to replace your counter and sink by substituting your dual bowl sink with a beautiful (and compact!) farmhouse sink.  Another trick is to find a simple cutting board wide enough to cover your sink when you’re doing your prep work.

Small Tips and Tricks for Big Impact

• Add the illusion of more space by using mirrors to replace, or make, your backsplash.  Mirrored backsplashes are interesting, they reflect light, extend the view, really open a space and they’re super easy to clean.
• Bulky hardware on drawers and cupboards in a tight space is a recipe for bruises, the occasional profanity and wrestling your shirt from a handle’s grip.  To keep your kitchen and children’s innocence safe, choose slim pulls or replace cabinet doors and drawer fronts with inset grips and avoid the hardware completely.  It may seem inconsequential, but the streamlined look of your space will make a difference.
• If you need a shoe-horn and grease to fit appliances into place, think about replacing them with small-scale versions. Many appliance manufacturers are now offering a variety of compact models designed specifically for small spaces freeing up precious space for other uses.
• Play with color!  An all-white kitchen can create the illusion of space and vary the textures and shades of white will create not only the impression of space but will also add interest.  Using a high-gloss finish on your cabinetry will reflect more light and brighten up the whole area.  A light, bright room immediately feels more spacious and adding under-cabinet lighting will eliminate those shadowy countertops.’

Adding pops of color help make a tiny kitchen seem bigger.

• You can also make your tiny kitchen look bigger with glass.  By replacing your solid cabinet doors with glass, you create depth and dimension and the contents provide color, interest, and variety. This will make your small kitchen seem bigger than it really is.
• Go for a portable rolling cart that can do double duty as a prep area, add extra storage space and even a duty as a buffet area. Simply put it away when not in use and because it’s portable you’ll be saving on the precious square footage.
• When it comes to storage and space-saving needs, there are a number of stores now who specialize in smart, efficient storage solutions that make the most of any space in the house. Kitchen cabinet manufacturers are now offering space-saving filler cabinets, as narrow as three inches, to help store baking pans, utensils, and smaller items.
• Your kitchen cabinets may be another way to free up space by replacing them with open shelving.  By comparison, upper cabinets are far bulkier and, more often than not, you have to rummage through them to get to the contents in the back. Once again, the hallmark to creating space is an illusion – your eye isn’t stopping at a solid door.  It’s a streamlined look and everything is easily visible and accessible.It’s easier than you think to give that vertically, horizontally and dimensionally-challenged kitchen of yours the impact of more space with these simple fixes and make your time there much more enjoyable.

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