Tips for making small kitchen designs feel and look bigger
As we cram more and more people into the city there is no doubt that London kitchen designs are getting smaller and smaller in order to accommodate. Innovators and designers are working overtime to find new storage ideas in order to utilise what little space we do have while architects manipulate the shapes of rooms to create the vision of more space. The good news is however, that no matter how much you have to spend; there are always tricks to make your culinary haven a more space-savvy area suited exactly to your needs.
The first, and possibly most obvious, of your solutions is to go with the big budget structural redesign or extension. If your pockets can stretch to it, small kitchen designs are easily fixed by physically altering the space to make it bigger. Structural alterations are large tasks and of course need secure finance behind it, but if the opportunity is realistically available it’s the perfect solution. For a more money friendly option it’s worth considering adding a small patio to the end of your kitchen to allow for more light and an extra seating area.
A more purse-friendly option to increase the size of your kitchen is to reduce the amount of units of the walls. It seems clear that when you are dealing with reduced space that you would aim to utilise the available space along the walls. Yet whilst this is a time-honoured storage solution, cluttering the walls will diminish the overall width of the room and in turn make the room in fact feel much smaller than it is. If you can’t find anywhere to put the utensils that fill the units, shelves are a much roomier substitute as they do not dominate space and give the impression of a free wall as you can see more.
It may seem like the opposite of what you would do to gain more space but using deeper work surfaces will actually give you more room. Although admittedly this technique only works for rectangular shaped kitchens, it is still a deceptively brilliant way to give yourself extra space. Deep work surfaces provide a different kind of space that also serves to house all your much needed equipment (breadbins, toasters, knife racks) without overflowing your cupboards. By having the extra space for utensils you can remove wall units as suggested above.
Another option is to divide the room with a small breakfast bar or table. It may sound strange to add a new area and remove storage from an already tightly squeezed space, but this trick works wonders. Breaking up your units will make the room appear as if it has extra space that was previously blocked up by cupboards. As well as making more leg room, it makes your kitchen a more social area, allowing for snacking, coffee breaks and general relaxation. In order not to take up much room a small shelf-like construction against a wall with end of the room can act as a small table with bar stools also not taking up much room. The beauty of this idea is that it also gives you extra storage under the table area – just remember not to clutter it!
The final handy hint is to utilise glass where possible. This doesn’t mean actual glassware; it is in reference to glazed units and glass table tops. The sense of everything being blocked off in your small kitchen is caused by having so many storage units, however you can keep these units and build space by simply adding glazed doors rather than solid wood ones. Changing extractor fan above your hob to a part-glass part-metal concoction will also give you a more contemporary kitchen design with a spacious feel!
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