For many families, the kitchen is the center of the home. It’s where you gather to cook, talk with one another, and enjoy tasty meals. But if your kitchen is on the smaller side, you may feel like you’re not getting as much out of the room as you could be.
This article should help to fix that. It features six space-saving layout ideas that you can use to make even the smallest kitchen feel large enough for the whole family to enjoy.
Let’s get started.
Consider a Galley Design
First, if you’re designing a new kitchen from scratch, then going with a galley design could be the best way to maximize your space.
A galley kitchen layout features a single walkway with workspaces on either side. This gives you access to a ton of storage and counter space, even if you’re working with an extremely small area.
Plus, galley kitchens are typically really easy to work in as well. You can easily bounce back and forth on either side of the kitchen using the sink, look for things in your cabinets, and cook on the stove.
All in all, galley kitchens are one of the most efficient ways to use a small space.
Use a Moveable Island
Maybe you’ve always dreamed of having an island in your kitchen for food preparation and equipment storage. But in a small kitchen, you typically won’t have enough space for a permanent island. That’s why purchasing a moveable island could be your best option.
Moveable islands give you the best of both worlds. You can take advantage of the benefits of having an island while you cook and then store it away when you’re not using it to increase your ability to move around in your kitchen.
The cool thing about this is that you can make your moveable island part of your home’s decor when you’re not using it. It’s a versatile strategy that should help to unlock the full potential of your small kitchen space.
Build the Right Cabinets for Your Space
When it comes to maximizing the space of your kitchen, perhaps nothing is more critical than the cabinetry you choose.
With suitable cabinets, you can get all the storage you need from a design that feels like it adds space to your kitchen instead of taking it away. But with clunky mass-manufactured cabinets, your already small kitchen area could become even smaller.
Every kitchen space is different, so if you want to optimize your space, your best bet is to build custom cabinets from scratch. These can be built around the unique contours of your kitchen area so that you’re taking full advantage of every nook and cranny.
Finding a company that will build these for you is a pretty straightforward process. For example, if you were in the Pennsylvania area, you could search for something like custom kitchen cabinets in Ephrata, PA, and you’d find exactly what you need.
Try a Cabinet-Depth Refrigerator
The average adult in a home needs about 4 to 6 cubic feet of refrigerator space, so you probably need a full-size refrigerator to satisfy your family’s needs. But you may be able to get the space that you need in a more space-conscious design.
Cabinet-depth refrigerators stick out from the wall as far as cabinets do if you’re working with a kitchen where every foot of space counts. This could be a great strategy for giving you some extra walking room without reducing your refrigeration space.
Take Advantage of Nearby Spaces
It’s also important to remember that everything you use in the kitchen doesn’t necessarily have to stay in your kitchen. By taking advantage of nearby spaces, you can free up tons of room to work in and move around your kitchen.
For example, many homes have closets located near their kitchens. You could turn one of these into a pantry so that you don’t have to worry about storing your dry goods in your kitchen cabinets.
You may also have a dining room in your home. If so, you could use it as a spot to store your dishes and some of your cooking utensils to free up even more space in your kitchen proper.
Use Wall-Mounted Storage
Finally, your kitchen may just not have enough cabinetry to store everything that you need it to. If that’s the case, then one option is to deploy wall-mounted storage, such as hooks and standalone cabinets.
Wall-mounted storage gives you extra space to store whatever you need. But it can also become part of your kitchen’s decor. For example, maybe you’ve got some beautiful china you want to show off. With wall-mounted storage, you can do that while freeing up some extra space in your kitchen.
