Small kitchens are getting common nowadays due to diminishing land space which results in smaller rooms and kitchens. Alternatively, you can say that the cost of buying a larger house has risen to the point where we can only make do with a smaller house. However, it is really not that bad to have a smaller kitchen. If you plan your kitchen space well (it is not that difficult), you can have a small, cozy, and most important of all, a functional kitchen.
Small Kitchen Design Ideas
In this section, we are providing some of our small kitchen design ideas to give you a picture on how you can decorate your kitchen while increasing its functionality. The trick for many of the small kitchen lies in balancing the storage space, working space, and interior decor. A good kitchen deign needs to be utilizing its space well. As a kitchen requires a large area for the major kitchen equipments such as oven, refrigerator, kitchen sink and kitchen cabinets, it needs to have a nice design and feel while not compromising usability. Although it seems tough trying to fit all the eggs into one basket, these kitchen design ideas for small kitchens are definitely a great help for those looking to revamp their small kitchen.
Before we touch on the small kitchen ideas, here are the top three elements of a good kitchen design which are worth considering while you are designing your kitchen.
Three Elements of Good Kitchen Design
The first element of good kitchen design is usability. The kitchen must have a good layout which is easy to maneuver around and still contain all the necessary kitchen equipments. A small kitchen might contain all equipments but is narrow and hard to move around. Thus, the designer need to take note of this when designing the kitchen.
The second element of a good kitchen design is look and feel. The kitchen must be welcoming and feels good to be in. The right kitchen will give the owner a smile every time he walks in. Bright lights will make a small kitchen look spacious, and a nice surface on the kitchen cabinets will enhance the appearance of the kitchen. Wooden cabinets with glass doors will make a kitchen look elegant and classy, whereas metal kitchen cabinets give the kitchen a futuristic and contemporary feel.
The third element is easy maintenance. As you know, kitchen requires the most maintenance as it is always filled with oil, gas and other particles. Thus, it must be easy to clean and maintain. One of the hardest area to clean up is the kitchen cabinets. When not taken care of, the cabinets will rot, chip and tear. Hence the cabinets need to have additional surfaces laid on top of the doors to be more durable. These surfaces can be easily replaced which increases the life span of the cabinets.
Getting Rid of Clutter
The current most popular trend in interior design is called minimalism. Minimalism means only placing the necessary facilities or the core equipments in the kitchen. For example, we always have more than enough plates needed to serve the number of residents. We always like to have extra utensils and kitchen equipments. But, the truth is that we rarely get to use them or we simply do not use them at all. All these elements take up extra space, whereby if we reduce them, we can actually free up more cabinet space! What can you do with all these freed up cabinet space? Buy the smaller kitchen appliances and store them into the kitchen cabinets! These in turn vacate your kitchen counter tops, providing you ample space to work your cooking skills. There are also various kitchen appliances which have multiple uses, such as the food mixer which can act as a fruit juice extractor. These appliances actually save 2 times the space! We shall talk more about the small kitchen appliances later.
Organizing Storage Space
While you are getting rid of the unnecessary kitchen equipment, you also need to create more kitchen storage space. A good tip here is to use the back of the cabinet doors. You can customize these doors to utilize the potential storage space. Can holders, or dried food compartments can actually be placed at these areas, allowing you to store extra stuffs in these tight spaces.
Another storage area which many people over look is the refrigerator. Do you realize our refrigerators are always full? The fact is, when you organize and limit the number of items you store in the refrigerator, you can make do with a smaller one. Actually, due to the limited space constraint, you should consider buying a mini fridge. Mini fridges can be placed on kitchen counters, which in turn provide even more storage space for other kitchen items. We shall touch more on the mini fridges in the later part of the article.
Light Up Your Kitchen
Lighting is another tool to create a perception of a larger kitchen. Use bright ceiling lighting, or under cabinet lighting to make the kitchen look spacious. Good lighting not only makes the kitchen look brighter and safer to work in, it enhances the kitchen’s attractiveness as well. Another method is to use natural light. You can install large glass panels on the walls to allow lights from your dinning and living rooms to filter into the kitchen. If you like the morning sun, you can also repeat the same method to allow sunlight to shine into the kitchen.
Small Kitchen Remodeling Ideas
Small Kitchen Appliances and Furniture
When you are selecting kitchen appliances, you need to take note of their function and size. Remember that minimal is the new game plan. As for the large appliances, just make sure you measure the space available in your kitchen before shopping around for one. What we want to do here is to choose the refrigerator according to the kitchen space and not the other way round!
Mini Fridges
When choosing a mini fridge, it is important to take note of its size, capacity and power. The smaller the fridge, the smaller the motor and this will affect the overall temperature of the fridge, with special mention of the freezing compartment.
There are several types of mini fridges ranging from the cube , midsize, counter height mini fridges and compact fridges. Personally, I would not recommend the cube mini fridges as they are way too small for a kitchen, and they are better suited form dorms. The midsize mini fridge is slightly better, but the freezer compartment is lacking in freezing capability due to the smaller motor. The logical choice is to go for the counter height mini fridges as the size, capacity and power is a perfect match for small kitchens. An alternative is the compact fridges, which are a tad taller and bigger than the counter height mini fridges. Also, compact fridges come with a separate freezing compartment. If you are looking for a bigger storage capacity, the compact fridges is going to be a good choice.
Almost all the counter height mini fridges come with a single door, with a freezer compartment located inside the main storage area. 
As for their sizes, I’ll recommend you to check out the fridges which are about 3 to 4 cubic foot in volume, measuring about 20 to 25 inches in height. In my humble opinion, the Sanyo counter height mini fridge is one of the better performers on the market (because I had one). There are some reviews on Amazon which states they receive their refrigerators with damage due to the poor packaging. For my case, thankfully, I received the fridge without a scratch. Although I didn’t place it in the kitchen, I still manage to stuff plenty of items into this mini fridge, and to my surprise, it held its temperature really well. Also, the freezer compartment is cold enough to freeze ice cubes and ice cream in a short time. The only issue is, you might find the freezer compartment to be lacking in storage space if you intend to use it as your primary refrigerator. Perhaps, a compact refrigerator is able to satisfy your refrigerator needs.
Compact fridges ranges in size, but what we are looking out for is the double door refrigerator which measure around 30 to 35 inches in height. One refrigerator which I recommend is the Sunpentown double door compact refrigerator. It is slightly bigger in size as compared to the Sanyo counter height mini fridge, but if you are looking for more capacity, this is going to be your best choice. I had this is my office, and it works flawlessly in all aspects. It is like shrinking a full size refrigerator and yet keeping its functions. The freezer compartment works great, keeping the ice cubes and ice cream in the right condition. It also comes with an adjustable thermostat, allowing you to alter the temperature accordingly. The top of the fridge also serve as a good counter top despite its taller height. The design is sleek and beautiful and most importantly, it serve you all your refrigerator needs in a small body.
Small Kitchen Tables
Kitchen tables are going to occupy a large amount of space in your small kitchen. If you intend to pack a dinning table into your kitchen, you can consider the sliding and folding tables as they can be packed away in a corner. The problem with folding tables is they can be an eyesore, spoiling the whole image of the kitchen decor.
Recently, I ordered this Winsome Wood Table Drop Leaf Square Stool from Amazon and it is fantastic for any small kitchen. The table can be pushed neatly against the wall, with the stool chairs hiding underneath the table. Also, the table comes with wheels which allows you to slide the table away from the walls in order to free up more dining space. After you are done, just push the table back to the wall.
The table is quite small but it is more than enough for two person. It can get a little squeezy if you intend to add one more person. In addition, it can even double as a kitchen island if you are looking for a small, portable and functional island.
small kitchen sinks
small kitchen islands
Let’s face it. A kitchen island is not small in size, and if you want to pack a kitchen island island into your small kitchen, you have to consider carefully if you are in need of one. One good solution is to customize a kitchen island which can fit into your set of kitchen counters, but it is not going to come cheap. Like I mentioned earlier, a kitchen table with wheels can also function as a kitchen island if you are looking to expand your working space temporary during your cooking session.
First of all, when you are choosing a small kitchen island, size is the top concern and priority. You should also consider a storage cart or a workstation as they occupy less space than a kitchen island. A storage cart makes more sense as a small kitchen island with its extra storage capacity. Keeping this in mind, I’ll recommend the Winsome wood single drawer storage cart. It is simple and classy with the natural wood finishing. I find the top drawer perfect for storing small utensils and serve ware. The top panel of the cart is sturdy and hard to handle all your kitchen works. Size wise, it fits right into a small kitchen as it is not overly huge. The caster wheels also allow you to use it as a serving cart and you can even push it out into the wilderness if you need to free up more walking space in your kitchen. The only complain I have is the side towel rail, which in my personal opinion makes the cart tough to fit into a constrained space. With that being said, it does serve as a good handle for pushing and pulling the cart. So, I guess I shouldn’t complain that much. Overall, the Winsome storage cart definitely serves as a good small island, providing you with the extra option to double up as a serving tray.
small kitchen appliance covers
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