Ideas for Setting Up Small Kitchens
A cozy spot for morning coffee, ample storage for weekly groceries, and enough space for cooking: all of this can be accommodated in a small kitchen. Find out here how with the right planning and a few simple tips, you can turn your small kitchen into the multifunctional heart of your home.
How to Plan Small Kitchens
Tight, narrow, with little light and storage space - these are often the first thoughts when it comes to small kitchens. But what steps are needed to create a cozy and open living feeling instead? Consider beforehand what accessories you really need in your small kitchen and what you can store elsewhere. Perhaps you have a cellar or attic where you can keep rarely used items? Also look around in your living room or hallway. Perhaps your kitchen accessories can find a new home there. Also, orient yourself to everyday work processes and your preferred hand usage. A helpful tip: Create a list of appliances, items, and food that you definitely need. Everything else has no place in your kitchen and should be stored elsewhere.
Kitchen Solutions for Small Kitchens
Chopping vegetables, flipping meat in the pan, and cleaning dirty dishes: cooking involves multitasking. Insufficient equipment and long distances in small kitchens only hinder you. Therefore, measure your kitchen precisely! If you are unsure what exactly to look out for, the following tips might help in planning small kitchens.
- Sufficient Workspace
The workspace should be at least 60 cm wide and free of objects. This guarantees you enough space to work. You can also extend the workspace with cutting boards on the sink. Choosing narrow electrical appliances and a sink with small dimensions gives more workspace in the small kitchen line. - Consider Distances Between Kitchen Furniture!
Plan for at least 100 cm to 120 cm of space between kitchen lines. This provides sufficient working passage and cabinets can be opened comfortably. Also consider cabinets with sliding doors, roller shutters, blinds, swing flaps, or folding lift doors. - Use Deep and Tall Built-in Cabinets
Deep and tall built-in cabinets offer efficient use of space. They provide more storage and help maintain a clean and organized kitchen. - Place Kitchen Furniture Close Together
Arrange kitchen furniture and frequently used items close to each other. The resulting compactness facilitates your kitchen routines. - Include the Sloping Ceiling in Your Planning
Sloping ceilings in small kitchens also offer design possibilities: For example, a dining and seating area can be accommodated in high sloping ceilings. Use low sloping ceilings for storage solutions.
Designing Storage Space for Small Kitchens
Pots, pans, grandma's old dishes, pasta, coffee, long-lasting canned goods, and much more: all of this can be accommodated in small kitchens with the right storage solutions. Learn here how you can transform your small kitchen into a storage wonder with the right cabinets.
- Use Corner Cabinets and Corner Shelves
In small U- or L-shaped kitchens, often difficult-to-use corners are created. The solution is deep corner cabinets and corner shelves. Also consider installing swivel and carousel solutions to easily and quickly reach kitchen utensils. - Think About Pharmacy Cabinets
Narrow pharmacy cabinets optimally utilize vertical space and fit into tight niches. Stored items in them can be accessed from both sides. - Open Wall Shelves
Use open wall shelves to easily store everyday kitchen accessories like spices, dishes, and cooking utensils. - Narrow Pull-outs for Lower Cabinets
Many food items and utensils like baking trays and trays are frequently needed but take up little space. Sort such items into narrow, space-saving pull-outs. - Rolling Shelves as All-rounders
Rolling shelves can be placed in niches or under sloping ceilings, providing storage for often used kitchen accessories. - Use the Inside of Cabinet Doors
Attach inserts or hooks there to store pot lids and small kitchen utensils.
Ideas for the Individual Design of Small Kitchens
You might be wondering if small kitchens can be individually designed? The answer is: Yes, you do not have to forego individual design. Below, we show you ideas for colors and fronts with which you can uniquely design small kitchens. A first tip: Use design elements that visually enlarge small kitchens and give the room more light.
Colors and Surfaces for Visually Enlarging Small Kitchens
Choose bright colors and shiny surfaces for your kitchen design that radiate calmness. White is often the classic color choice, but gray, beige, and pastel colors also look elegant and timeless. Your small kitchen becomes cozy with wooden fronts and countertops. Glass and similar shiny materials set modern accents in small kitchens.
Dark colors are stylish but absorb a lot of light and make spaces appear smaller. The choice of small kitchens in black, for example, depends on the available light and ceiling height. The more light and the higher the ceiling in your small kitchen, the more suitable are dark kitchens. If you still want to use black or dark blue, alternatively combine a dark countertop with light cabinets. The resulting contrast radiates elegance.
Alternatively, you can bring variety to small kitchens with striking colors. Here too, combine strong and bright colors! For example, choose kitchen fronts in blue or red in combination with light surfaces. The set colorful accents create a fresh atmosphere in small kitchens and the room does not appear oppressive.
Kitchen Fronts for an Optically Larger Kitchen
Handles or handleless fronts, closed or open shelves: There is a large selection of cabinet elements. However, there are several things to consider for small kitchens.
For an optical expansion, it is best to opt for closed and handleless fronts. Alternatively, you can install recessed grips that make kitchen rows appear more even. Be cautious with the choice of open shelves and store only the essentials there. The resulting clutter otherwise makes small kitchens appear restless.
As an alternative, combine open fronts for optical space enlargement and closed fronts for order and calm.
Ideas for the Lighting of Small Kitchens
When choosing the right kitchen lighting, remember: More light in small kitchens makes them appear more spacious. However, a ceiling lamp as the sole light source is not enough. Instead, use multiple LED spots and under-cabinet lights to optimally illuminate work areas.
Four More Tips for Designing Small Kitchens
You have created a lot of storage space in your kitchen and used light and colors to create a cozy atmosphere? Very good! Maybe these additional ideas will help in designing your small dream kitchen.
Kitchen Islands as Room Dividers
In open kitchens, kitchen islands are a suitable room divider to the living area. In closed spaces, prefer to install a kitchen island as a kitchen line on the wall.
Use Folding and Extendable Furniture for the Dining Area
A dining and seating area can be designed using various options: folding tables and chairs are particularly space-saving. Extendable tables create additional work surface, and bar stools quickly transform counters and kitchen islands into a dining area. Multifunctional benches turn kitchen corners into a cozy seating area with additional storage.
Also Think About the Ceiling!
The ceiling in small kitchens offers further possibilities for storage: in hanging shelves, baskets, and glass racks above kitchen islands or the dining table, dishes and supplies can be stored.
Practical Decoration
Does decoration work in small kitchens? Yes! Functional decorative containers, like ceramic bowls or baskets, are particularly suitable. Store smaller items in them. The resulting order radiates calmness and makes the room appear more open and larger.
Planning Small Kitchens Requires Careful Consideration
Are you ready to plan your dream small kitchen? Perfect! As assistance, we provide a checklist with the most important tips for small kitchens:
- Identify, based on your workflows, which kitchen items you regularly use and absolutely need in the kitchen. Measure your small kitchen accurately.
- The countertop must be at least 60 cm wide, and plan distances of 100 cm to 120 cm between kitchen lines. Choose cabinets with a depth of 75 cm.
- Corner cabinets fit perfectly into kitchen corners, and pharmacy cabinets are suitable for narrow niches. Open shelves lighten up small kitchens, and closed cabinets create a calm atmosphere. Lifts, inserts, and functional decorations accommodate smaller and everyday utensils.
- Bright colors, shiny surfaces, and various light sources visually enlarge small kitchens. Dark colors compress the perception of space.
- Utilize multifunctional kitchen islands and folding and extendable furniture for the dining area and as an extension of your work surface.
