When you only have a small kitchen at home and there’s no way to add an extension onto the back of it, it is a challenge for any homeowner. If you’re in this situation, then it’s necessary to make the most of the space you do have.
Here are 8 ideas to make the most of smaller kitchen while not spending a fortune doing so.
1. Add Open Shelving on the Walls
Open shelving on the walls makes use of vertical space that would otherwise just have a backsplash or paint with nothing else.
If you’ve only got cabinets below the countertop level, then there’s plenty of accessible space within arm’s reach that could be created. See what practical shelving could be added which is open to making it more quickly accessible.
2. Use a Metal Rod to Hang Pots and Pans
The pots and pans do not need to get shoved into an under-counter cupboard making them difficult to access on a daily basis.
Hang cooking pans on a metal rod that spans across a sidewall. Add metal hooks to connect over the metal rod and hook onto each pan’s handle. This makes for a great space saver when needing to declutter the cupboards properly.
3. Make Cupboard Door Interiors Your Friend
Adding a magnetic board or a corkboard is ideal when the kitchen doesn’t have a space to install these elsewhere.
Recipes, measurement conversion tables or a quick list of things that are running out is ideal for notepads that stick to a magnetic board. Or just pin items to a corkboard that’s fitted in place there.
4. A Knife Strip for Your Backsplash
Instead of keeping knives elsewhere for easy access when only one or two knives get used daily, add a knife strip to the backsplash to magnetically hold the knives in place there.
This keeps your drawers and other areas clear and provides access to individual knives quickly which likely will mean they get used more often. Otherwise, they may become “out of sight, out of mind” where they get seldom used. This way, that expensive Chef’s knife or Sushi knife will actually see the light of day.
5. Make Use of Gaps Between Cabinets
If you’ve always wanted a dishwasher but haven’t got space for a full-sized one, did you know that there are small dishwashers now made for small kitchens too?
You get almost all the same functionality and size of a regular dishwasher in a more compact design. They don’t cost any more to operate than the standard models either and you get all the convenience of not having to do the dishes!
6. Declutter the Workspace
The workspace – the countertop area in your kitchen – is where everything gets done.
It’s very simple to end up with a cluttered workspace that leaves even less space to prep food and get ready to cook a sumptuous meal. Remove everything you can from this surface.
Also, if you have a kitchen island, then consider using this as an overflow prep area to expand what you can do. Other people who wish to help during seasonal dinners or dinner party preparation can be set to work cutting up vegetables and to perform other basic tasks at the island.
7. Add a Pegboard to a Wall
A pegboard can be added to a wall. This provides a way to hang an assortment of items in whatever places you like and change this up whenever you wish.
It could be a colander, a horizontal rack to hold cooking utensils, a metal skillet or other items that otherwise will take up space elsewhere.
8. Slide Out Cabinet Trays
Instead of being stuck with items at the very back of the cabinet that requires you to move several things out the way to reach them, why not install several cabinet trays with rollers on their undersides? Then you’ll be able to pull the wooden trays out and access everything with no trouble at all.
The wooden shelving may be bought from a DIY store, but likely the roller system will need to be added yourself. Look at some YouTube videos to see how it can be done.
As you can see, there are different approaches to making more out of less space. Just storing kitchen pans and other assorted items randomly into cabinets isn’t a good system; even if it’s ended up that way. By doing more with the space you have, you’ll most likely enjoy spending time in your kitchen being creative.
