Ten Tips for Designing Small Kitchens

Size means more in Naples kitchen cabinets than it does in any other room of the house. Sure it’s nice to have a large family room or bedroom, but it’s easy to work with them if they are small. Trying to fit kitchen cupboards into a small space while leaving enough room to work it a tall order.

Having fitted many kitchens cabinets in our time, we thought we would offer out top ten tips for designing kitchens for small spaces.

1. Use a kitchen island if there is room. If wall space is limited, an island may be the answer. It also offers a place for a cooker and a sink. It also makes for great storage and work surfaces.
2. Galley kitchens are ideal for longer, narrower spaces. They are designed to take up as little room as possible while offering a lot in the way of storage and working areas.
3. Use compact appliances where possible. If there are only a couple of people living in the house, smaller appliances work wonders at saving space. They do everything their larger cousins do, just on a smaller scale.
4. Use light colors in smaller spaces to give the illusion of light and space. Use light colored kitchen cupboard doors, glass fronts and contrast it with a dark work surface, works a treat!
5. Use hanging racks for your pots and pans. Not only do they look contemporary, they are also an excellent way of storing larger items.
6. Don’t shrink the sink. While many smaller kitchens have to compromise somewhere, don’t make it the sink. Keep the sink a standard size, or even go large. The practical limitations are far more difficult to cope with than slightly reduced workspace.
7. Use a drop-down table in any seating areas, or one that can double as a working area. Many kitchen cupboard manufacturers also offer some clever space-saving initiatives to help make the most of the space, this is one to consider.
8. Use lighting carefully. The more light in a room, the more spacious it feels. Consider cupboard lighting to add character and the illusion of more space. Use under counter and under cupboard lighting to give a neat impression of space.
9. If you’re using floor tiles, lay them diagonally. It’s a subtle, but effective way of giving the impression of space. It takes a little more effort to lay, but is worth it in the end. Galley kitchens benefit from having long lengths of wood or a long row of tiles running the length of the kitchen.
10. Why not use deeper counters on one side of the kitchen to allow for deeper storage and more working space. Depending on the shape of the room, this configuration can maximize space if it is limited on only one side, or one part of the room.

These few tips are ideal for those wanting to fit a kitchen in a place where space it at a premium. There’s now no need to compromise on quality if space is limited.