Small sized kitchens provide unique challenges in terms of design. Whether it’s your own home, or you’re a contractor or landlord remodeling kitchens for your clients or tenants, the end result needs to be a kitchen that, despite its size, is functional and as easy to use and as non-aggravating as possible.
Layout of a Small Sized Kitchen
While the layout of a small kitchen matters, ironically, it’s often less of a concern than it is in big kitchens. Large kitchens offer layout pitfalls because you can wind up stretching the “work triangle” into uselessness, or add an island that provides clutter more than functionality. In a small kitchen on the other hand, there’s often only one way all the necessary appliances even fit together, so the layout can tend to take care of itself.
The idea of the work triangle does still deserve some consideration, but ultimately in a small galley-style or linear kitchen, it simply can’t get too out of hand. Instead, clearance becomes the word of the day. You need to make sure, first and foremost, that the oven can be open at the same time as base cabinets that contain bakeware, pot holders, cooling racks, and the like. The fridge should open without risking banging into anything. If there’s a dishwasher, it needs to allow space to maneuver around it while it is open as well.
Storage Accessories are Critical
The biggest problem in a small kitchen turns out not to be layout, but storage. Well… not exactly. The biggest problem is work area. But in order to avoid what counter space there is becoming cluttered with all the things that don’t fit conveniently or accessibly into the cabinets, storage accessories are crucial.
People who live in small homes and apartments with small sized kitchens often can’t afford to deck out their kitchens with storage accessories themselves, so providing them with the kitchen is a great selling point. One of our recent blogs covered things like slide-out trays for base cabinets, and hanging racks for pots and pans that slide away into cabinets for tidy storage. These sorts of accessories can make a small kitchen functional and easy to use, rather than the cluttered, cramped nightmare they can otherwise tend to become.
We have a lot of experience with small sized kitchens, both from helping landlords and contractors remodel multiple kitchens at once, and from our experience with Tiny Houses, as seen on HGTV. Our professionally trained kitchen design consultants are ready and able to walk you through the fundamentals of fitting everything a kitchen truly needs into some remarkably small spaces, while keeping them easy to use. Why not schedule a consultation today? Just click here to get started.
