What comes to your mind when you say "small kitchen"? Crampedness, inconvenience, vanity, stuffiness? Stop, stop. You've been in the wrong kitchens! Multifunctional, practical, compact, comfortable - these are the right words. Do you want them to come to your mind every time you enter your small kitchen? There is nothing complicated. You just need to think it over and independently or with the help of a good specialist to realize the ergonomic design of a small kitchen.
Changing perception
Whatever the living room may think of itself, the kitchen is the true calling card of every home. Here we not only cook and eat food, but sometimes we live our best hours: we gather with our families in the evenings, share the joys and difficulties of the past day, meet close friends.
With the help of a good designer, replace the concepts in your life: little space - everything is at hand, small - miniature, cramped - cozy, non-standard - unique, and your new kitchen will become a space of warmth and comfort.
To make cooking from a daily routine into a sacrament and bring pleasure, and stay in your small kitchen a joy, use our tips.
We remove the door
A traditional swing door steals a lot of space that can be used effectively. Instead of a door, the entrance to the kitchen can symbolize an arch. In this case, the common wall with a small kitchen visually looks like a continuation of a single space. This is not only perceived as expanding the boundaries, but in fact it is. For example, the most bulky item in the kitchen - a refrigerator - can be located along such a wall, continuing a single row of furniture.
This solution has both pros and cons.
Advantages of a kitchen without a door:
- Free up additional space.
- Getting rid of the effect of isolation and limitation in a small area.
- Additional natural light, in case there is a window in the adjacent room.
Disadvantages of not having a door in a small kitchen:
- Penetration of smells and noise into neighboring rooms.
- Intervention in the space of another room.
- The inability to use the kitchen as an isolated room (in a small apartment, a kitchen with a door can serve as a work or creative area).
Lots of light
Whatever the design of a small kitchen, it will only benefit from a source of natural light. The light from the window will help visually increase the space of a small kitchen and give it lightness. A window next to a stove or sink is beautiful and aesthetically pleasing.
From conversations about the window, two recommendations immediately follow: its design and the window sill, which turns into a countertop.
window decoration
The correct interior of a small kitchen excludes the use of dense and dark materials in the design of the window space. An excellent solution for a small kitchen would be light, almost weightless curtains, Roman blinds or discreet light blinds that almost do not hide the light, but protect from direct sunlight. The design of a small kitchen will become much more effective if you skillfully use such a win-win nuance as a window in it.
Tip: all your design ideas should serve the unity of style and logical completeness of solutions. The design of a small kitchen, thought out to the smallest detail, can “save” any situation.
Work area equipment
Rationality in the interior of a small kitchen will add a countertop-windowsill. It can be used as a dining table, cutting surface or bar counter. Think about how many pleasant options for spending time in the kitchen await you in this case:
- dine while admiring the view from the window;
- combine washing dishes with aesthetic pleasure;
- cook your favorite dishes in a bright and sunny mood.
You just have to make a difficult decision: how exactly to use such an interesting space in your small kitchenette.
Consider artificial lighting
The design of a small cozy kitchen implies an important rule: artificial lighting should be multi-level and be present in all local areas. For a successful solution to this issue, it is useful to use the following recommendations:
- Overhead lighting can be arranged in the form of spotlights or small rotary lights around the perimeter and in the middle of the ceiling.
- Each functional corner must be equipped with its own light source.
It can be:
- LED strips along the bottom line of the cabinets;
- spotlights;
- overhead lamps;
- a luminous strip in the space between the ceiling and cabinets, decorated in plexiglass;
- one or more pendant lights in the dining area;
- diode illumination of the space below between the kitchen unit and the floor in the form of energy-saving LED strips.
Important! The floor illuminated by LED strip creates the effect of airiness and weightlessness. The kitchen seems to be floating in space. But one should pay attention to the issues of tightness and fire safety of such solutions, and the brightness of the backlight should be comfortable for the eyes.
Color solution
The design of a small kitchen is best kept in a discreet, calm color scheme. Classic white, delicate powdery variations of beige, light cocoa with milk, diluted lemon, translucent mint will perfectly beat the interior of a small kitchen.
The right furniture
One of the most important rules that can elevate the design of a small modest kitchen to the rank of a masterpiece is the choice of the right furniture. In such a small area, you simply have no room for error. Furniture should be:
- functional;
- capacious;
- simple, without excessive decor and intrusive pattern;
- neutral light colors.
In order to combine all these qualities in furniture and take into account the peculiarities of the space of a small kitchen, it would be wiser to make furniture to order. With the help of a designer, you can ensure that every centimeter of usable area works for you.
What is important to consider when making furniture
- To save space, cabinet shelves can be made smaller in width than the standard 60 cm. Compensate for the small depth with the number of shelves.
- Make the most of the height space - make tall cabinets. This will not only increase the capacity, but also make the small kitchen visually more spacious, stretch it out.
Important! In cabinets, use sliding or lifting doors instead of swing doors. This will increase the cost of making furniture, but save space.
- As a dining table, use a folding design. It is attached to the wall and unfolds only at the time of eating.
- If the window opening is wide, use the space under it: it can become a full-fledged closet.
- Avoid large patterns on furniture fronts. It will create the effect of a cluttered space in the kitchen. Best of all - discreet small print or solid color.
- Use reflective and glossy surfaces. Glare on the facades of cabinets and countertops will visually add space, create the illusion of depth.
- Round corners. We are not talking about radius or curved cabinet fronts. Their advantage in the form of an increased capacity of outwardly curved cabinets turns into a disadvantage - an equivalent space is “eaten up” from the outside. But rounding the outer edges of the work surface is useful for comfortable and safe activities in the kitchen: moving in a limited space, you do not run the risk of hitting sharp corners.
Tip: use the corner furniture placement option as it is more advantageous in space compared to the linear one.
Choice of technique
With today's abundance of household appliances, it is easy to choose models that do not take up much space. For instance:
- the narrowest and highest refrigerator;
- small oven;
- small hob with 2 burners.
It is better to place the microwave at the top in a special niche provided for in the manufacture of furniture, or fix it with a bracket.
Organizers and alternative solutions for the kitchen
You can use additional solutions for the kitchen space in the form of hanging systems and various organizers. The roof rails will unload and tidy up the contents of kitchen cabinets, as well as what did not fit into them. They will replace several shelves, while taking up little space.
Tip: multi-tiered and circular railings are a real find, contributing to the design of a small kitchen. These versatile fixtures suit all interior styles and organize the storage of kitchen utensils.
Each hostess can choose suitable designs and organizers for herself:
- magnets for knives;
- hanging shelves;
- towel holders;
- baskets for vegetables;
- holders for cups and glasses;
- stands for spices;
- hooks;
- small containers for small things and so on.
Important! Kitchen utensils placed on hanging systems require attention from the hostess in maintaining order and creating some aesthetics. Agree, a chaotic hodgepodge on open shelves or hooks is an unpleasant sight that can ruin any interior.
Thinking through your version of a small kitchen, use these simple recommendations. And once again, make sure from your own experience that size does not matter. Content defines everything. And the successful pies of the hostess of the house are confirmation of this.
