Everyone wants to have a spacious kitchen since the kitchen is one of the busiest areas in the house. However, if you’re renting a place or your house only has a small kitchen, you may opt for some renovations. But renovations can be costly, time-consuming, and a hassle. For instance, you may adjust your lifestyle for weeks or even months while the renovation is still ongoing.
Fortunately, there are simple, cheap, and clever tips to make your kitchen look more spacious. Although you may still shell out a few hundred bucks, the process would be much simpler compared to a total kitchen renovation.
To help you out, here are some clever tips to make your kitchen space look bigger:
1. Reconsider Your Cabinet’s Design And Size
Since you have a small kitchen, you don’t need to have the standard 24-inch kitchen cabinets. Having one will only make your kitchen appear smaller than it already is. As an alternative, you may opt for the other types of kitchen cabinets.
Many factors need to be taken into consideration when choosing the best cabinets for small kitchens. For one, choose a design that’s light and bright. This is because having white or bright cabinets invites the feeling of luxury, helping you avoid feeling too cramped. Additionally, you can also use slimmer lower cabinets. This type of cabinet will provide more floor space, which will make a big difference if you have a tight kitchen.
If you’re open to it, you can resort to taller upper cabinets. Having one will force you to raise your eye level, which, in turn, makes the ceiling appear higher.
2. Incorporate Proper Lighting
Having good lighting in your kitchen will play an important role in making your small kitchen appear and feel bigger. Essentially, you want to have both proper ambient and task lighting. You can add some spot and decorative lighting as well. Doing so will help make the space feel and appear more open.
As a tip, light the areas where you’ll perform kitchen duties, like the washing or cutting areas—this is what’s referred to as task lighting. Doing so will highlight a certain location in your kitchen, hence your brain will be fixated on that spot alone instead of looking at the kitchen as a whole.
3. Have The Right Colors
The tips mentioned above already mentioned the importance of colors. But to elaborate, it’s first important to keep in mind that, at the end of the day, your kitchen’s overall color should be based on your preference. However, to make your kitchen appear bigger, consider having one or two dominant colors. This interior design technique makes a kitchen feel bigger and allows you to create a more coordinated look.
4. Flooring
You may have heard of the fashion technique of wearing striped clothing to create the optical illusion of you appearing taller, wider, shorter, slimmer, etc. That being said, you can actually incorporate this technique in your kitchen, specifically in its flooring.
Hence, if you’re dealing with a narrow kitchen, try to place patterned floorings that run parallel with your kitchen’s length. Doing so will make your kitchen appear wider. If you want your kitchen to appear longer, then apply the patterned flooring along the length of the room.
If you want to use tiles, place them diagonally. Doing so will make the entire kitchen feel wider and longer.
5. Declutter
Nothing invites motivation and productivity than a space that’s well arranged. For one, a cramped and messy room will make you feel uneasy and stressed. Hence, you’ll feel that there’s not enough room for you to move around. This is the reason more and more people are adopting the minimalist aesthetic as it invites proper flow and makes additional space. This applies to your small kitchen as well.
Thus, instead of using a bulky microwave, invest in a more compact alternative. You can also save a couple of inches in your kitchen space by opting for a slimmer refrigerator. With this, try to measure the allocated space for your refrigerator and then purchase one accordingly. Do note that if you don’t usually stock items in your refrigerator or if you constantly dine out, you can opt for an even smaller fridge.
Also, make sure to properly store or even donate kitchen items that you don’t use regularly. Ideally, you want a specific kitchen item to have a place of its own. Not only will this make the room more organized and spacious, but it’ll also promote productivity since you no longer have to spend hours looking for a specific item. Hence, only shop for additional items if you’ve allocated the needed space for them.
Takeaway:
By following the tips mentioned above, you can be on your way to make your kitchen look spacious, feel bigger, and appear more luxurious. With this, you’ll be more motivated to cook and enjoy your meals, which allows you to save money from buying takeout food all the time.
