A small bedroom is an annoyance and a cramped living room is inconvenient, but no room in the house draws so much ire over size as the kitchen. After all, while you can typically pare down what you put in your living room or bedroom, everyone needs to eat – having a refrigerator, stove, sink, and counter space for prepping are all non-negotiable in an average kitchen. Otherwise you’ll find yourself eating out far more often than is health.
What can you do if expanding your kitchen isn’t on the table? Take a few cues from the tiny home movement with these 3 tips for smarter kitchen space use.
Hang It Up
When counter space is a scarce resource, anything that typically needs to sit on a surface becomes an annoyance. And while you can scale back on certain things – eliminating the toaster in favor of a low oven or ditching the microwave – certain things like knives need to go somewhere. Toss the knife block and go with a strong magnetic knife strip so that your knives can be conveniently stored without the big hunk of wood.
Think Multi-Purpose
If you’ve got a really small kitchen, it’s unlikely you’re using the limited space to eat in; after all, if your kitchen was big enough for a table, it would be big enough for an island to increase the counter area. Still, you’ve got to eat somewhere and you should put that dining area to work in the service of your kitchen.
Instead of standard chairs, consider using storage benches to sit on for meals. Bench seating with cabinets underneath are trendy in commercial settings as well as homes, so there’s something out there to suit every interior design style. Bench cabinets are the perfect place to store important but less frequently used appliances like stand mixers or seasonal items.
Be Modern And Modular
A modern kitchen aesthetic is in right now, relying on simple, clean styling that allows for timeless mixing and matching. Whether you want to accent the space in marble, wood, or even brazz, a modern kitchen can work for you.
Another thing that might fit well into your compact, modern kitchen is a modular or collapsible kitchen unit. Designed for the tiny homes, apartments, or anyone dealing with a shortage of space, modular and mobile kitchen structures like the 360 Degrees Kitchen or Come Together collapsible kitchen can cram most major kitchen functions from cooking to serving into just a few square feet.
Remodel your kitchen to use space constraints to your advantage and make it a versatile, and compact setting. Reorganize storage units and make changes according to what could offer you the most convenience for the space occupied. Note that you would have to mentally prepare yourself as such an idea could take up a lot of time and effort. But you always have the option of seeking the help of Matt Baker Contracting, and other similar agencies. Besides, a professional would likely do a thorough job and deliver your money’s worth.
When it comes to kitchen management, it’s all about getting the most function out of the least space. With that in mind, then, don’t let an inch of valuable space go unutilized. Whether that means hanging knives or pots, folding up your cooking space, or just reconsider what items constitute a kitchen must-have, you can feed your family well out of even the smallest kitchen space.