Making a kitchen look aesthetically pleasing as well as functional can often be a challenge. It’s even more difficult when there’s limited square footage available. However, there’s no reason why small kitchens can’t exude some elegance and feel more spacious than it really is.
This post shares some wonderful techniques to make a small kitchen look bigger and less cramped. Plus, you can also take inspiration from various kitchen design gallery websites for more ideas. Keep reading to learn more.
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1. Make It White
For small kitchens, the color white is your best friend. It’s a simple, yet very effective trick to make your kitchen space appear brighter and bigger.
While bolder colors are more popular for kitchen space, white will never go out of style. This is because it helps in reflecting light which enhances the sense of space and makes walls recede. Not only that, but it also adds endless possibilities for customization.
You can add various accenting colors and textures throughout your cabinets, backsplashes, countertop material, and other kitchen accessories to add interest and warmth to the whole white-colored scheme. Also, you can mix white with other neutral and light colors to prevent it from feeling and looking sterile.
Just take a look at this before and after video of this newly renovated kitchen:
Other similar resources are up online.
2. Opt For Mirrored Backsplash
Aside from going white, mirrors are the next best thing to make any room feel more spacious. Sadly, most homeowners only use it in the bathroom or bedroom and don’t know how to add it to the kitchen. After all, a super-size mirror covering a kitchen wall and reflecting your cooking may make you conscious.
In this case, a light-reflecting kitchen backsplash is a more suitable choice. It helps make your small kitchen look bigger and makes it feel more open, without the awkwardness of seeing your face and every movement in the kitchen.
When looking for mirrored backsplash, consider using a single continuous piece instead of a tiled design to make it more effective in reflecting the space visually.
3. Choose Reflective Surface
Aside from mirrored backsplash, you can also opt for shiny, reflective surfaces to make any kitchen feel larger. Shiny surfaces including glass tiles, high-gloss paint, shiny floors, and stainless steel appliances can pick up and reflect the hues of your cabinets and walls. This helps amplify the space-enhancing effects of your wall and cabinet colors.
4. Eliminate Hardware
Eliminating clutter is critical in preventing your kitchen from looking cramped and small. You can take this further by removing most of your kitchen hardware.
You can use cabinet doors with integrated reach-in pulls or touch-activated latches to reinforce clean lines. This subtly helps make the area look bigger and airier. Plus, it gives you fewer little items to get caught on your clothing or bump into, making the space easier to move in too.
5. Consider Wall Shelves
Cabinets are a must-have for every kitchen, but if you’re aiming to open up space, replacing them with wall shelves can help fake a few square footage in your kitchen. Solid bulk cabinets fill up visual space as well as block up light. By replacing them with shelves, you can make the space look airier.
Take note, however, that open shelving can reduce the storage you’ll have. Plus, not all items may be fit for display. Experts recommend replacing only a handful of cabinets with shelves. Then…
6. Use Glass-Front Cabinet Doors
As mentioned before, mirrored surfaces are one of the best things to make a space appear spacious. Replacing solid doors with glass ones can add visual depth and make the kitchen look bigger than it really is.
Take note that glass front cabinet doors offer a feeling of a bigger space when installed on white or light-colored cabinets.
7. Ensure Proper Lighting
In general, kitchens often have insufficient lighting, coming only from a ceiling fixture in the middle of the room.
Yet the importance of good lighting can’t be stressed enough, especially in smaller kitchens. It helps eliminate or soften shadows cast from the main lighting source while also brightening up the area, making it feel more open.
Consider adding lighting above, under, and inside your cabinets to eliminate rogue shadows that are creating contrasting colors and making the room feel cramped.
Aside from artificial light, you want to make sure that your kitchen receives enough natural light too. You can do this by minimizing window treatments. Ditch the heavy drapes or blinds and opt for sheer curtains. This allows you to let the view out of the window feel like an extension of the space.
Takeaway
As you can see, even the smallest kitchen can feel roomy if you only know some simple design tricks to maximize the space and its look. If you hate the sight and feeling of a cramped kitchen, follow the abovementioned tips to help make your small kitchen feel a few square footages bigger than it really is.
