Small Kitchen Ideas: The Most Effective Ways to Increase More Space

The organisation usually facilitates cooking, and this is especially true in a tiny kitchen. To help you make the most of your limited space, we talked with organising experts and chefs and tested 40 shelves, racks, magnets, and other space-saving options. The following are some ideas and tools for making the most of every square inch of a tiny kitchen.

Guiding Principles For Small Kitchens

“Living in a tiny cramped kitchen is no excuse for not producing wonderful cuisine,” Julia Child said in a 1977 interview for an issue of Design Quarterly (PDF). Kitchens with little work and storage space, on the other hand, are the most difficult to cook in. We made an effort to find goods that would work in a range of combinations and adhered to a few guiding principles because each kitchen is unique in terms of size and layout—some lack adequate wall space, while others lack drawer or cabinet space.

Divide your kitchen into zones:

By dividing your kitchen into zones, you can easily find what you’re searching for when you’re looking for it. “One of its most significant advantages is that it is not a one-size-fits-all solution. It’s all about the natural arrangement of non-movable items in the house,” Faith Roberson observed. In other words, your stove, refrigerator and sink determine the position of the zones. The five major zones we recommend for kitchen organisation are as follows:

• A designated area for food preparation, complete with cutting boards, mixing basins, measuring cups and spoons, and knives

• A kitchen zone dedicated to portable cooking utensils, pots and pans, baking pans, and spices

• A zone designated for the storing of pantry items

• A zone designated for the storage of non-food items such as tableware, serving ware, cups, stemware, and flatware

• A designated area for cleaning supplies, hand towels, and garbage

You’ll need to be creative if you have an extremely small kitchen. Create little zones and bear in mind that you can adapt to the activity in the kitchen. For example, the counter area intended for chopping vegetables might also serve as a cleaning zone for drying dishes.

Make a list of what you require:

Be truthful with yourself about the items in your kitchen. Make space by giving food and equipment that you rarely use. Julia Child, according to Paula Johnson, a curator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, would save only functional equipment. “If something was visually attractive but completely useless, it would disappear,” Johnson explained. The first piece of advice from chef Janet Crandall is to “stick to the essential instruments,” such as a few high-quality knives and the absolute minimum of cooking equipment.

Utilize vertical space:

“The majority of people think about organising in terms of square footage,” Ann Sullivan stated, “but I recommend lying on the ground and looking up at all the additional room you may have.” To clear packed cupboards and drawers, hang as much as possible on the wall. Make use of the space above your refrigerator and cabinets, if applicable, and maximise cupboard space with shelf risers and over-the-door hooks or baskets.

Consolidate:

Make use of existing kitchen items to accommodate smaller stuff. Measuring cups and spoons, for example, stack nicely into mixing bowls. Utilize existing kitchen items to store smaller goods. For instance, measuring cups and spoons fit neatly within mixing bowls. Furthermore, choose objects, if practical, that can be used for many functions like a large mixing bowl that is used as a salad or spaghetti dish.

Remove non-cooking objects from the kitchen:

Take medicine, first-aid kits, and equipment with you. Cooking equipment that you rarely use should also be kept in drawers or kept out of the kitchen completely. Stemware, liquor, and wine bottles take up a lot of space, so keep them on a bar cart. Similarly, cookbooks are bulky and should be kept on a bookcase. “Perhaps all of your cleaning supplies and anything else related with that zone will have to be transferred to the front hall closet,” Roberson speculated. Avoid keeping anything other than pots and pans in your oven, unlike Carrie Bradshaw in S*x and the City. “I’ve had people experience flames, and it’s not pleasant.,” Sullivan said.

Avoid purchasing in bulk:

Several of our experts recommended avoiding buying in bulk if you don’t have enough storage space. As a general rule, keep only what you need for one or two weeks. “Buy perishable items in proportions that you would consume,” Crandall advises, “this helps preserve space and avoids food waste.”

Knife Storage

If you don’t have enough wall space, blade guards are a great alternative to magnetic knife strips. Messermeister Edge-Guards, which slip on easily and identify blades, are our favourite. The four-pack contains guards measuring 434, 632, 812 and 1012 inches. Our budget pick, the Wüsthof Pro chef’s knife, features a grip that reaches all the way up the blade. Because these blade guards aren’t see-through, recognising knives becomes more difficult.

Pot and Pan Storage

Hang everything if you have adequate wall space. Julia Child hung her cookware on an old-fashioned pegboard, but modern options are more durable. It’s simple to put together, and the holes never droop. On these hooks may be hung pots, pans, and utensils. Pegboard shelves as broad as 4 inches are also available. According to Wall Control, each panel can withstand up to 200 pounds when properly installed. However, unlike pegboard, the Wall Control Panels are small enough to fit in most small kitchens. The panels are available in a variety of colours and may be arranged vertically or horizontally.

Drawer Organization

Organizers can aid in the organisation of a disorganised tool drawer. Individual dividers assist since utensil trays are generally too large for compact drawers, according to Roberson. The Dream Drawer Organizers have a height of 3 inches. Because of their spring-loaded construction, they were easier to alter than competitors. The dividers remained in place during our tests. The 4-inch version has extra pieces (available separately). Vertical and horizontal division of drawers is now possible.

There are several other ideas that you may implement in your kitchen. After reading this post, we hope you have got some ideas.