8 tips to make your small kitchen look bigger

Sunita Vellapally Sunita Vellapally
homify Modern kitchen
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Everyone dreams of having a large country kitchen that has space for everything one wants, including a full-sized dining table, where the family can sit down for casual meals. However, the reality is that the modern lifestyle leaves little room for maintaining such big kitchens. Additionally, with houses getting smaller, especially in the cities, the kitchen is often one of the smallest rooms in the house.

Fear not! On homify, we present you with tips on how you can make even a tiny kitchen appear larger and more stylish.

1. Glass doors

Replace your cabinet doors with transparent glass. Whether you choose a single frame or a panelled design, it will lighten up the area and make the room look airier. A word of caution: make sure you place the bare minimum inside the cabinets and keep them clutter-free. Otherwise, it will look cluttered, making the small space feel crammed.

2. Monotone or vertical stripes

There’s no colour like white to bring brightness and expansiveness to any space. Modern kitchens look great in white, so don’t hesitate to use this hue on your kitchen cabinets as well as the walls. This trick will make the room look more spacious. You could use any other light shade to achieve the same effect, but stay away from bold or dark tones.

Vertical stripes create an illusion of taller spaces, so another alternative is to use wallpaper with a narrow stripe to achieve a more spacious look in the kitchen.

3. Compact furniture and appliances

Since space is limited in a small kitchen, you will do well to choose furniture that is slim or narrow. Avoid tables and chairs with broad legs. Using clear furniture is a great idea for making the kitchen look lighter.

4. Sleek storage

Use the minimalist style when it comes to kitchen cabinetry. Avoid ornate handles on the doors or carved cabinets that overpower the space by adding heaviness to the visual composition.

5. Keep it open

Another way to make a small kitchen appear larger is by removing its walls and connecting it to another room. In many modern homes, the kitchen is designed as an extension of the dining room, or is a part of an open-plan social space that includes the living room as well.

6. Sleek storage

For tiny kitchens, instead of cabinets, open shelves can be used to arrange things. They are visually much lighter than cabinets and will make the room look more expansive. As we mentioned earlier for glass doors, if you have open shelves in your kitchen, don’t accumulate more than you need, or the room will look cluttered.

Another idea for saving space in a small kitchen is to build a recessed cabinet or niches in which you can arrange things.

7. Don’t over-accessorize

While it’s nice to introduce a personal touch to the kitchen with accessories, in a small kitchen, you need to keep them to the bare minimum so that the countertops are uncluttered. This way, the room will look bigger and lighter.

8. Keep it bright

Light has a way of brightening up a room and distracting from the small size. Whether it’s natural light or artificial illumination from LED bulbs, keeping your kitchen well-lit will ensure that it looks bigger than it is.

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