7 Small Kitchen Ideas to Help You Embrace Your Inner Culinary Creative
July 21, 2022
Apartment Living
People often think you can’t explore your culinary side in an apartment kitchen because of a lack of space. But that’s not true. While having fancy equipment is great, it’s important to recognize that you can still put together an impressive space, even in the smallest kitchens.
To help you do just that, here are seven small kitchen ideas to help you embrace your inner culinary creativity. These small kitchen ideas will help transform your kitchen into one you love cooking in without taking up any more space than necessary.
Small Kitchen Ideas
For many, the kitchen is the heart of the home and the place where we most often gather with family and friends. For these reasons, having an inviting and functional kitchen can play an integral role in how happy we are at home and how creative we are in the kitchen.
The key word here is functional. Without functionality, your kitchen becomes a place you don’t enjoy and won’t use much. These ideas will help you achieve a balance between both.
1. Utilize Vertical Space
One of the best ideas of how to expand a small kitchen is by utilizing vertical space. You can do this in a number of ways, such as:
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Installing shelves high up on the walls
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Using hooks to hang pots and pans from the ceiling
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Mounting a pot rack on the wall
Using vertical space is ideal as it keeps items easily accessible without having them take up precious space or clutter up your kitchen.
Another great idea for how to maximize vertical space in a small kitchen is installing under-counter storage units. This type of storage is perfect if you have tall items (such as cereal boxes) that need a place out of the way. If you’re looking for ideas where to put microwave in small kitchen, freeing up your counters with vertical storage is a great place to start.
2. Incorporate Partitions
One idea on how to decorate a small living room that runs into a small kitchen, is adding partitions that can help separate those spaces. These dividers define different areas within your kitchen, making it feel more organized without taking up too much space.
3. Add Storage Benches to Your Dinette
If you’re thinking, “I need ideas of how to repurpose my kitchen small dinette area,” you’re not alone. Where you eat is just as important as where you create your food, but clunky tables can sometimes take up a lot of space and offer no storage. But, with a few alterations, you’ll uncover their hidden potential.
Benches
One way to do that is to add dining benches. Benches can be stored under the table and out of the way while adding extra storage to your small kitchen.
Bench Cabinets
If your dining bench doesn’t have additional storage, installing hidden cabinets on your dining bench can keep your kitchen organized and tidy. Plus, this can free up additional counter space for prep work.
4. Hang Floating Shelves
Another great idea on how to organize a small kitchen is to hang floating shelves. If you don’t have a lot of counter space, these are great for storing things like:
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Spices
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Oils
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Small appliances
Floating shelves give you a place to put things you often use, so you don’t have to dig through cabinets whenever you need them.
One of the best things about floating shelves is that you can even hang them across walls with windows. That way, you don’t give up valuable sunlight, but you still get the storage you need.
5. Look for Storage in Other Parts of the House
There’s no rule that says your Christmas dishes or fine linens must be stored in the kitchen. If your space is small, consider storing those types of things in bins under the guest bed or at the top of your closet. Only keeping what you use most in your kitchen can free up a ton of space.
6. Purchase a Rolling Cart
Instead of a stationary island that can take up a large part of your kitchen, consider finding a functional rolling cart. These are great for people looking for extra storage ideas when kitchen is small. Here’s how a rolling cart can make your space more functional:
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It will give you some extra counter space and storage.
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You can roll it out of the way when you’re not using it.
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They are easy to move around so you can change your kitchen layout.
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You can move it into another room if necessary.
You can find them at most home stores, and they are relatively easy to assemble.
7. Use Your Ceiling
Your ceiling space may be getting overlooked, but a nice pan rack could be just what you need to free up some cabinet space. It’s one of the most overlooked and best ideas for organizing a small kitchen. Plus, it looks pretty and keeps your pots and pans within easy reach.
Apartment living doesn’t need to be “small.” Even if you decide to downsize into an apartment from a large home, keep in mind that functional space is way more important than size. Just look for things you love about an apartment, investigate ideas of how to expand a small kitchen, and implement a few of these “how to make a small kitchen bigger” ideas.
