Kitchen
I recently moved houses and the new house came with a much smaller kitchen than I was used to. It can be restraining to work in a small kitchen but it also has its advantages. Like I have discovered, you have to be intentional with everything that goes on in a little kitchen and just because it is small does not mean you cannot enjoy it. Here are my favourite tips to make your small kitchen give you more value.
Declutter
If you have a small kitchen, you will need to declutter often (if you have not used an item in a year, perhaps it needs to go). Narrow down what you really need in the kitchen, a small kitchen has no space for excesses. Don’t hoard items like souvenirs that you know you will never use and does not really fit the aesthetics of your kitchen anyway. You have to do away with all the extras and only keep what is functional so that you can enjoy the time spent in your kitchen.
Colour Coordinate
Go for neutral bright colours for décor. An interior design tip says to make a room look bigger than it actually is, keep the colour palette light and neutral as this will expand your space visually. Buy items or furniture that have the same colour as your walls so that they blend in seamlessly.
Clear Countertops
A lot of kitchens have so much stuff on the counter tops that it is hard for the kitchen to look organised even when it is clean. The counter top easily becomes the dumping ground for everything: groceries, blender, pots, basket of onions, dishes and more. While in a big kitchen this might not be much of a problem, in a smaller kitchen however it makes a lot of difference. Leave space on your counter tops while finding a place for every other item in the cabinets because leaving some empty space will make your kitchen look airy – you do not want a small space that looks filled to capacity with stuff, it can be claustrophobic.
Window Treatments
Also you do not have to spend much on window treatments. Leaving your window open can help create a sense of depth in a small kitchen, giving an airy feeling. If you must add drapes or blinds for privacy, make sure they are the same colour with your walls or sheer. What you want to do is make the best use of natural light as much as possible because it opens up the space.
Buy Small
When it comes to kitchen gadgets and appliances, you may need to go smaller because too many large pieces will fill up a small space quickly and leave little room to work with. In a small kitchen a double door fridge, and a cooker with 8 hobs will most likely over-crowd the area. You can have a mixture of both small and large pieces, as that will make the kitchen appear bigger.
Organise Storage
To be able to keep the countertops clear you need to have somewhere assigned to keep all of the stuff, this is where work needs to be put in. Find a way to understand your space and re-organize your kitchen in a way that will not only be visually appealing, but functional at the same time. Resources like Pinterest and YouTube are platforms that can help you find inspiration on organizing every space in your house. Set up easy ways for your foodstuff to be stored and invest in storage containers, canisters and baskets to store both perishable and non-perishable items. Transfer cereals from the packs to see through canisters, you can do the same for Beans, Garri, Rice and more. Make sure the containers have tight lids, and if possible be colour coordinated. When all of this is organized, it gives a clean, airy feel.
Think Placement
In a small kitchen, how you place your furniture and every item makes a lot of difference. You will need to figure out the active and passive zones in your kitchen. Place items used frequently in the active zone and the ones used less frequently in the passive zone. One handy tip for a small kitchen is to always make sure the fridge stays closer to the entry point, that way as soon as anyone gets into the kitchen they can get want they want quickly without going all the way into the kitchen.
Embrace Minimalism
Embracing minimalism and simplifying your kitchen will help keep it more organised, cleaner and leave more space. Only purchase and keep things that are a need and are of value. Having more does not always equal more; sometimes more is less.
Source:
https://guardian.ng/features/food-and-drinks/8-ways-to-enjoy-a-small-kitchen/
