Living spaces today are becoming smaller, and the room that is often sacrificed to create more room in other parts of the home is the kitchen. Many apartments and small homes today feature small kitchens while other spaces remain standard. 

While small kitchens aren’t a bad thing, they can often feel cramped. Preparing meals in such a limited space can be a nightmare. However, if knocking down walls to find some space for your kitchen isn’t an option, you don’t have to resign yourself to the fate of working in a cramped environment forever. There are many clever ways to make your kitchen seem larger. Below are some tips you can apply for the best small kitchen designs. 

1. Get smart with storage 

Small kitchens can feel especially cramped when they are filled with clutter. Paring down your kitchen utensils and gadgets to the essentials is a great way to get rid of the clutter. However, ‘essentials’ can mean different things to different people. If you’re a cooking enthusiast or need to prepare multiple meals for more than two people, you may need various utensils and gadgets and may have to stock up on a lot of ingredients at any given time. You’ll need to find a way to store these items while keeping your kitchen from getting cluttered. 

Using your counter to store kitchen utensils or food is not an option in a small kitchen. It not only takes up precious space for working but also makes your small kitchen look cluttered. Many of the best small kitchen designs make use of smart storage solutions to keep surfaces clutter-free.  

Consider smart storage solutions such as lazy Susan to ensure you make full use of that corner in your kitchen cabinets, rotating shelves to store more in your kitchen cupboards, or kitchen cupboard storage racks to make use of your cupboard doors. 

2. Open up 

Do you have kitchen cabinets? Many of the best small kitchen designs have open shelves as a prominent feature, and with good reason. 

Kitchen cabinets are bulky and tend to close a space in. They can make your space feel cramped. Replace your kitchen cabinets with open shelves to draw the eye up and outward. These shelves provide less breakage to the view and therefore give the illusion that the kitchen is more expansive than it actually is. 

You don’t have to get rid of all your kitchen cabinets. However, using as much open shelving as possible for storage will help to open your kitchen out. 

If you prefer to have closed cabinets for any reason, you can opt for kitchen cabinet doors with glass inserts. These will help to get rid of the bulky feeling of your kitchen cabinets. 

3. Choose your colors wisely 

Color choices in small kitchens are even more crucial than when designing larger kitchens. The wrong choice can make your kitchen feel dark, cluttered, and cramped. The right choice, on the other hand, can help to open up your space and create a small haven. 

The best small kitchen designs often feature white. However, light pastel shades such as yellow, pink, grey, and blue are a great option. These lighter colors reflect light and give the impression of a brighter and larger space. 

If white isn’t your thing, you can go with the other colors. However, be careful to create a continuous look in your kitchen to ensure that it feels larger. This means using the same color on your walls and cabinets for a more fluid feel. You may also opt to use two shades of the same color. If you must, use two colors at the maximum. 

4. Invest in lighting 

If there’s one aspect of your kitchen’s design that you should splurge on, it’s lighting. The best small kitchen designs feature good lighting that keeps the space bright. A kitchen that is well-lit will not only feel more spacious but also cheerier. 

There are a wide variety of options for the best small kitchen designs. However, be careful not to clutter your limited kitchen space with unnecessary fittings. The top on your list should be overhead lighting, which should be bright. Flooding the kitchen with light will make it feel more open. 

Another light fixture to consider for your small kitchen is task lighting. This can be as simple as installing an LED lighting strip below the kitchen cabinets. This lighting will help light up specific areas when working in the kitchen. Many successful kitchen designs for small kitchens make use of a combination of task lighting and overhead lighting. 

5. Incorporate reflective surfaces 

Reflective surfaces are an easy way to open up a small space. You may notice some clever inclusions of reflective surfaces in the best small kitchen designs. These may range from mirrored backsplashes to the installation of shiny stainless steel appliances.

Reflective surfaces help to open up a small space by reflecting light. They create the illusion of a much larger space. Many of the best small kitchen designs include reflective surfaces in subtle ways such as shiny brass knobs on cabinet doors, or a metallic wall covering behind open shelving. A glossy finish on your kitchen countertops will also work to enhance the illusion of space. 

A small kitchen doesn’t have to be cramped and difficult to work in. There are many other things you can incorporate from the best small kitchen designs to help make your small kitchen seem larger. The tips above will help you create a space that is not only attractive but also great to work in. You’ll be looking forward to preparing meals in your small kitchen.