If you are one of the many people graced with a small kitchen you will be happy to know that there are ways to take full advantage of the limited space you have. Here are some ideas to help you maximize storage space and also make your kitchen look as spacious as possible.
Hanging Storage
The first solution is often overlooked. There are many great ways to hang numerous items in your kitchen for added storage.
Island Rack
If you have an island, however small, consider adding a hanging rack above it. By hanging pots and pans on the convenient rack above the island you will save valuable cabinet space for another purpose. If you have a light above the island and are worried about casting too many shadows, there are many varieties of racks with built in lighting.
Vertical Rack
If you don’t have an island, don’t despair! There are many more ways to hang items in your tiny kitchen. Many racks are designed to fit onto a wall. You can hang items from these racks including pots and pans, lids and utensils with holes in their handles.
Look to Ikea for Ideas
Swedish people must have habitually small kitchens because Ikea has a whole host of space saving ideas perfect for a space-challenged kitchen. One product that combines space saving with functionality is a rod/rail to hang from the wall (often just under the upper cabinet). On the rod you can hang a multitude of items such as cooking utensils, colanders, dish drying racks, cutlery in a specially designed cutlery rack, dishrags, small pots, cutting boards, racks to hold dish scrubbers, and measuring cups.
Shallow shelving units which can also be mounted just below the upper cupboards to gain space where you never thought possible. These shelves can hold small mugs, sugar bowls, small containers, dessert bowls, small plates, spices and salt/pepper.
To take full advantage of your lower cupboards, Ikea has large drawers. The drawers take advantage of the many layers of space available because when pulled out, even the back can be easily accessed. They have many specially designed racks for easy storage of dishes, bowls, pot lids, spices or other items you might want to store in a drawer as opposed to a cabinet.
Ikea magnetic spice racks are a handy way to keep your herb and spice jars off of the counters. Mount the metallic bar onto the wall and the spice jars (which have magnetic bottoms and see through lids) snap onto it magnetically. Besides saving space they also look attractive. And as an added bonus you can easily see when your spices and herbs are running low.
Custom Design Everything
Consider custom designing your cabinets to take full advantage of all space available. That way you can really take advantage of every spot in your petite kitchen and custom design it for the items you like to keep handy.
Keep Colors Light
To make your kitchen appear as large as possible, stick to using light colors. As soon as you start going towards dark colors, your kitchen will start to appear smaller. So when choosing cabinets, paint and appliances; go light.
Accent lighting and sufficient area lighting will help create a visually bigger space.
Incorporate some or all of these ideas to help you achieve the best use of space in your wonderful but small kitchen.