If the design of any kitchen is a complicated (yet exciting!) task, the design of a small kitchen is even more so. As square footage shrinks, the challenges seem to multiply. You must make the most of storage space, maximize workspace, eliminate visual clutter. This makes it look bigger than it is...
Apart from the fact that we recommend that you do a thorough cleaning and get rid of everything that you do not need before you have your new kitchen (we will leave you with some tips in this article). This article will help you by giving you five things that are left over in your small kitchen.
Dark Furniture
We are sorry to those of you who are in love with black furniture that is so much in fashion these days. You should shy away from this color if you have a mini kitchen. The reason for this is quite simple: brightness is the key to the illusion of space, and black absorbs light. This also applies to other deep tones such as charcoal, mocha, or darker wood effects such as walnut or wenge.
Light reflecting tones are what we need in a small kitchen. White kitchens are very in fashion now. But you don't have to give up color if you don't want to. There are more colors to choose from than you think: beige, cream, pearl gray, green, and light blue.
Walls Filled with Cabinetry
We know that one of your design goals is to maximize storage, so it can be tempting to put cabinets and shelves everywhere in the kitchen.
We must warn you, however, that this choice can play a trick on you. Even though it is minimal, placing furniture on every wall creates the visual impression of a box, which is inconsistent with the idea of visually expanding the space.
Your kitchen must be ventilated to allow the elements to "breathe". For this reason, it is a good idea to have some wall space, or at least part of it, free. You can use this space to add a decorative element or even some shelves. It's much easier on the eye.
And how are we going to get around storing this? There is just one word to say: planning. We have a wide range of interior accessories for your needs. The first step is for you to identify them and choose the accessories accordingly.
Dark Floors
The same goes for floors as for furniture: choose light colors that don't "eat up" the room. If the floor is dark, not only will it not reflect light, but it will attract our visual attention and remind us of the true size of our tiny kitchen at every turn, especially if you have chosen light colors for the furnishings.
The same thing happens with patterned floors, such as imitation hydraulic tile floors. The floor takes center stage with its high color contrast. If you decide to go with one of these floors, try to use light colors and soft transitions between colors or patterns.
We recommend choosing light colors (but never use white for the kitchen floor, you'll spend all day cleaning) and smooth or light surfaces, such as ceramic tile to imitate wood.
Appliances that we can see
Lucky for you, our fourth tip is trending regardless of the size of your kitchen: don't leave large appliances out in the open. Their presence will break the visual continuity that you have created with the furniture and will "interrupt" the whole flow.
So, when you buy new appliances, make sure they can be integrated. And look for uniformity by using the same designs as for your furniture. At first glance, no one will know where the refrigerator and dishwasher are. The kitchen will look bigger.
Big Handles
We advise you to avoid large handles as we are still aiming for visual uniformity. They can bump into other items or even cause a small bump or snag on your clothing, even if the kitchen is extremely small.
You can choose from direct or recessed handles that are integrated into the structure of the door or drawer front, or from gola profiles that are almost invisible. Do not miss this article about our handles and profiles if you want to get to know all our opening systems.
Something that is a must
There's one thing you can't skip on when designing your minikitchen: expert advice. Each of our distributors will be there to help you with every detail of your planning, with solutions you may not have had in mind. Get your expert advice!