Tips to Make a Small Kitchen Feel Bigger

Image via Newline Design Center

A small kitchen is less than ideal, but you can make your kitchen look and feel bigger with these seven essential tips.

1. Keep Everything in the Same Color Family

Choosing cabinetry and countertops that are the same color as the walls in your kitchen create a unified space without edges or boundaries. Pick colors that are light, such as white that will reflect light in your kitchen, making it feel more spacious. However, don’t be afraid to go dark either! Dark colors like black, navy or charcoal make the walls seem like they are farther back than they really are.

2. Swap Solid Cabinet Doors with Glass

Removing cabinet doors or replacing their solid fronts with glass can make your small kitchen appear larger. Glass frames pull the eye into the depths of the cabinets, creating the illusion that the walls are farther away. However, it only works if you can keep everything in the cabinets organized and color-coordinated. Don’t make them appear cluttered, as that makes a room feel crowded.

3. Clean Lines

A small kitchen can be distracting with too much detail. Incorporate clean lines in your design with visually sleek and tailored furnishings that allow you to see the floor and walls beyond. This will make your small kitchen feel larger in size.

4. Bring in the Light

Enhance the space in your kitchen with natural lighting. A great way to bring light into your space is to keep your window treatments simple, or get rid of them completely. But if you’re worried about privacy, opaque shades still let enough light in without you feeling exposed.

5. Condense Clutter

Finding enough storage is a challenge in a small kitchen. Countertops, tables and cabinetry can all become crowded with appliances, dishware and household items, but by going through your personal objects and eliminating the clutter can help your space feel bigger. Try finding extra storage space in your garage or pantry to put items you don’t normally use in a safe spot. Also, make sure you keep the countertops clear by putting some appliances in your easier to access cabinets.

6. Direct the Eye Up to the Ceiling or to the Side of the Room

Choose patterns or décor that help guide the eye upward. Vertically lined wallpaper and celling boards give the impression that the ceiling in your kitchen is higher. Instead of directing the eye towards the celling, try diamond and chevron patterns that create diagonal lines drawing the eye from one side of the room to the other. This makes your small kitchen appear wider than it really is. Using these pattern techniques will give you big results.

7. Borrow Extra Space

Depending on the layout of your home, you may be able to enlarge your kitchen space by taking down part of a wall that separates your kitchen from an adjoining room. Creating a half wall can vastly enhance the sense of space, making your small kitchen feel open.

Kitchen Remodel in Illinois

Are you looking to open up your small kitchen? Our designers at Newline Design Center can help you spatially design a new kitchen layout that is both aesthetically pleasing and fits your lifestyle. Our team will help streamline your kitchen remodel and make it a pleasurable one. Contact us today for your free in-home consultation.