With today’s arrangement possibilities and thanks to modern solutions, arranging a small kitchen is not difficult. We suggest how to make it functional and cleverly arranged.
Apartments in blocks of apartments, especially those older and made of big plates, usually have very small kitchens. In apartments left by parents or grandparents, old kitchen cabinets prevail. Heavy and non-functional furniture, which further clutters the space. Fortunately, today we have a much wider choice of kitchens and household appliances. We can arrange the space in a functional and comfortable way. We suggest how to do it.
Combining a small kitchen with a living room is a solution that has many advantages. It allows to save more space, optically enlarges the space and makes everyone together during usual cooking or organizing parties. Disadvantages may be noise and smells. With an appropriate hood, such a solution shouldn’t be troublesome. Joining a living room with a small kitchen by demolishing a wall, we gain space for an island or a table, for which there was no room before.
If the kitchen is not a very important place for us, and we don’t spend much time cooking, we can think about moving the kitchen completely into the living room. In the room, which was previously used as a kitchen, we can organize a bedroom, a child’s room or an office. One wall is enough to arrange a small kitchen in the living room. A small built-in fridge, hob and oven, one-bowl sink and a piece of worktop.
When arranging a small kitchen in a block of flats, we often have to rely on the help of a carpenter. Chimneys, uneven walls and a strange layout make it difficult to fit ready-made furniture into the room. If possible, it’s worth getting rid of the radiator from the kitchen. In old buildings, heating pipes run through rooms. The radiator usually takes up valuable space and is unnecessary.
To maximize the use of space, it is worth bet on high buildings – up to the ceiling. Thanks to this we will use the space wisely and gain space for storing food, dishes and household appliances. If we want a corner where we can eat, it is worth betting on folding furniture. We can screw a folding table top to the wall and buy folding chairs for it. Thanks to this, we will be able to freely adjust the space to current needs.
If we do not need much storage space, we can resign from having cabinets under a certain part of the tabletop. This will give us a dining counter and a large tabletop for preparing meals. Underneath we can keep stools or hockers.
The island in the kitchen can have many uses. On the one hand, it can serve as a table, a bar, a place to eat. On the other hand, it can separate the kitchen part from the living room part. If we end the island with an overhang, we can cleverly hide the mess on the kitchen side. The island also provides plenty of storage space and hiding space for household appliances and a worktop. This is a very good solution for a small kitchen. It makes the space more compact and everything is at hand. A small island will fit even in a small, square kitchen.
Today’s technological solutions make it possible to have everything we dream of even in a small kitchen. A compact coffee maker, a small dishwasher or a sleek fridge are just a few hints. When planning your kitchen layout, it’s a good idea to think about what you really need. Maybe it’s better to replace the oven, microwave and toaster oven with a single, universal appliance? In a small kitchen, every centimetre of worktop is worth its weight in gold. There’s no point in cluttering it up with a big, two-compartment sink. It’s better to bet on smaller versions and wash dishes on the fly.
The space between a countertop and upper shelves can also be used wisely. We can hang there baskets for fruit, pots for herbs, spices or tools, which do not have to lie on the countertop.
Photo LEKSTOCK 3D/Adobe Stock
