Hickory Kitchen

Learn How To Make A Small Kitchen Seem Larger

When you’re home, which room do you always seem to find yourself in? Like most families, the answer is probably in the kitchen. It seems that no matter how large your kitchen is, it never feels big enough.

Finally, after completely redesigning the floor plan, several years ago I was able to remodel my kitchen. We knocked down a wall (we had the best time doing the demolition) and installed a garden window over the sink, lowering the bottom of the window to be even with the countertop.  Then we added an island with an overhand and room for three chairs or stools.  Finally, we put in a food-prep peninsula at table height, which also has an overhang with room for three or four more stools.

Following are several ideas to make any kitchen feel and look larger. You don’t need to implement all of these ideas. Any one of these suggestions will make a big difference in your kitchen.

Create More Storage
For better, more efficient storage, install a base cabinet with roll-out shelves rather than one with a door that swings open on hinges. With a cabinet like this, you have a convenient place to store your most used appliances. Pull-out shelves make items stored in the back of the cabinet easy to reach.

Redo Your Cabinets
Add glass fronts to your wall cabinets.  Even better, replace those solid cabinet doors with glass fronts along one of your walls. This is a great way to give your kitchen a more open feel.

Add Light
Choose under-the-counter lighting—it will make your kitchen appear larger. Don’t forget to select light colors for your cabinets and countertops!

Create Height with Taller Wall Cabinets
Try removing those soffits. Install your cabinets to the ceiling. Another option is to “stair-step” the cabinets. First start with a taller cabinet. Then line the others progressively shorter. The open space that’s created above the shorter cabinets makes a great space to display your collectibles, baskets and teapots. The top shelves of the taller cabinets make a great place to store those seldom-used items such as holiday dishes or serving pieces.

Bring the Outdoors In
Try enlarging your windows, or replace one with a garden window installed at countertop height. For even better light, add a skylight or sky pipe.

Streamline Your Kitchen
Just as you go through your closets once or twice a year, getting rid of all those clothes you no longer wear, so should you go through your kitchen. A regular reorganization of the kitchen, where you get rid of all those things you don’t use, will make your kitchen feel much more roomy. When your kitchen is cluttered, it will always feel smaller.

Build a Useful Island
For those of you with an eat-in kitchen but no room for an island, consider replacing the kitchen table with an island. In addition to an eating area, upgrading to an island will also give you added storage space for seldom-used items. This is an easy project. Start with base cabinets either table height or counter height. Then simply top them with a countertop material. To make room for chairs or stools, extend the counter 12 to 16 inches beyond the sides of the cabinets.

Install Storage Trays
Specially made narrow trays are available at hardware stores and home centers, and can be easily installed on the back of false drawer fronts ant the sink and cooktop. By doing this, you can significantly reduce your clutter around your sink and stove, thereby creating a larger-looking space.

Free Up Counter Space
The easiest way to free up your counter is to install an under-the-counter microwave, can opener, spice rack or toaster.

Open Up Those Walls
In situations where the dining room is next to the kitchen, knocking out the adjoining wall is often a wonderful way to create space. Check to see if the wall is load-bearing. If not, then this could be an easy do-it-yourself project.

Create Open Shelving
Design your kitchen to include open shelving. Openly displayed colorful plates, glasses, teapots or other collectibles always makes a small kitchen look larger. One way to do this is to simply take the doors off the cabinets and paint the inside a bright cheery color.  Otherwise, take down the cabinets altogether and add colorful shelves in their place to make the room feel more open.

Avo Barsoumian has been part of the interior decorating and interior flooring community for the past 25 years. He is the owner of Carpet Wagon, a family owned carpeting company in Pasadena. They have a huge selection of elegant hardwood flooring, beautiful laminate flooring and plush carpeting. It doesn’t matter whether your searching for dream home laminate floor for your new town home or prefinished hardwood flooring to remodelupdate your older house then Carpet Wagon has exactly what you’re looking for.

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