Add Character to a Small Kitchen
Cabinetry tweaks, smart storage, and colorful solutions can add big character to small kitchens.
By Debra Wittrup
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For a low-cost, high-style backdrop for showcasing your pottery and dishes, consider replacing wall cabinets with shelves. The open wall draws the eye upward, stretching the visual dimensions of a small kitchen. Paint the wall or beaded board an accent color to make the shelving and dishware stand out.
Create an eye-catching focal point in a small kitchen without spending a lot by lining the wall behind the range with decorative tile. Most 1x1-inch tiles come already attached to a 12x12 mesh sheets, making installation and custom-fitting easier. Slab cabinetry doors on base units and frosted glass doors above contribute to the clean, and streamlined look of this small kitchen.
A rolling kitchen cart becomes a versatile island in this small space. In a modest footprint, the cart offers extra storage and can be wheeled to any corner when not in use. The finish mimics the stainless appliances. White cabinetry, open shelving, black countertops, and a deep stainless-steel sink give the small kitchen a tailored look.
Give outdated cabinetry a new lease on life with paint, your simplest and most affordable tool in a small kitchen update. Sanded, primed, and painted, the cabinets in this kitchen now gleam apple green on base cabinets and soft teal on upper wall cabinets. Appliances and storage bins in yellow add a citrus pop to the kitchen.
Avoid a monotonous row of boxy cabinetry by installing upper wall units with varying heights and widths. A variety of tall cabinets provides much-needed storage space in this small kitchen. A wire storage system hangs on the backsplash, organizing spices, seasonings, and utensils. Versatile folding barstools at the peninsula tucks snugly under the bar-height counter.
Pots and pans are notorious space hogs. To free up valuable cabinet space, hang pieces from a pot rack. In kitchens without an island hang a narrow pot rack from any horizontal space, such as a back wall. Narrow plate rails on the vent hood allow collections to be displayed, adding another decorative element to this space-challenged kitchen.
Sometimes it's more effective to reorganize existing cabinetry than to gut a small kitchen. Replacing the upper cabinets flanking each side of this window with open shelving makes it feel more open and inviting. Extending the countertop in an L-shape to the refrigerator boosts prep room and storage.
Stretch the limits of a small kitchen by extending storage above the windows and doors for less frequently used items such as champagne flutes or serving dishes. Cabinets wrap around the ceiling, lining this small kitchen like a decorative border. Open shelving above the windows is a less expensive version of the same idea.
Open a boxy small kitchen to the rest of the house without a major remodel by cutting a window out of a partition wall. Frame the window in substantial molding, attach a small matching countertop, and slide in two barstools to turn this pass-through into a breakfast nook. Set it off with a display of pretty collectible plates on the wall above the opening.
To maximize perimeter storage yet still squeeze in a dedicated prep island and informal seating area, this kitchen looked to its center. A half-wall anchors an island and a banquette without blocking sightlines into the adjacent living room. Pullout drawers on both ends of the banquette provide extra storage space.
Glass cabinet doors help to visually open up a small kitchen, but if you're not the type to keep things looking neat and tidy, consider frosted glass. It adds an opaque quality while still brightening the space. If you'd rather hide the contents of your cabinets, suspend shirred fabric inside traditional glass doors to achieve the same effect and inject a bit of color and pattern at the same time.
Maximize your counter space by rethinking the position of the sink. Tucked into angled corner of this kitchen's peninsula counter, the sink occupies awkward space that might have been difficult to utilize otherwise. That leaves a long stretch of countertop adjacent to the sink open for prep space or drying dishes.
Opting for a narrower range netted more counter and shelf space in this compact apartment kitchen. Glass doors on cabinetry opens up the space visually, while a band of decorative ceramic tile adds color and style.
Looking for extra prep room and seating? Try anchoring a cozy kitchen with a small-scale dining set instead of an island. In this kitchen, a butcher-block tabletop paired with a pedestal base provides an ideal work surface or dining area. The bentwood ice cream parlor-style chairs fit perfectly into this small space.
Try a nifty panel system in an open floor plan. There's nothing relaxing about sitting down to dinner with a stack of dirty pots and pans staring back at you. But when dining or living space opens directly off a small kitchen, what choice do you have? Stain-resistant all-weather fabric easily slides closed to hide this kitchen's prep area while leaving the oversize island open for dining.
Selecting a different hue for upper and lower cabinets is a great way to help a small kitchen break out of its boxy mold. A sunny yellow keeps the wall cabinets in this kitchen feeling light and airy, while blue base cabinets anchor the room. A yellow island helps balance the color-blocking scheme. Painted crown molding takes the color scheme right up to the ceiling.





yes, these are small kitchens. They just are not tiny kitchens. There are some great ideas to use for tiny kitchens here. I agree with you jennyjak53, and I cannot understand the nasty comments when BHG is giving free ideas.
2/6/2012 06:46:33 PM Report AbuseI think the open cabinets are good looking, but if your gong to be cooking a lot in there. I would worry about all the grease build up on the dishes.
2/6/2012 05:03:19 PM Report AbuseI want to know where to find the "open shelves" with the big brackets that hold them in white. Can anybody help?
8/24/2011 03:44:26 PM Report AbuseVery beautiful designs! And, yes they do look small but, not as small as my kitchen and yours. (It's is just about the same size, give or take a inch.)
8/22/2011 11:44:23 AM Report AbuseI agree that they don't look small. It would help if they give the dimentions of the kitchens. Mine is 9' x 10'
8/19/2011 12:54:22 PM Report AbuseIf a kitchen has room for an island, prep area and an eat in area, it is NOT a small kitchen. I've got a small kitchen ... If I am in the kitchen no one else can walk through it. Show me some ideas for that kind of kitchen!
8/18/2011 04:32:02 PM Report AbuseI agree that these are not really small kitchens. If the magazine really wants to see and renovate a small kitchen, contact me.
8/18/2011 10:19:24 AM Report AbuseAgreed. These are by no means small.
8/18/2011 09:08:39 AM Report AbuseI can't agree more. None of these are small kitchens. I would love to have the space any one of these kitchens have! And for people who actually cook and bake, small appliances are a cruel joke!
8/17/2011 11:21:20 AM Report AbuseTrue.. these are not small kitchens but there are still some nice ideas to be used. I am amazed at the negative comments here. We am not paying to see these ideas , so what is the big deal? No-one has to to go out and buy anything advertised here. I love my little kitchen but like to paint every couple of years just to spruce it up, so I am looking at colour schemes etc and every now and then I find some new idea that will actually work!
8/12/2011 11:13:06 PM Report AbuseNo, these are NOT smal, nor are they real. They're photo shoots intended to get subscribers to spend money at advertisers.
8/12/2011 12:03:50 AM Report AbuseNo, these are NOT small and they are NOT real. They're photo shoots so we spend money trying to replicate something that cannot be done.
8/12/2011 12:02:10 AM Report AbuseThese people don't know what small is......they also have no idea what a real windowless galley kitchen is like in a real apartment building without the high-powered photoshoot equipment. Nice try but really, you're just making people who live in the real world feel bad about their spaces. Disappointing at best, deceptive is more like it. Thanks for nothing.
8/11/2011 11:58:43 PM Report AbuseThere are some truly lovely kitchens in these pictures, but like others have indicated, they are not really "small". At least not by the standards of my kitchen. I can use some ideas, but it would be nice for someone to come up with some overall pictures of truly small kitchens, so I can see the overall functionality. I can touch both sides of my galley kitchen by standing in the middle of the floor. And this is the kitchen for a 2700 sq. foot house. May the designer be thumped on the head.
7/27/2011 12:22:27 PM Report AbuseIn the picture of the kitchen with green cabinets on the bottom and blue up top, does anyone know whrer to get the Green pendant light fixtures?
7/25/2011 09:53:28 AM Report AbuseAll these naysayers are making me wonder what they are thinking. These rooms are supposed to inspire you to think outside of the box. You may see a shelving unit and think "oh something like that will work in my room" . I can agree with those that want to know colors and manufacturers, but please use your imagination here people!
7/22/2011 11:58:03 AM Report AbuseI have to agree with many that these don't look that small to me. I'm in the UK, and my kitchen is just 11ft x 7ft for a 3 bed house, quite common dimensions for here. I would love the space some of these have!
7/20/2011 02:07:41 PM Report Abuse