Is it possible for your kitchen to be too big? As a knee-jerk reaction, most people would say no — but is that really the case?
Here’s the secret: Any space in your kitchen you’re not consistently using is wasted space. I hear those of you who already have small kitchens breathing a sigh of relief, but for those of you with bigger kitchens, this can be good news. If you evaluate which parts of the kitchen that see use vs. the sections that don’t, you may be shocked to see how much wasted space you’ve got simply sitting there. Your next renovation project could focus on repurposing that space elsewhere in the home. You could expand your living room, or in some cases, add a small washroom.
Small kitchens don’t have to be a hindrance. Here are a few ways to make a small kitchen work:
Get in the zone
I love a house with zones. I think separate zones for eating, sleeping and living are good things. In a larger sense, as we talk about building homes in a post-pandemic world, we’re going to want homes that are separately zoned, to give us the option to physically distance within the home if we need to.
Think of a galley-style (also known as a corridor-style) kitchen. There’s not a ton of space there, but you can find ways to make it work. Treat meal prep like an assembly line. Designate one area for food prep, then you’ll have your spot for stovetop cooking, and you can turn a shelf top or long windowsill into a breakfast bar as your zone for eating quick meals.
If space is at a real premium in the kitchen, get creative with your shelving options. Adding floating shelves over an oven will keep things within reach. Your contractor can help you make the right call here — your shelving material shouldn’t interfere with the hood fan. If your cupboards are overflowing, you could set up a pantry area just outside the kitchen for extra shelving and storage, without sacrificing space.
Look up, way up
A cabinet you can’t safely reach is a useless cabinet. Be honest: Do you make any use of the cabinets that sit above your fridge? I certainly don’t.
We want to be mindful of the way we use our storage, especially in smaller kitchens so that no space goes to waste. Upper and corner cabinets can be awkward to navigate, but a few small design tweaks can make them 10 times more usable.
For upper cabinetry, I’m a huge fan of shelving with hydraulic systems included. These allow the shelves within the cabinetry to easily move up and down as needed, and make grabbing easy.
In corner cabinets, the Lazy Susan can let you access everything in the unit equally, but it doesn’t let you stuff that cabinet to the brim.
A talented designer can come up with custom shelves and drawers that perfectly fit into your corner unit. That way, instead of having to reach in to grab what’s in the cabinet, you can pull out the shelf and make what’s inside come to you. Your only limit here is your contractor’s creativity.
Tile and error
Sometimes all it takes is a change of perspective to make your small space feel bigger. Changing up the tiles and lighting in your kitchen space can help “grow” your space. Small tiles can make your kitchen feel smaller, but replacing them with bigger, lighter tiles reduces the number of grout lines you’ll see, giving the kitchen a larger look. Tile shouldn’t be any smaller than 12 x 12, at minimum.
I understand the value of a big, open kitchen, especially when it comes time to sell. Before you call the contractor to expand, think carefully about your plans for the house. Will you be there for another 10 years? Fifteen? If so, focus on renovations you’ll actually enjoy for those years. The personal value you get out of your home matters too, not just the final sale price.
To find out more about Mike Holmes, visit makeitright.ca
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