SMALL KITCHEN DESIGN HACKS – WITHOUT GOING WHITE!
There are no two ways about it, the kitchen is undeniably one of the rooms of your home where it’s super important that everything is optimised to work at peak functionality – especially when we start talking about small kitchen designs. Due to the affordability of housing in Perth, we are finding the size of the homes Australians are now buying are starting to get smaller. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as with effective and functional design to accommodate for those smaller homes, you absolutely can still achieve that coveted ‘spacious home feel’ with a reduced footprint.
With this in mind, we discuss our top 4 tips for the illusion of space in your small kitchen design – with no white in sight!
Considerate design
Functional and effective design is paramount when it comes to getting the most from your small kitchen, if a poorly thought-out larger space can feel tiny – imagine what a poorly thought-out smaller space would feel like! Yikes! What this means when designing your small kitchen is that the room needs clever storage, the usable space needs to be maximised and the whole space needs to work cohesively with the aesthetic of the rest of your home.
Integrate
Integrated appliances are a great way to save on space as you are able to add appliances in unique areas – integration allows you to put the freezer where a cupboard would normally reside for example. Hiding away fridges and dishwashers helps greatly to reduce visual clutter, and also minimalises clearances/ventilation requirements from a design perspective. Overall the result is a finish that is contemporary, simple and sleek.
Reflect
Strategically placed reflective surfaces can visually expand the space in a room and bring in reflected light, which makes mirrored glass splashbacks a very popular choice for making your small kitchen feel larger, and really help to open up a space by bouncing light and reflections around the room. Another less-well known (but exceptionally effective!) option is to install stainless steel kickboards on your cabinetry. Working in much the same way as the splashback, the reflective colour to the kickboard promotes the optical illusion of more space and provides the added bonus of being watertight should you have an unexpected spill or flood in your kitchen.
Marie Kondo your life
All things said and done, even the best laid plans can fail if you don’t put in the work yourself – and all space-maximising tips in the world will come undone if your kitchen is full to the brim with clutter, unnecessary appliances and well, STUFF. So say bye-bye to items that don’t bring you joy (or ones you simply don’t use) and get into the habit of taking regular critical looks at your inventory. This doesn’t just extend to appliances and crockery, don’t forget to perform stock-takes of your pantry and cleaning items too, as you will be shocked at how quickly they can pile up if you don’t stay on top of what you have. A little organisation goes a long way when it comes to space-saving, so consider what you own and make sure there’s a place for everything, keeping your benchtops clear and clutter-free as much as possible.
With all these items considered you shouldn’t feel confident to look past white-on-white when it comes to achieving the illusion of space in your small kitchen.
The Maker’s team of professional kitchen designers can offer plentiful advice, not only on layout and design style, but also on colour and material selections for your Perth kitchen, along with styling tips for lighting and accessories.
To make a booking for a design consultation or to find out information about our kitchen design showroom, call our friendly team today on 1300 270 000.
