3 Tricks Kitchen Designers Use to Make a Small Kitchen Feel Larger

If building an addition is not an option because of budget constraints or space limitations, don’t give up on the idea of remodeling your kitchen. Kitchen designers know how to employ space saving techniques to make a small kitchen feel larger. By improving organization or removing visual barriers, they can make the most of available space and get a small kitchen to perform more efficiently.

Here are three tricks designers may use to make your small kitchen feel and function like it has more space than it actually does.

1. Specify custom rather than “stock” cabinetry

Stock cabinetry is mass produced in preset dimensions to keep costs down. But if room dimensions don’t adapt well to fixed-width cabinet stock, the kitchen remodeler will have to use more spacers to fill gaps between cabinets. That can quickly add up to a lot of wasted space in a small kitchen. Worse, the stock of cabinets available may not suit your storage needs effectively. Custom cabinetry is built to fit the exact measurements of the room and maximize available space.

Going custom opens up a world of flexibility and style. For example, ceiling-height cabinets (custom), aside from their striking visual effect, are ideal for storing specialty kitchen equipment you don’t need to access every day. Upgrading to translucent door panels on wall cabinets contributes to the effect of spaciousness, as well.

2. Open up the space by moving walls
   

If there is a room adjacent to your kitchen with space to spare, you can move a wall back to open up some more space in the kitchen, borrowing it from the adjoining area. You could also remove the wall entirely, to create an open kitchen and dining area. An adjustment of as little as twelve to eighteen inches can make a huge difference.

Here is an example of a kitchen before the renovation. 

Here is the newly renovated and expanded kitchen with the wall removed. 

See this specific portfolio here. 

3. Remove or replace unnecessary doors

If you have one or more doors in your kitchen that you don’t really need, your designer may recommend removing them. If they can’t be completely removed, you can convert them into a hideaway pocket door, to avoid the large amount of space the door takes up when it is swinging or left open. This especially useful in a situation where, for example, a powder room door swings open into a narrow hallway posing a potential collision hazard. Pocket doors also add a contemporary feel to a kitchen.

Organization is key in a small kitchen

In an undersized kitchen - or any other room, for that matter - an efficient layout can mean the difference between feeling squeezed in and making the most of a small space. If you’re interested in learning more about these and other layout tricks to maximize room in your kitchen, contact the expert design team at Gilday Renovations today.

Learn about how to approach a kitchen design and remodeling project by downloading The Definitive Guide to Kitchen Design & Remodeling Success.