Space is one of the primary concerns when house hunting. It’s always a struggle to find a home you like in the right area, that’s large enough and has enough storage. For certain rooms, you can make do; bedrooms just need to fit your beds and dressers, the den needs space for a comfy couch and most dining rooms can accommodate reasonably sized tables. The most problematic area is if you’re stuck with a small kitchen.
A small kitchen is a double whammy because you need a lot of storage for all your kitchen wares as well as sufficient counter space for all your cooking and baking needs, in addition to toasters, coffee machines and microwaves.There are few household tasks more frustrating than navigating a small kitchen.
The kitchen is regarded as the most social room in the household. Hitting elbows and fighting for real estate with other family members can flare even the calmest temperaments. It’s also ideal to have a kitchen table to inspire more family bonding and increasing the social factor inherent in kitchens. This is impossible in small kitchens.
All these factors make a small kitchen very unfavorable. There are ways to mitigate the frustration by maximizing the space you have. Here are some tips on how to go about that:
1) Ceiling-High Cabinets
When limited with space, the solution is often to build up. If you look at major population centres, this is exemplified in the tall buildings. The best way to apply this to a kitchen is by taking advantage of the dead space above your cabinets and installing ceiling high cabinets. Sure it will be hard for most to reach the upper shelves but keep a fold away step stool handy to solve that problem. Also, make sure you store the least common items at the top.
2) Pot Rack
Another way to free up cupboard space is by installing a nice pot rack that complements your kitchen decor. Pot racks add a nice dynamic to the kitchen by marrying decor with utility.
3) Cutting Board Hack
It can be really hard to find space for a nice large cutting board in a small kitchen. There are two options to remedy this; first, you can get a wooden cutting board sized to fit directly over your sink, this gives you a nice large space to work with. Another option is to have a cutting board fitted to a drawer, so you can pull out some extra space whenever necessary
4) Extra Space At The Sink
There’s a break in the cabinets where the sink is. Use this extra space to install some small floating shelves on the sides of the cabinets. If there isn’t enough space to manoeuvre at the sink, another option would be to bind a magnetic strip so that you can store your chopping knives there.
5) Magnetic Spice Rack
Hack some tiny baby food jars by slapping on some custom labels and filling them with spices. Purchase some powerful magnets and hot glue them to the bottom. Now You can stick them to the fridge and save a lot of cupboard space where your spices otherwise would be.
Original article found at: http://dreamcasa.org/living/design-and-decorate/small-kitchen-follow-tips-maximize/