Making A Small Kichen Work For A Family

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Since leaving the family home at age just 18 to start my very own family, I have lived in two different house. Both lovely in their own right but both had tiny kitchens!

(Photo by Mikael Cho on Unsplash)

To be honest having a small kitchen was a sacrifice we made when choosing out homes to enable us to have a bigger living area space, thinking this is where we would spend most of our time. However it quickly became apparent we needed to rejig things, we actually spent quite a lot of time in the kitchen preparing meals, cooking, baking and washing up. Since we have always rented, knocking down some walls just wasn't an option and so we used clever gadgets, creative design and some fab space saving products to maximise the space we had.

I know lots of people face this problem when they have a smaller kitchen and so I though I would share some of my top tips on how I made my small kitchen work for a family!


Breakfast bar instead of a dining table.

Whilst I would have loved a big family dining table we simply didn't have the room. Having a small breakfast bar area in the kitchen, against the wall with some bar stools underneath instead provided a great space for the kids or I to sit and eat. It was especially useful for the mornings when the kids had school and I could keep an eye on them eating breakfast whilst making their lunches.

It saves so much space but still enables you to have a space to sit and eat, making it perfect for a small kitchen. I Particularly love these Nicolo bar stools as they have the high back and comfortable seat but slide under a breakfast bar easily, taking up less room and leaving more free space.

Maximise cupboard space.

Whilst cupboards are obviously used to store things in which is great, are you really using all the space you could in a cupboard? Attaching some small shelves, racking or hooks to the inside of the cupboard door can provide even more space to store things and keep them off work tops, meaning more space to cook and prep things.

I used the racking to store things like Tupperware lids, small utensils (cheese grater etc) and hooks are perfect for small pans, sieves etc giving you even more cupboard space for larger pots, pans and trays as well as food!

Declutter

Decluttering regularly is a must when you have a small kitchen. Having things laying around the kitchen that you won't use or don't really need is pointless and takes up space you don't have. Try to dispose of broken items or unused items quickly rather than letting them get pushed to the back of the cupboard.

I also found having small plastic pull out tubs within the cupboards meant I could keep on top of everything as I could pull out each basket and check the contents, rather than things getting missed at the back of the cupboards where I couldn't reach! I was a bit of a hoarder when it cames to plates and bowls etc too but how many do we really need!? Buying yourself a nice crockery set with enough bowls/plates etc for the family means you have all you need without having a whole cupboard of mix and match crockery and 20 bowls for a family of 4. 


Bright and Airy Colours 

When it comes to decorating a small kitchen, light and bright is key! Using dark colours or busy wallpaper will only make a small space feel smaller. Use bright colours such as white, pale greys and other pastel colours. Also using light work tops, cupboard doors and flooring all helps open up a small space.

Lightening plays a bit part too. I have always tried to have ample bright lightening in the kitchen and try to avoid having anything covering the window to allow as much natural light in as possible. If using blinds try using the roller blinds so you can roll it right up when in the kitchen, allowing plenty of light in. If you don't get much natural light in the kitchen a large strip light or open light fitting can be a great solution. I love this Varsailles 50 Pendant as it looks stylish but is open to allow the light to flood into the kitchen from all angles.

Use the wall space

People often forgot about how valuable wall space can be in a small area! Yes cupboards are great for storing things but so are shelves, hooks and racking on the walls too. This can be a great place to store spices, pans and other small items. It also means they are easily to hand when you need them without rummaging through cupboards. 


I also asked some other bloggers for their top tips on saving space in your kitchen and they had some great idea's! Here are their top tips -

Victoria from Lylia Rose - We have a small kitchen and changed our sink to a double sink which makes such a difference. We also have a washer dryer to save space and a slimline dishwasher. The main thing is to cut down on non essential items. We cut down on loads of crockery, for example, and only have exactly what we need. There’s just not enough room for anything extra! Instead of having a microwave using up valuable worktop space, we only use the oven to cook. 

Jade from Jade's Long Journey - If it's your own house or you have permission you can change the cupboard shelves so it makes 3 rather than two most foods like tins and packets work better over three shelves rather than two and being stacked up so they fall. 

Jodie from Maidenhead Mum - You can save space by having a washer dryer combined... or if you’re lucky try to move it outside to a garage or outhouse so you can free up space for another cupboard. 

Jennifer from My Mummies Pennies - We had a tiny kitchen in our last house so to save space we had a country house style dresser in our dinning/ living area that had all our crockery in in so they didn’t take up cupboard space in the kitchen. 

Erica from The Incidental Parent - I had a kitchen the size of a postage stamp in my last house. With a family of four I tried to keep appliances to a minimum as storage was tight. A hanging spice rack inside a cupboard was great as was a corner plate stacker.
I got very good at storing saucepans, a colander and seive inside eachother and stacking baking tins etc together. I also had a space saving bin and recycling, which In still ended up shuffling around the kitchen daily!

Our kitchens may have been small but with a few tweaks and creative idea's both kitchens worked well for us and one still does now. We have lived here almost 5 years now and whilst the kitchen is still small its perfectly formed and has everything we need. We cook, bake and even craft in their and it certainly works for us. 

The most important thing to remember is make it your own. Your kitchen has to work for you and your family so find ways to adapt and use the idea's above to work for you and your small kitchen will soon be working for you.

Do you have any top tips for making a small kitchen work for you? If so please do share in the comments below!

xXx



**This is a collaborative post with Furnish your home, I received payment for this post and my time. However all words and opinions are my own (or the opinion of the blogger tagged). I retain full control of this post.**