When you’re designing a small kitchen, the layout is crucial since space is limited. While you’re planning, it’s important to consider different elements of your kitchen, such as your appliances, workspace, storage space, walkway space, and entrances. Although these things may seem minor, overlooking them could leave you with a kitchen that isn’t functional or likable.
Appliances
It’s a given that you aren’t going to be able to have every appliance that you want in a small kitchen. You need to decide early on what appliances you need and don’t need. Consider doing research about what appliances work well in small spaces to help you narrow down a list. Once you’ve decided what appliances will be in your kitchen, you then have to figure out what size those appliances will be and where they are going to go. Everything needs to fit somewhere, and you’ll want it to fit in a way that works. Take the time to develop a layout with measurements that work.
Workspace
Now that you have your appliances laid out, you’re going to want to map out where your workspace is going to be. Usually, you’ll want open space near the appliances so that you can do things while you’re cooking. There should be enough workspace that you aren’t struggling to cook or plate a meal. However, there shouldn’t be too much that you don’t have room for your appliances. Think about how much space you usually use to cook and go from there.
Storage Space
Storage space is just as important as workspace. Since counter space will be limited in a smaller kitchen, it’ll be critical to have designated spaces reserved for storage. Questions to consider are: How much storage space do I need? What will be going in the storage? Just like with a workspace, you will want enough storage to hold the necessary items, but not so much that there is empty space in the storage. That empty space could go towards something else. Taking inventory of your current kitchen will help you determine how much storage you’ll need. It might also help to look at other small kitchen layouts to get an idea of what others are doing.
Walkway Space
The walkway is another crucial element to consider when designing a small kitchen. There needs to be enough room in the kitchen for people to be able to move around comfortably; the question of how many people will be answered by you. If you want several people to be able to cook dinner together, then the walking space can’t be so small that they run into each other or appliances. If it’ll only be you, then you can cut down on the walkway and use the extra space for something else in your kitchen.
Entrances
The entrances of your kitchen will also take some thinking and planning. How many entrances do you want to have? Will these entrances have doorways? If they do, you’ll want to make sure that they can open and close without running into anything in your kitchen. This may lead you to consider a different type of door, such as one that slides open and close. Regardless of what you choose, you’ll want to make sure that your kitchen is easy to enter and exit.
Having a small kitchen doesn’t have to be a sacrifice as long as you plan ahead and plan right. If you take the time to consider all of these small yet crucial elements of the layout, then you’ll be well on your way to designing a kitchen that is easy to use and nice to be in.