Many of us do not have the advantage of owning a large kitchen but with these helpful tips on maximising a small kitchen, they will transform your small space into a place that is easy to socialise and the perfect retreat to help with all your daily tasks.
Read on to find out more on getting the best out of your small hub of the home.
Creating the perfect layout
The layout is one of the most important factors to consider, it’s essential to create a kitchen space that works for both you and your family. You need to think about your lifestyle, tastes and everyday routines to help you create that dream kitchen you have always dreamed of. The design should include generous kitchen worktop space and suitable places for storage and luxury appliances. At Cawdor Stone, we can of course supply and install your luxury kitchen with a quartz, granite worktop to your taste.
We supplied and installed the stunning and popular Bianca Stella to this property in Stevenage. Our client chose a U-shaped kitchen layout to make the most of the space available and to create as much floor space as possible. Just look at the generous worktop space!
Make sure the space has lots of light
Colour plays a huge part in the kitchen design process as it can make the space feel big or small. You want to choose a colour shade that will maximise your space. White is normally associated with smaller rooms making them appear larger. Some kitchens have limited natural light, so homeowners will use a lighter colour to bring every corner of the room out. White doesn’t appeal to all, so if this is the case there are other lighter colours to choose from such as off-white, taupe, cashmere, light blue and pale wood.
Adding a bold accent to make a feature will work with a neutral colour. Balance the colour out though to avoid overwhelming the room.
The kitchen below features the Technistone Noble Supreme White Quartz, which has a subtle marble effect and a bright white background. It really looks classy in 20mm, with the sink drainer grooves and matching upstands – this all helps to refresh this kitchen space for our client in Woolmer Green.
Even though the space isn’t big, a large window at the front of the house brings lots of natural light in.
Choose reflective surfaces
Choosing surfaces that are shiny and glossy enhance the effect of making a smaller space seem bigger. When the light hits these surface it is reflected back across the whole of the room and onto other surfaces within. To make light bounce in the kitchen is opting for wall units with glass-fronted doors. This allows the eye to travel through the door to the back of the cabinet, with the extra depth we interpret gives the sense of a larger room. The cupboards need to be tidy and not cluttered. Another great way is choosing a glass or mirrored splashback behind the hob.
Below in our client’s kitchen in Highgate, Redbridge we supplied and installed the Compac White Quartz. Not only did this curved worktop feature the unique ‘dog leg’ drainer grooves to suit this curved kitchen but also it features a sharknose edge profile for the ultimate contemporary look.⠀
The kitchen cabinets are of a white high gloss that bounces from the other reflective surfaces, the floor and splashback. Already the smaller space seems bigger.
Opt for skinnier cabinetry
Opting for skinnier cabinetry and narrower shelves are ideal to make the most of your trickier spaces. In the corners of the kitchen or on a shorter wall, spices and dishware can be stored for convenience and easy reach.
Integrate your appliances and accessories
Integrating your appliances is a great solution to save space. You can choose chopping boards that are fully integrated, so when not in use you can hide it in between the kitchen cabinets allowing you to free up worktop space. You can also house your microwave in a bank of appliances to save worktop space.
A unique layout in the kitchen below, here’s one half of it where we did an L-shape with the Technistone Sparkly White Quartz, which actually wraps around again to meet the oven housing. Our client decided to add a bank of appliances amongst the kitchen furniture with a microwave and oven above one another. It makes for a sleek streamline kitchen with everything at hand, also making use of all the available space.
Save space with extra storage ideas
With a small space, you don’t want to overcrowd it but you want to have the best possible storage you can have. If your home is a country cottage, wicker baskets are great to store things and will certainly play the part on top of those quartz worktops. They are ideal to store vegetables and pots and pans, with peg hooks being another usual storage solution, as they can be attached to the wall to hang utensils or pots and pans to free up storage space in the cupboards and on the worktops.
This lovely country kitchen features the Caesarstone Rugged Concrete quartz which has a textured finish. This worktop material is perfect for just about any style of kitchen from high gloss contemporary to handmade shaker such as this. We love the idea of the open shelves to store the ‘most used’ kitchen essentials.
Cawdor Stone Gallery are a division of the Cawdor Group, one of the UK’s leading natural stone providers. With over 30 years of experience, our highly qualified team have undertaken international projects of all sizes, providing high-quality materials and a comprehensive range of stone-related services to a range of projects. Contact us today for more info on our quartz and granite worktops.
