Cooking, eating, spending time together – the kitchen is the heart of every home. Unfortunately, especially in city flats, it's often far too small. But with a few simple tricks, you can create plenty of storage space and furnish your small kitchen in a practical, stylish way.
How to furnish a small kitchen and create space:
- Multifunctional furniture that saves space
- Structured lighting that makes a small kitchen look bigger
- Stylish home accessories that create storage space
Multifunctional furniture that saves space
When you furnish your small kitchen, start by choosing the furniture. To save space, go for furniture with a double purpose – such as stools that work as a handy step for reaching high wall shelves, serve as extra seating and can be tucked under a narrow kitchen table when not needed.
Bar stools are also perfect for small kitchens. Simply pull them out from under the worktop, and in the morning it becomes a breakfast bar in no time.
Narrow wall shelves that reach up to the ceiling create plenty of storage space. With a slender design, such as the String shelving system or Muuto Stacked, the shelves still look airy and take up hardly any visual space in a small kitchen. Modular, folding wall systems such as Fläpps by Ambivalenz are versatile and can be folded away completely when you need more space in your small kitchen.
Furnishing a long, narrow kitchen
If you have a narrow kitchen, emphasise its length with a long table and a matching bench. To make the room feel particularly airy, do without wall cabinets above the worktop and use freestanding shelving instead to create enough storage space.
Furnishing a square kitchen with little worktop space
If you have a small kitchen with little worktop space, add a (built-in) table on the opposite wall as a counter at worktop height (approx. 90 cm), with matching bar stools 65 cm high. When you use the table as an extra worktop, you can push the stools underneath. Wall-mounted magazine holders for cookbooks and hanging herbs save even more space on the worktop.
Furnishing a small U-shaped kitchen
You can make a narrow kitchen look bigger by dividing it into two areas – a work area and a cosy seating area. Combine a fixed bench with a round pedestal table that's easy to get around from all sides. A decorative wall shelf visually completes the cosy corner.
Structured lighting that makes a small kitchen look bigger
Once the furniture is in place, it's time to choose suitable lights. Different light sources create structure, dividing up the small kitchen and making it look bigger.
"Stage the lighting in your kitchen like a play: to show your kitchen in the right light for every use – cooking, washing up, eating or spending time together – make sure you have the right mix of task, dining, mood and general lighting." – Kerstin, interior expert
Example lighting for a small kitchen
The Kaiser Idell wall light above the dining table is flexible. It can light the dining table or be pulled over to the bench as a reading light. The Bollard lights above the worktop are also adjustable, so you always have ideal lighting when chopping or cleaning. A small, cordless LED lamp looks particularly decorative and atmospheric on the wall shelf. Fixed wall lights and light strips under the wall cabinets provide continuous, consistently bright lighting.
Stylish home accessories that create storage space
Accessories such as wall hooks, storage baskets and magnetic strips not only store all your kitchen utensils in a space-saving way, but also decorate your kitchen. A large chopping board placed over the sink can extend your worktop, and clever storage solutions such as cutlery trays and utensil holders create order in even the smallest space.
For saucepans, chopping boards, microwave dishes and the like, it's best to choose complete ranges that nest inside each other to save space and look particularly cohesive. Our tip: plant herbs in hanging pots that you attach to the ceiling. It looks modern, is handy when cooking and takes up no surface space at all.
As a general rule: light colours make a room look bigger and tidier. So keep your accessories as simple and coordinated as possible. Individual natural wood objects add warmth to otherwise white rooms.
You don't have to do without cheerful colours, though. Choose kitchen appliances in on-trend colours to bring your small kitchen to life. Smeg's colourful appliances, for example, add great accents without overloading a small kitchen.
You're sure to find the right design pieces for your small kitchen. Enjoy redesigning it!
Photo credit: Kathi Gräfe (@kateshyggehome), Jules Villbrandt (@herz.und.blut), Lilli Grewe (@kitschcanmakeyourich)
