5 easy ways to make the most of a small kitchen
From cooking big family meals and the mad breakfast dash to catch ups over a cuppa and weekend baking marathons, the kitchen sees it all!
If your kitchen’s on the smaller side, it can sometimes seem impossible to keep it looking and feeling organised, but there are lots of ways to make the most of a compact kitchen.
Follow our 5 simple tips and tricks and we’ll have you falling back in love with the heart of the home in no time!
1. Use your walls
One of the biggest problems with a smaller kitchen can often be the lack of worktop space. Having an area to prepare meals is important, and if work surfaces are cluttered, then cooking can quickly become a chore! Why not free up some space by making the most of your walls? Here’s a few ideas to get you started:
- If you’ve got a mug tree taking up space on your worktop, why not attach a wilko hanging rack to the wall near your kettle and hang your mugs from here instead? It’s also great for utensils if they’re using precious space on your worktop too!
- Put some kitchen shelving up on a blank wall. It’s a great storage solution for recipe books, kitchen roll, tea, coffee and sugar canisters, and lots more! Use floating shelves for minimalist style that’ll give your walls an uncluttered look – that's a little win!
- Double your shelf space by adding a hanging shelf storage basket to the underside of shelving.
- Spice jars can easily eat up your worktop space, so find an empty wall and attach a wooden spice rack. Once the spice jars have been relocated, you’ll be amazed how much worktop space you’ll claim back!
2. Freshen things up with paint
The colour of your walls can make all the difference to your space. You want the kitchen to feel light and airy, so choose fresh neutral kitchen paint that will reflect plenty of natural light. Try to avoid dark colours that will make the space feel smaller and more crowded. If you want to add a splash of colour, there are still lots of ways you can do this:
- If the kitchen cupboards could do with a spruce-up, give them a new lease of life with a specialist kitchen cupboard paint. If you’ve gone neutral on your walls, our slate grey cabinet paint or jaded teal are the perfect complementary shades for a pop of colour. Finish by adding some new cupboard handles and it’ll feel like a whole new kitchen.
- Patterned tiles in a kitchen can make it feel more cluttered than it actually is. Create the illusion of space by keeping them all one colour. You don’t need to splash out on a brand new set of tiles though, just paint over the ones you’ve got! Our kitchen tile paint is available in a range of gorgeous colours from intense black to bold red.
3. Clear out the clutter
In smaller kitchens, every inch of cupboard space is important, and storage becomes your best friend. Go through all your cupboards and have a good clear out. Get rid of all those out-of-date jars, tins and packets then sell or re-home any utensils or gadgets that are gathering dust. Once that’s done, here’s a few clever hacks to make the most of the space that’s left:
- When cupboard space is limited, it’s tempting to just pile tins, packets, cans and sauces on top of one another like some sort of Jenga challenge! With our clever tiered storage shelf, you’ll never need to stand on tiptoes to see what’s lurking at the back of cupboards again.
- And on the subject of getting organised, don’t forget your drawers too! Instead of piling all your cutlery and utensils straight into a kitchen drawer, keep everything organised with a drawer organiser. You’ll be amazed how much extra space this creates in your drawers, whilst also allowing you to find what you’re looking for much quicker!
- If you’ve not got a lot of kitchen cupboard space you’ll know how difficult it is to find a home for all your pots and pans. They may stack inside each other nicely but what about those pesky lids that you always have to just store precariously in every available space? Get them off your shelves and stack them neatly against the inside of the cupboard door with this handy overdoor pan lid rack. It’ll hold up to 4 saucepan lids which is perfect for helping you claim back some cupboard space.
4. Keep it compact
The secret to making the most of a mini kitchen is to keep things flexible. Space-saving kitchen items or multi-functional furniture is going to help you claim back even more of your kitchen. Here are a few of our favourites:
- A kitchen trolley will give extra storage and surface space in one. Most compact kitchen storage trolleys come with wheels too, so you can move them away into a corner until they’re needed again.
- If floor space is at a premium, then foldable chairs (and tables) are a great idea too. Enjoy family meals around the table then simply fold and tuck away your furniture when you’re finished.
5. Bring the outdoors in
There’s no bigger space than the great outdoors, so why not create the illusion of space by bringing a slice of it into the kitchen too?
- Whether you have a garden, patio or balcony beyond your kitchen window, it’s important to let as much light in as possible. The easiest way to do this is by installing a roller blind. During the day it’ll allow the maximum amount of light in whilst maintaining privacy when drawn at night.
- Keep windowsills clear of any clutter but welcome the outdoors in with a few plants or flowers. Don’t have the time to care for plants? We get it! Go for artificial plants instead and get the same effect without the hassle – that's a little win!
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Shop our full range of kitchen storage online at wilko.com
