14 Small Space Design Tips
Living on a sailboat is a good way to learn to small space design. On a boat, even an inch more or less is the difference between a good night’s sleep and waking up on the cabin sole with a nasty bump on the head. We know, Doreen’s been there.
Of all the kitchen designs we do, designs for small spaces are the most difficult. You would think that there are so few cabinets that it would be easy. The hard part is each individual element of the design needs to be perfect. An inch out here and another there and soon the design just stops working. So where or how do you start your small kitchen design?
Living on a sailboat is a good way to learn to small space design. On a boat, even an inch more or less is the difference between a good night’s sleep and waking up on the cabin sole with a nasty bump on the head. We know, Doreen’s been there.
Of all the kitchen designs we do, designs for small spaces are the most difficult. You would think that there are so few cabinets that it would be easy. The hard part is each individual element of the design needs to be perfect. An inch out here and another there and soon the design just stops working. So where or how do you start your small kitchen design?
Begin by placing the appliances. A dishwasher is optional but the fridge, sink and range are certainly not. Place them where they work best. You can pick up some helpful hints from our column titled “Where to Start, Appliances’. When designing for small spaces, many times you have to give something up. Use drawers in the base cabinets whenever possible. Under the sink or an unused corner outside the normal confines of the space can substitute for a trash drawer. A microwave over the range is a must to keep clutter off the counters and don’t fail to include a deep refrigerator cabinet if possible. Be sure to make the microwave cabinet 14 inches deep to match the microwave depth to pick up some low hanging, extra storage.
We tend to think of the sink as the ‘heart’ of the kitchen but the range is where all the ‘magic’ really happens. If possible use the longest wall for the range and try to get a drawer stack on at least one side.
There are a few tricks that might help:
Next time we’ll talk about upper (wall) cabinets.
Till then…
We tend to think of the sink as the ‘heart’ of the kitchen but the range is where all the ‘magic’ really happens. If possible use the longest wall for the range and try to get a drawer stack on at least one side.
There are a few tricks that might help:
- Sink a cabinet (or refer) into a wall to gain some needed space.
- Shorten the width of a sink cabinet to about 29 inches or smaller if you can find a sink that allows it. Your plumber will hate you but he can be soothed with a cold beer after he’s finished...
- Standard base cabinets are 24 inches deep but typical drawer systems seldom need more than standard bath cabinet depth (21”) to fit, so your kitchen base cabinets can be as little as 21 inches deep without altering their function. This can help with tight spaces on an adjacent wall of cabinets.
- Our standard Lazy Susan cabinet is only 21 inched deep so use that space behind it by using 21 inch deep cabinets on one side of it or on both.
- We normally specify a trash drawer cabinet 14 inches wide but this can easily be shortened to 12 inches if it will help the design. A cozy trash can is still useful.
- Use drawers instead of lower doors. They are easier to get into in a small space.
- Eliminate any unneeded soffits and run wall cabinets to the ceiling.
- Repeat after me…Never cut countertop area for a tall pantry or oven tower. The larger countertops are more useful and sightlines are too important to good design. (Doreen says we should require a signed pledge).
- Resist the urge to fill every available wall space with cabinets. Sometimes simple and open feels better than just more storage. Open shelving can add storage without closing in the space and you can show off a nice dish to add some color. Simply omitting the door/s on a cabinet can do this well. At the other extreme, we have set 3/8 inch steel dowels into the wall studs and bored the edge of shelves to slide over them. Floating shelves! They look very modern and eye-catching.
- Always use light colors for small spaces. We sometimes design ‘Sanibel Maple’ colors as they almost disappear and are useful for being there without closing in a space. Sanibel is the color of fog or mist…it works!
- Spend some time playing with the individual cabinet widths. Again an inch here and there can make all the difference.
- Walkway widths can be as little as 32 inches, but never less.
- Well placed glass panel upper cabinet doors can open up a room to the eye.
- Omit countertop backsplash as it tends to close in the tops to the eye. Keep countertop edges simple.
Next time we’ll talk about upper (wall) cabinets.
Till then…
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