12 Design Tricks To Make A Small Kitchen Look & Feel Bigger

[@Cathy-xi8cb]

Cannot emphasize having clear counters! Tuck away almost everything. Decades in NYC apartments taught me that you need far less to cook a great meal than you think. A few good knives, a couple of good pans, appliances that do more than one thing.

[@angellas.1314]

Totally true!❤

[@NoseyFloridaGirl]

Great advice ! Keep clutter off of counters , fridge and table . Knives can go in drawers or on magnetic strip . The only small appliance I have out is a coffee maker ..really makes a difference !

[@angelaberni8873]

Do you cook or just heat up supermarket crap in a microwave?😂

[@teri-joscott8279]

Thank you Michael! Your content is always so thoughtfully done with curated style. Appreciate all the ideas! Can't wait to see you in the next one!

[@kitchinsider]

Thanks so much! 😊

[@chelin7023]

Love your presentation

[@ps4402]

Great tips! We are going with white paint, a low contrast color scheme, vertical wall tiles, and leaving space around the window. You have the best kitchen videos on KZbin!

[@kitchinsider]

That's very kind, thank you. Kitchen sounds amazing! 😃

[@Tammy-zr9zw]

All excellent suggestions! Thank you!

[@kitchinsider]

Thanks so much!

[@kathigee]

I always enjoy your content and also it always seems you enjoy sharing with us! Thanks for so much food for thought! I can't wait to get started on our kitchen!

[@JenOooo]

I have a pink glass splashback above my countertops and I love it! It was a little more expensive at €1200 but thats because I wanted minimum joins, each side is one huge piece of glass, with the window surround and sill. 9yrs on and I still love it! It still looks brand new and so simple to clean, water and vinegar and a good microfiber cloth. Works perfectly with my high gloss silver upper cabinets and grey lower cabinets. One of my best investments and a project that looks as good in person as it did in my dreams.

[@angellas.1314]

Wish I could see this! Sounds lovely

[@JenOooo]

@@angellas.1314 I wish I could share it! I'm still in love with the whole kitchen almost 10yrs on 😍 I was blessed meeting a lovely designer who really listened to what I wanted and made my dream a reality 💖

[@angelaberni8873]

​@@angellas.1314me too.

[@bbhurst65]

Uh oh, I just purchased soapstone counter slabs (because I love that stone) ! I definitely won’t be able to avoid the contrast if I choose white cabinetry. Love your tips, though.

[@CyattieD]

Great video as always with super handy tips. Very small kitchen which currently has a number of open shelves - frankly just makes it look super messy unless you only need them for a couple of decorative pieces (I need storage however!) so will stick with cupboards; although point taken about them overwhelming the room so not too high! Thanks!

[@dorinatudisco1308]

Great video. I learned so much. I like how concise and information packed it was. 😊

[@AndrewFriedhoff-w2x]

really thought-provoking. Had in my head strong bright contrasting colours for my small north-facing kitchen but I now understand the downside of this. Thank you.

[@5610winston]

0:19 Right photo, I like the dark countertop with light colors below and above.

[@jeanlucde1]

Great video!

[@kitchinsider]

Thanks!

[@sophiebird4434]

Hello, I have a 3m x 2m kitchen, with a small window but is south facing, would you recommend having a navy kitchen? (cabinets) or will just lighter colours be better?

[@ps4402]

What do you think about using smaller appliances to creat more counter and cabinet space? Here in the US, it seems bigger is always better, but with only two people and a small galley kitchen, I'm considering a 24" cooktop and 18" dishwasher.

[@kitchinsider]

I think that's a great idea! 24" cooktop and 18" dishwasher are very common here in the UK. Makes total sense for a smaller kitchen and two people. 👍

[@cindytranvik3318]

I live in the US and have a very small galley kitchen as well. I went with a 24” counter depth fridge, 24” integrated dishwasher, and 24” range. I really wanted every inch of counter space I could get. I love it and don’t regret it at all. I will have to say we have an extra fridge in our basement though.

[@angellas.1314]

@@cindytranvik3318HA,, THAT’s also a trick. ❤

[@colleencrowe9031]

Great ideas, thanks

[@victoriastout5609]

Thank you!!! 😊

[@GilliMarieMoody]

My kitchen is so tiny that I believe same-coloured walls and uppers, and a mirrored backsplash might help me out. And… perhaps, the large floor tiles. AND… maybe some LED lights under the cupboards.

[@lisahunter6556]

Wonderful video. I agree with you about integrated appliances, but in North America panel-ready fridges all seem to start at 25K (except for one Ikea fridge that has iffy reviews). Any insider ideas about when integrated fridges might be available for the masses here?

[@sarahofer4368]

Hi! Missed you and your channel.

[@kitchinsider]

Very kind to say. I'm back! 😃

[@sunflower260285]

Hello there, thank you for the wonderful insights. We have black marble and dark brown cupboards in our townhouse, it’s pretty small. My husband doesn’t want to get rid of the marble, but instead change the colour of cupboards. What could cupboards do you think will compliment the black marble and still brighten up the the space ? Thank you 🙏🏾

[@kitchinsider]

Thanks! Ohh, black marble is lovely. If it were me I'd keep it simple and go with a light neutral and maybe try to pick out and match/tie in any light colours/pigments in the marble if there are any. A slightly warm off-white or soft light grey can work well against the black. Also consider your walls and floors and overall home scheme to help tie it all together. I hope that helps! 😃

[@sunflower260285]

Thank you so so much 😊 for the great tips 😊 light grey sounds great😍

[@elizabethf3596]

look at 19 seconds in

[@ritaj1965]

What is the depth of a shallow cabinet vs. standard one? Thanks much

[@marijasarvan803]

🌞👏Thank you!🍀

[@karengray6641]

Mirrored backsplash behind the sink shows every drop or splash of water. Ask me how I know.

[@Trenchant468]

Love your videos. I also love European kitchen, but I’m in US. I’m thinking of reusing cabinets which would eliminate any window trim, bringing the cabinets right to the casing. Oy-just the opposite of your recommendation. But I’d expect to put mirrors on the window sides of the cabinets. Thoughts?

[@cynthiacrumlish4683]

Cannot find your tonal color tool

[@kitchinsider]

It's in my article, under the low contrast heading - kitchinsider.com/small-kitchen-look-bigger/

[@evabuczek]

No high cabinets- 152cm only. Empty walls- no shelves, no cabinets, only framed plants. Monocolour- wallpaper, fronts, appliances and countertops all in the same or very similar shade. Tall legs😂 of the cabinets so my robot vacuum cleaner can hide. Excellent video!!

[@neilpickup237]

I moved into a flat with a small kitchen with newly fitted gloss white units. Although fewer in number than I needed, there were too many to allow me to justify starting from scratch - so it was a matter of some repositioning and a few additional cabinets. I went for about as much of a contrasting worktop as it is possible to have - black granite with a metallic speck. I also specified matching upstand. With something so dark, the eye is tricked into thinking that the worktops are deeper than they really are, giving the illusion of a wider kitchen. P.S. Contrary to common belief, I have found the Granite a doddle to keep clean. A wipe over with a soapy cloth and a buff up with a dry cloth is all that I have ever needed to maintain the high gloss finish, which in turn also makes my smal, but low clutter kitchen more spacious than it otherwise would. High gloss large porcelain tiles laid in a brick pattern also helped. The visible floor space is just a little under 3 tiles by 5 tiles.

[@tobywilkes1670]

Having everything put away in drawers or cupboards is a time/convenience Vs visual trade off. Personally I think kitchens are a functioning workspace that needs to be efficient. Things like toasters, kettles, cutting knives, cooking utensils need to be there to grab and use ... Not buried in a drawer. Likewise open shelving for cups and bowls etc are great for efficiency. I'd much rather have a small efficient kitchen than a small inefficient kitchen that looks bigger. If it's genuinely too small to have anything on bench tops without losing all usable space then yes of course it'll need to be away. But most kitchens aren't thaaaat small.

[@7137271]

None of the examples you use are small kitchens. What do you do with 3 meters by 1.5 meters?

[@oneofakind3004]

WE NEED WAYS TO HAVE MORE SPACE PHYSICALLY NOT VISUALLY! CLEANING THE COUNTERA OFF AND USING LIGHT PAINT DONT FIT ANY REAL ISSUES! UR VIDEO IS COMMON SENSE MAN

[@truth4u551]

He does have a video about how to make the most of your kitchen space. If you have a small kitchen, for example if you need extra surface space- consider counter cabinets on wheels. There are a lot of other videos to browse. This video is how to make it Look bigger not how to make the most of your space. 😊

[@zones4to11]

The title of his video is how to make a small kitchen look bigger, not how to make it Be bigger.

[@agizsolti3457]

Mirror backsplash is not for me 😂

[@Spirit_05]

Mirrored backsplash behind the sink is very stupid amateur advice because it is always dirty. Another stupid advice is to have almost empty shelves in small kitchen. Yeah, right. If you have small kitchen it is unpossible to have empty shelves because you have no space for storage.

[@angelaberni8873]

He does have some wonderful points,but I totally agree with yours . Having a mirror backslash is ok for those lazy buggers who don't cook but use a kitchen just for entertaining 😂. I call them cheese and cracker kitchens 😂😂😂😂

[@goglossy3939]

‘Another stupid advice…’ the irony 😂

[@cakedupkevin]

Are you alive? You just stopped posting 10 months ago...

[@angelaberni8873]

I cant stand upper cabinets. Not only are they aesthetically ugly ,but for anyone who isnt a giant they are a total waste of time. Low deep draws is the solution to my mind. Ive done a few kitchens in my time and another thing that is ugly and totally useless are extractor fans. I cook all morning every single day ( im Italian and it's well known that we cook )and never need an extractor fan. Regarding using all similar tones no doubt he is right. But oh what a bloody boring kitchen you will have. Tucking away all of your stuff is ok if you dont cook. A kitchen is for COOKING guys ,so make it functional for you. Of course there are ways to make you daily used condiments/spices etc look attractive on view. Its all the ugly uneccessary s*** that shouldn't be there that you need to get rid of.😂

[@janiceestes9518]

Square footage is square footage. A small kitchen is a small kitchen no matter what you do to tick the eye.

[@feedtherich11]

Not true

[@LifeBloodMarketing]

Lick the eye.