10 Tiny Kitchens Whose Usefulness You Won't Believe

SPACIFY INC, Thanks for a great article on Kitchens. It is nice to see a collection of professional cabinet and show how they really complete a Kitchen.

olldbobbi I used to have a small, galley kitchen, I called it my "one-butt" kitchen because it would only fit one butt at a time. I wish I'd have known about Houzz then; I could have used a lot of these great ideas! Great ideabook, Vanessa!

Dura Supreme Cabinetry A heavy mixer can be lifted with ease to countertop level and conveniently stored in its own cabinet with this storage solution. This is a great feature for kitchens with minimal counter space.

Beth #1 is my favorite simply because the all white makes the kitchen look bigger. Something I have done myself. And I adore the old Wedgwood cook stove.
#3 is interesting, because it reminded me of a friends wee kitchen. She ditched the big refrigerator/freezer and went with a refrigerator drawer and freezer drawer and an apartment size dishwasher. Gave her more storage above the drawer set up, as well as more counter space.
#9 I have seen before and I always wonder if the folks who use that kitchen are tall, because there is no way I could ever reach what appears to be cast iron skillets high above the sink.

Alicia Even in a small kitchen you can add a tile mural.. If its a rental then you can adhere on a board and and just install on wall so that you can take it with you when you move.

Any image can be transferred onto tiles

http://www.Aliciatappdesigns.com

mgds1121 Great kitchens. I am reminded of early appliance suites from my design history class when I look at the Slovakian kitchen. I think tiny kitchens are definitely a challenge. This is a great loo at what you can do with them.

hilphillips Like Bobbi P. (above) we also refer to our kitchen for how many bums (or butts) will fit comfortably. Our two-bum kitchen is only 70 square feet and also holds the stacked washer and dryer. Thank goodness for Houzz and lots of storage ideas! We definitely need them.

oldie49 Cute ideas for utilizing a small space, but being slightly claustrophobic, it loses appeal for me.

chudilo Here is what we did(Brooklyn). The building was built in 1914. There is a full size extremely quiet Dishwasher under the countertop on the left. The range has two ovens. and the microwave has an exhaust that is vented to the outside.
During Demolition we uncovered an Ice Box (in the wall) under the window on the right, I have scraped and painted the metal liner in it and then created a custom stainless-steel door for it that slides and flips open. I now store hard liqueurs there when it is not extremely hot. I can post a photo if anyone is interested.

bubblyjock Love the Slovakian kitchen especially - it looks a lot more functional than some of the others imo.

There seems to be a much better selection of compact but affordable appliances in Europe than there is in N America.

Casart Coverings Best idea for more counter.space was the one to open a drawer and put a cookie sheet or cutting board on top. Adding to Alicia's suggestion for a tile mural, true, but if you're renting why bother with adhering to a board? You can use a removable, reusable faux glass mosaic tile pattern or custom mural instead. No mess, no grout and no residue when removed. Simply remove, place on the backing sheet, roll up, take with you and use another time, another place. Here are examples of some tile colors and a mural in a small weekend cottage kitchen. The owners had purchased an antique print in India and wanted to add it to their kitchen decor.

trasgorshek Love the hidden kitchens, especially the one from Spain. I could just sit in there all day with that breeze coming in. Great use of space!

tammytimamy Great article, mainly because in Britain the majority of 'normal' sized houses here don't have particularly big kitchens! Mine is about the same size as the first picture, maybe slightly smaller and as it's MoD property, it's quite annoying to come up with practical storage solutions without drilling etc and risking being charged for it when we leave the house. Oh, to have my OWN house!

rosie1545 my small kitchen 9X13

lucca Most of these kitchens are clean, organized and uncluttered, but the rest look like they belong in "before" photographs; not something to aspire to.

suzyq101 I love the kitchen in the lower lefthand picture but I think I would use a slightly less shiney backsplash tile.

rosie1545 Agree on clutter...I found the best way to get rid of clutter is either hide it (if you have the space) or get rid of it....if not used often, give it away. Keep only what you need. Parties an family visits usually call for disposable plates and cups when we run out of regular dishes. But then I'm not a big partier, nor am I into heavy duty cooking. Kids are grown.

rosie1545 HI, SusyQ, I appreciate your input. Since the kitchen is sooo dark since we closed off the door to the livingroom and took out the window above the sink looking out into the garage, I like the sparkle. Granite is honed so no shine there either. In my younger years, I wouldn't have sparkle, but as I get older, I am getting into it more and more....second childhood perhaps! God bless!

hgfuller Love houzz and sharing small kitchen ideas. In our 1950s kitchen make-over, we pushed a sink-L into the pine-paneled den which put existing window & light in the kitchen. We took down overhead cabs, so it really opened up the kitchen to family space, plus gave me longer counter-top.

Jacqueline Neumann I'm a good cook, but I don't enjoy cooking. Number 1 is definitely my fave, small, country, bright and airy. Definitely an idea save for my downsize plans.

olldbobbi Jacqueline - Me too! I'm a good cook but I really don't like to cook at all. And I'm so happy to hear someone else say it! Baking is another story. And kitchen #1 is my favorite too!

julietviney I love the ideas. However, the usual photo shoot trick was used, no cables running from appliances to sockets. In the real world, electrical items have to be plugged in leaving messy cables on show. Roll on wireless power (better batteries?)!

jhb24 i WILL SAY THAT YOUR WWW.HOUZZ SITE HAS GIVEN ME GREAT IDEA'S
i HAVE A LITTLE BIT BIGGER GALLEY TYPE KITCHEN AND LOVE TO SEE IDEA'S OR COLOR AND LOCATION OF APPLIANCES, FLOORING TO MAKE IT SEEM BIGGER YET...MY KITCHEN IS IN THE MIDDLE BETWEEM. THE FAMILY AND NOOK AREA AT ONE END AND FORMAL DINING ROOM AT THE OTHER END.. iF YOU HAVE ANY MORE PHOTO'S, IDEA'S TO OPEN IT OUT MORE, WOULD APPRECIATE YOU SENDING PHOTO'S... i LIVE ABOUT 5 MILES FROM THE OCEAN AND WHAT TO CREATE A OCEAN, RIVER ROCK FEEL ALONG WITH INCORPORATING A FEW ANTIQUE'S.....

ploefff The best thing I ever did to my galley kitchen was to connect the 2 tabletops. Also by making the connecting piece extra deep I now have a place to sit and eat my breakfast and not just ridiculously-narrow-beakfast-bar-deep for the people that don't need their knees or can magicly invert them for a perfect fit. Sorry for the sour tone but I'm just fed up with seeing the incredibly poor "solutions" of too narrow OR too tall breakfast bars. If you can't sit comfortably then it's not a solution because you won't use it and it'll just sit there taking up space.

Aaand back to my counter: because it's so deep (80 cm wide as opposed to the regular 60cm) it's perfect for baking because there's plenty of room to knead dough without having to put away stuff to make space. As you can see in the before picture I have super deep window sills. I live on the ground floor and as you move up the floors of my building the walls get thinner (approx 10 cm pr. floor) which also means that my apartment is slightly smaller than the ones on the top (4th) floor so to take back some space I incorporated the window sill in my counter and it feels so much bigger. Because of the connected counters the 2 ends of the counters was done away with so the couple of inches at the end of the counter you don't use out of fear something might fall off I got back.

I also utilliesed the wasted space behind the door to store my folding chairs - the door hides them and I put hooks on it for 2 tote bags: 1 for returnable bottles and one for kitchen laundry - it's storage in layers.

Twana Some very good ideas on most of those, but I really don't understand why the last kitchen from San Francisco was included.
Thanks for sharing!

kimber11 I know this sounds a little crazy but I'd prefer a smaller kitchen like these. With a small kitchen it forces one to have to be much more organized and to only keep the essentials on hand. Also finding more creative ways to do with less. My last home had a small galley style kitchen and I moaned about the limited counter space, however, now that I have a large kitchen with ample counter space I miss my smaller space. I found I was more creative in the small kitchen, cooked more at home and enjoyed cooking for friends and family. Now with the new bigger kitchen I am forever cleaning it and moving things off the counters. The new kitchen is open to the living room/dining room and is in the center of the home so it gets the most foot traffic of the house.
The pictures attached are of my old kitchen.

Brian R I start my project of my tiny kitchen on Monday have taken the before pictures looking forward to sharing the after pictures with you all they way I have been inspired over here in Ireland is great thanks guys

Brian R I start my project of my tiny kitchen on Monday have taken the before pictures looking forward to sharing the after pictures with you all they way I have been inspired over here in Ireland is great thanks guys

gunnsharon My Ikea kitchen in a 60 sq meter apartment kitchen was 15 feet by 6.5 feet. This was a kitchen to have plenty of storage as I liked to entertain. The side buffet provided plenty of counter space for preparation and a landing space for dishes during clean up. A pantry by the concealed fridge, an above the stove top microwave with vent, a built in dishwasher, a small round sink, undersink garbage disposal, a large broom closet, built in lighting , a storage trolley and an eating area with lots of light made this a dream to work in. I designed the kitchen the old fashion way pencil on paper. The light birch cabinets with glass front china storage added to the light airy feeling.

Christine Sakariasen Great stuff!

Engineer Your Space Love to see all of these small kitchen ideas! I used a mirror on the back wall of my small galley kitchen to make it look bigger and brighter and redid the floor with temporary vinyl tiles (being a renter, none of the changes could be permanent). I also added more counter space by reconfiguring my stove top and freed up cabinet space by storing my spices above the stove using a DIY pizza pan spice rack. These small changes have made a huge difference!

Dawn Calhoun My kitchen is a horrible space! It's a box with NO window and not functional at all! Please help with ideas on how to make it better.

Dura Supreme Cabinetry The first thing I would do is add a combination microwave and hood over your stove, this will free up some counter space. The space also looks very dark which can make a small room feel smaller. A few color changes like painting the walls a lighter color or adding a lighter tiled backsplash could open things up and still fit the budget. If you’re looking for a huge fix, you could also choose lighter cabinetry to make the space more open and add change the cabinetry to be more functional with storage solutions that fit your cooking style.

Here’s a kitchen laid out similar to yours. They’ve used a microwave hood and still have cabinet storage above. This gives the homeowner a lot more counter space. The walls, backsplash tile and cabinetry are all lighter colors and help the space look spacious. The home owner also added several storage solutions that make her kitchen more functional like this spice rack drawer that holds her spices and oven mitts near her stove for easy use and better organization.

Beth Dawn a small kitchen without any windows can use lighter wall colours as well as a mirror over the sink and stove which will reflected light as well as make for a less trapped feeling.

Being able to see whats behind me when I cook because I have a nice size mirror above the stove has been very helpful.

I also agree with others who suggest a microwave stove vent hood combo which would free up more counter space. And these also have a hood light which provides extra light.

ariel84 Love to see small spaces celebrated! The one used as a bakery is pretty darn astonishing. I agree with Arefi-Ashar that one can make even an incredibly tiny space work. Makes me feel a lot better about my own tiny kitchen; in comparison I have lots of counter space, lol. It measures about 7' x 7'. Has only 1 drawer. I use the pantry space (4 shelves behind the white door to store cutlery along w/pots and pans, foodstuffs, and anything I'm not using on a regular basis (like a toasteroven). If I owned the place, I'd get stainless steel appliances, upgraded countertops, a micro/vent above the stove, pot lights, and a nicer floor. The cabinets are good quality and I like the color of the wood.

richardparker Many of these kitchens are not small. Nice to look at, but not small. Great small kitchens are shown at Apartment Therapy, where city kitchens reign.

taureg Agree with Richardparker. Why doesn't HOUZZ do some research and come up with sizes for the different categories mentioned. In NYC, tiny is just wide enough for small appliances with no counter or drawer space. At 8 x 14, myManhattan kitchen is large for anyone who isn't rich.

I also found a lot of the kitchens unattractive and hard to figure out from the pictures.

lmrennie We have renovated a 9' x 11' kitchen in a 1950 house and absolutely love it.

Olga@Stardust-decorstyle.blogspot.com That's my small kitchen (approx.14 sq.m.) and I do make the most out of it!

Beth In photo #16 I still say a person would have to be TALL to reach those cast iron pans. Not to mention that is a large kitchen when speaking of small kitchens.#3 and 8 ARE small kitchens. Some of those 'small' kitchens are the size of a small apt in NYC, San Francisco, Paris......

zanzi1 Somehow, I don't think 1 145 Square foot kitchen is small. I think mine is about 54 feet sq.

jan74 Seriously. The ground floor of my apartment, where 5 of us actually live - with kitchen, dining room, living room, 3 bedrooms, and 2 bathrooms -, is around 640 square feet. So I now learned I live in "half a small kitchen"...

zanzi1 Another though about mirrors - use them as the back of your cabinets especially if they face the entrance. I'm planning on redoing my kitchen and am thinking of doing this.