Learn to love one-pan meals!

I would "kiss up" and have dinner out all the time if I had a "toast-only" kitchen. You'll never have to worry about cooking a bad meal.

move :)
based on my vast experience living with small or closet sized kitchens, the only thing you can do is leave.

Small appliances....18 inch dishwashers in particular. Try to fit at least a 24 inch range, way more selection than a 20 inch

For me, I've definitely pared down what I keep in the kitchen. I don't buy any single purpose counter appliances, since that space is at a premium. Luckily I do have a basement, so I have a baker's rack down there where I store larger pots and things we don't use very often, along with paper towels, etc. You definitely have to "clean as you go" when cooking anything or you run out of room to cook pretty quickly.

I have a small kitchen. Very similar to #2. I'll be renovating soon to address the storage issues but in the meantime, the best advice would be to keep items to the bare necessities and be diligent about organization.

Yes to no clutter and also to not too many cooks in the kitchen ,

I love the Fresh Family Fun kitchen. Really very well laid out and pretty. One of my favorite kitchens of all time was in an apartment on the top floor of a house built in the 20's. Tiny but just right for putting a good meal together. I didn't have to walk a mile, just turn around to do what I wanted to do.

Kep it simple and uncluttered. Like pic above. Going all one color in tile and counters helps too.

Mise en place happens in the cupboards, rather than the counters for me, so even dry good storage is pared down, and organized by stations. I prefer tools that double as decorative items, or can be hung on the walls, ( including the broom, the shopping bags and aprons) and ovens that allow the pans to stow in the warming drawer or broiler. I require a 24" work area, and also steal 2" or so between floor items to store serving trays, folding stools,marble for pastry, etc., whenever I can, and favour the old styled breadboxes over the fridge to corral junk starches. Lose a dishwasher, gain a cupboard. In galley kitchens, I try to place a table - even a narrow bar height for two - as near the kitchen as possible to double as a secondary prep area and grocery drop-off. Good knives, A mixer, a Bialetti, a coffee grinder for spices and (recently) a Vitamix travel with me to every new set-up, and are the only specialty tools I personally use in small spaces. Everything else is gravy. :)

can you pls help. I just bought a condenser dryer the only space I have is beside my cooker, have been advised it is not good to put it there. can I put it in the dining table side of the living room. any ideas on how to conceal it

Have your functional items serve double-duty...incorporate them into your kitchen decor. My daughter is currently renting a cozy garage-turned bungalow. Attached are pictures showing how I spruced up the otherwise drab space with serviceable items that lend pops of color.

Emily,
That's neat to hear you are skipping out on the 'single purpose' appliances. I think that no matter the space- storage is always an issue. Tupperware, appliances and other dishwares tend to have a sneaky way of filling up the space that exists regardless of how grand it is.

We salvaged a genius retro appliance (NuTone Built-In Food Center) that combined multiple appliances into one (small knife sharpener, mixer, blender and juicer attachments). Look forward to posting the final product in it's new modern home.

http://wedgwoodtulsa.blogspot.com/2009/07/vintage-nutone-in-built-food-center.html

Happy Spaces!
Taryn
isARK Studio

Great thoughts thank you. I have always thought we go overboard with looking for every cubic centimetre of space for cupboards and Thus hamstring ourselves by bench spaces where you bash your head if you get distracted...the magic of cooking happens on flat surfaces not pretty doors.....but that's just my opinion. Too long on boats I suppose lol

This item, the Bygel rail from IKEA, is the foundation of my small kitchen organization: http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/50072645/
My whole apartment is 260 square feet, and the kitchen is so small there are no drawers in it. I lined all available wall space with these rails and hung various accessories from them to hold knives, paper towels, a hand blender, and odds and ends. 'S' hooks hold my pot and pans, and the lids just tuck into the rails with the handles holding them in place. Above, a couple of rails hold garden herbs while they dry in bunches, and further up, the largest equipment, including my wok. For what they cost, there's no excuse for not being organized. The screws are either sunk into the building's wood framing or plastic drywall plugs.

I have a small kitchen and hated not having any counter space next to my stove. So I switched places, moving my stove to where the frig was and my frig to where the stove was. Voila! Counter space next to the stove.

I designed the kitchen in my mother's apartment {cabinets from Home Depot}. I did what 0606 did, and switched places with the stove and fridge, so the stove could vent to the outside wall. Her kitchen is tiny, but is fully functional and outfitted with everything a serious chef needs {now if only I could convince her to cook}. :)

What made a big difference in my mother's kitchen was:
1. narrow appliances {bottom freezer fridge & electric stove}
2. two large pot drawers next to the stove {all drawers are self-closing}
3. pull out garbage, rather than taking up floor space
4. flip up cabinets above the fridge and stove
5. drawer and cupboard inserts

You really, really need small appliances. My stove and oven are 22" wide, but I can cook Thanksgiving dinner for 15. (It helps that I have a balcony off my kitchen live in a cold climate, so it's like an auxiliary fridge) I'm always amazed when I walk into small American kitchens where the big appliances take up half the space.

You need to use all your vertical space, you might need a ladder to get to some of it, but that's where you stick the stuff you don't use often, like X-mas cookie cutters. You need pots, tupperware, dishes to be stackable.

Use pull-outs if you have deep space. If you have extra space on your doors, add something thin there, like a place for lids or spices. Square containers are more space efficient.

Recently designed kitchen area in renovation of 400 sq ft cottage., 1st thing a small apartment size refrigerator.. I am tried of throwing out food. I will only have room for what I will use in a few days. Next is a small single bowl deep sink. Next is two burner induction cook top. If you really think about how often do you use more than 2 burners, you will be surprised, I will have a portable induction burner for when I need another burner. Next is an 18" dishwasher, yes I must have one. No upper cabinets. I have a 12" recessed wall where I will put a 14" deep "kitchen cabinet". My pans & utensils I will hang from the rafters. I will have a raised counter, with stools, to eat on. Ever thing I will need will be within 2 or 3 steps.

Everyone I know who have a large kitchen, fill up all the cabinets with things they never use. I have a neighbor who has a commercial stove, 6 burners, two convection ovens, they use their George Forman grill almost all the time. They have no understanding about how to use the convection ovens, either they burn and dry out the frozen product they buy or it is uncooked in the middle, so they microwave it. Nor do the have commercial grade heave pots and pans. The flame is too wide for what they use, on the rare times they use the stove. Never use the commercial grade hood, it makes too much noise and don't want to clean the filter.

To the nay says about the 2 burner cook top, think about how many times you use more than 2 burners. I had a friend who did not take a inexpensive apartment because it only had 2 burners. What was really amazing was she never cooked or used her toaster oven.

As for resale, I do not care, I plan on dying in my little cottage.

Working with tight, limited spaces is challenging but you can learn a lot, and the results can be especially rewarding! Bathrooms and kitchens pose a real challenge. I like these results.

Hi Emily,
I love my small kitchen (larger than kitchen 3 above but with less cabinets). I fixed it up with limited uppers, a regular sized pantry cabinet, full size appliances and just one dish drawer. I think upper cabinets near the stove and sink, no matter what size of the kitchen, are oppressive. The pantry sized cabinet is the workhorse of the kitchen. I feel that I have everything I need, including service for 12. I have friends with larger kitchens but they just shuffle through more old pots, pans and bowls to get to their favorites. My main thing is that nothing gets stored on the countertop - not even the coffee maker.

A cabinet depth refrigerator with cabinets above always helps with storage that is useable. When the refrigerator is full depth, you end up not being able to reach the small cabinets above. Having a small kitchen can make sense if the cabinetry and appliances actually work together.

My best advice is to find a way to add a large work surface ( island or peninsula) by borrowing space from the next room,
Especially if it us a diningroom. Second advice, is have only one eating area.

When we bought our 1930's stone cottage here in San Antonio last year we splurged on on upgraded appliances -- a low maintenance induction cooktop gives us extra counter space and a sleek look; a 24" combo conventional/convection wall oven for efficiency; a super quiet Bosch dishwasher. Like others, we try to keep clutter off the counter tops and we have added a credenza for additional attractive storage.

Barbara King_Searles,

Interest on how you like your inductions cooktop. The research I did on the induction cooktop everyone seemed to love them, very close to cooking with gas. One concern I have is I read they can be noisy. I will not change my mind on the cooktop, I will have to find a way to buffer the noise, most everyone in my family have excellent hearing and prone to have bad headaches. I can hear a battery powered clock clicking off the minutes, which can drive me nuts.

This house will be my forever home(sounds better than me saying I am going to die in this house), and planning energy efficient options to save me money down the road. Has the induction cook top affected you electric bill very much? I also like the low maintence, no cooked on food spills, and sleek profile. Did you have a much of battle with sales people and contractors about your cooktop? I do not see it as anybody's business what I am doing and paying for, but that has not stopped anyone from telling me what I should do.

Thank you for any input.

I love your attitude! We went with a Bosch model and were replacing an ancient electric cooktop. There is minimal noise and I call it magic cooking -- everything turns out perfect! My husband, a former chef/restaurant owner, was initially upset he there were some skillets he couldn't use, but once we replaced them with induction-friendly skillets, he's satisfied. So, do consider the cost of cookware. You can check your current pans with a magnet, if it sticks, the pan is good. We replaced it our first month in the house, so I don't have electric bill comparisons.

Keep your appliances to a minimum and plan on doing a lot of chopping and grating if you're actually going to cook. :)

Nothing wrong with a well laid out, small kitchen. I think of a super efficient space with the essentials. That's really all you need!

For me, clean-as-you-go was really the main requirement when I had a very small kitchen. Reasonable organization is necessary, of course, but I found it was mainly freed-up counter space that made the most difference in whether the kitchen felt workable or inconvenient.

One positive thing I really noticed was, it felt a lot better to not have several steps to walk, among those three main points - stove, fridge, sink. That sounds silly, to count steps so to speak; but the tight choreography just felt great.

When there was more than one person in the space, it was fascinating to see how some people were very able to stay in a mutual flow, and others seemed to have no idea how to do so.

I have always had a small kitchen (one in married student housing was literally a closet converted to a kitchen). The best kitchen was renovated using IKEA cabinets and their pantry cabinet with pull out drawers, a few open shelves, a tall thin freezer-on-the-bottom Liebher fridge and smaller stove (no DW). That condo kitchen also had to house the stackable washer &dryer! That was the most efficient room I ever used.

*Liebherr

oh Edithsmom!! I totally understand the student housing kitchen!!! oh, does one not long for the old days? :) the tiny fridge! no storage space!! no counter space!!!

The only counter space was the built in drain area to the porcelain sink! When the small oven door was open, it touched the opposite wall. I was a young bride who didn't know how to cook ANYTHING, so a larger kitchen would have been wasted on me.

Make things work double duty. Use platters for wall deco....remove them when you need a platter, etc. when you really start to enjoy cooking....move.

Purchase or make counter type covers for the sink and stove- more counter space when you need it. If you have a lot of place settings, silverware, glasses etc that you use infrequently and can't part with, store them elsewhere between uses so your kitchen space is utilized more effectively. Multipurpose appliances and cookware. Use the walls. Enjoy your efficient space, I love mine, my kitchen is about 40 ft square and I love it, and I cook often.

When I renovated my tiny kitchen this spring, the best change I made was using two large, deep drawers for my pots and pans and various large bowls. They are now so much more accessible!
I also bought every space saving organizational rack available, decided which ones would best fit in my cupboards and then returned the rest to the store. :-D
I ended up using only 3 of them...one that allowed me to stack plates, a multitiered rack for canned goods and a wonderful little stepped spice rack. Plus, some cuphooks.