Making the most of a little kitchen

Have you got a small kitchen that’s desperately in need of brightening up? If you think a small kitchen limits your options when it comes to kitchen design – well, obviously there are a few restrictions. You do have to use creativity to make an impact in a tight space, but with a little imagination, practical advice from kitchen design experts, and realistic expectations, you can have a fabulous kitchen at any size.

Top tips from kitchen designers about maximising a smaller kitchen space include:

1. Plan the room carefully. It’s actually harder to design a smaller kitchen and fit everything in than it is to let your imagination run wild with a huge space. Think of maximising storage using clever solutions like the MultiMatic system from SieMatic which really makes the most of awkward cupboard spaces and restricted rooms – and is completely customisable to suit your room.

2. Make a wish list. Get busy on Pinterest and come up with ideas for everything you’d like in your dream small kitchen. You won’t be able to have it all, but from your dream list you can start slimming down your list and when you’re ready, present your designer with a list of must-haves to work with.

3. Don’t be afraid to spend on appliances: Good quality appliances like Gaggeneau, Miele and Wolf will add a touch of luxury along with reliability. So you can’t have a fabulous island kitchen just yet – you can still have a top of the range freezer, or a fabulous cooker. Many of the top European appliance brands are well known for their space-saving ability along with energy savings and oodles of style.

4. Keep your counters clutter free. Investing in great storage will give you the option to have some of your more stylish gadgets out on show, while hiding the everyday things away from sight.

5. Keep lighting compact too. Pendant lighting looks stunning but can take up a lot of space in a room and somehow make a small room look even more cramped. Go for recess and under cabinet lighting, spotlights and cleverly placed lighting that makes the kitchen look bigger rather than smaller.

6. Keep it simple: A minimalist style is what works best in a small kitchen, with simple lines, minimum fuss and nothing that takes up too much room. Clever cabinets that keep everything hidden away, coupled with efficient storage will give the illusion of more room that there actually is.

For more advice on making the most of any size kitchen, speak to the experts at Paul James Studios.

Crazy Kitchen Gadgets

Somewhere, right now, there is a designer tasked with coming up with a new idea for a kitchen gadget. They might be sitting around bored on a Friday afternoon, thinking about it, and suddenly be hit with inspiration…for something like this…

Pop Up Hot Dog Cooker

If you’re a fan of hot dogs, you’ll be excited to know that someone thought you could do with a Pop-Up Hot Dog Cooker. It does what you would expect such a gadget to do; gently warms your hot dog bun at the same time as heating your frankfurter, but also takes up a lot of space where you could be placing something classier and way more useful. Unlikely to appear on any professional kitchen designer’s wish list…

The Egg Cuber

Really? Despite eggs being available perfectly shaped and naturally packaged already, someone, somewhere decided that they needed a new image. Hence the Egg Cuber, which is perfect for changing a standard oval-shaped egg into a square one, if indeed you feel the need to do something so pointless.

The Banana Slicer

You know how laborious chopping a banana is, right? That’s a few minutes of your life that you could spend doing something else. That’s the only possible reason you could need the Hutzler 571 Banana Slicer, unless it’s to take all the pressure away from using sharp objects in the kitchen.

Automatic Cream Whipping Can

Far be it from us to point out that all you need to save your wrists when whipping cream is a simple electric hand mixer. The advantage of using one of those is that it does other things too, like mix up cakes and meringues and all sorts. Which you can’t do with a cream whipping can. Unless anyone can tell us any different.

One Step Sweetcorn Kernel Remover

The only possible reason for using a contraption to strip the kernels from your corn on the cob has to be that you’re not allowed near sharp objects. Most people we know would just go for the ‘among friends’ option and strip that cob with their teeth, but if you’re too genteel to go for the low-tech option, this gadget could be right up your alley…

Yes, all of these gadgets really do exist and as far as we’re concerned, they are all likely to end up in the kitchen cupboard you never go in. But if you have limitless kitchen storage space and a liking for daft gadgets that serve very little purpose, they could well be the perfect kitchen accessory for you…
For advice on what SHOULD go in your kitchen, speak to our kitchen designers at Paul James Studios!