10 Tips for Setting Up a Small Kitchen
You’re moving, and you love your new place—but the kitchen is tiny. Even if you love to cook, you can handle this! Remember, “tiny” is known in real estate circles as “cozy.” With some care, your small kitchen can become your favorite kitchen: It’s handy, everything is at arm’s length, and you store less equipment and fewer extras.
We at Few Moves have seen many a small kitchen in our travels, and we know that with a careful setup, your tiny room can be a pleasure to work in and a snap to keep clean. Here are some ideas for setting up your small kitchen.
Put These Items in Your Small Kitchen
Fit in scaled-down appliances. A small refrigerator, stove and pint-sized microwave will look and feel in scale with your small kitchen. Small sinks are available and even half-size dishwashers.
Design extra work space. If you’re short on counter space in your little kitchen, a small island can be rolled into a closet when not in use. Or try a cutting board that fits over the sink and gives you prep space close to the stove.
Use specialty furnishings. Custom or standard corner kitchen drawers or lazy Susans inside your cabinets can free up space that’s otherwise unused. Also helpful are:
- Shelving on backsplashes or small unused corners
- A wall-mounted dish drainer so you don’t lose counter space to drying dishes
- Spice containers attached under shelves with magnets or screws
- A magnetic knife rack
- Baskets that store flatware and utensils upright
Find hang-up space everywhere. Install hooks under shelves and hang mugs, utensils, pots and pans, etc. Bulky pots and pans can hang overhead and in front of the window. Hanging wire baskets can hold tools and foods. You can even hang utensils from magnetic hooks along the side of your fridge.
Make Your Small Kitchen Look Bigger
Use paint to make your kitchen look larger. Clean contemporary lines and a simple monochromatic color scheme with light colors can make your kitchen look larger and more inviting.
Put a spotlight on it. Task lighting is crucial in the small kitchen. Undercounter lights are great ut may make the food look bluish; counteract this with incandescent pendant lights.
Keep These Things Out of Your Small Kitchen
Get rid of the microwave. Real cooking is done on the stove; microwaves are best for warming frozen dinners. Challenge yourself to doing without a microwave and reap the counter real estate.
Move kitchen items outside the small kitchen. If there’s an outlet outside your small kitchen, put up some shelves and move the coffeepot, toaster, or microwave there. You can also store serving dishes, cookbooks, and pans outside the kitchen.
Don’t buy extra tools. So many kitchen items have one use. You don’t need a cheese slicer, really, and you can get by with a blender OR a food processor—you don’t need both.
Pare it down. A paring knife and a chef’s knife will handle almost every cutting need you’ll have in your small kitchen. A serrated knife for bread and tomatoes can be added, and get a butcher’s steel for sharpening.
Are you ready to set up your small kitchen? As you prepare to move, check our blog for other moving tips, and call Few Moves Moving Company at (910) 512-6999 in Wilmington or (919) 999-6201 in Raleigh for a great price on moving with all the care, professional staff, and security you need. Or request a free quote online. Whether it’s local or long-distance, we’re excited to help you with your move!
