The kitchen happens to be one of the busiest places in the house. Sadly, in most houses, it is relegated to a very small space that leaves you with very few choices when it comes to decorating the area. Not to worry though for there are plenty of ways you can make your kitchen look larger than it actually is. Dr Prem and community suggests 7 awesome ways this can be achieved with minimal effort.
Choose Light Colors for the Walls
The very first rule of the thumb when decorating a kitchen is to paint the walls in light shades. Painting the walls in dark colors would make the small space look much smaller. Hence, ditch the bold blacks and reds and opt for soft pastel shades that reflect the light streaming in from a door or window to create more space (or at least the illusion of it).
Choose an Open Floor Plan
The majority of homes today come with open floor plans which allow for the rooms to look larger and airier. Not divided by walls, these rooms would look brighter and more spacious. The same principle can apply to your kitchen. Consider choosing an open floor plan that will allow your kitchen to share floor room with the adjoining room. This will create an illusion of a larger space to cook your favorite meals in.
Consider Open Shelves
While choosing cabinets for the shelves may seem as a trendy option, it may reduce the free space in the kitchen to a great extent. Your best bet in this case, would be to opt for open shelves that add to the total space in the kitchen, thus making it look larger.
Try Glass Doors
Of course, if you prefer to keep cabinets in your kitchen, try choosing those that come with glass doors. This would let you store your kitchen essentials properly while still enjoying a visually large cooking space. This trick also works for open floor plans wherein you can create a visual line of demarcation between the kitchen the adjoining room with a sliding glass screen which can be pulled back when not in need and vice versa.
Use Miniature Appliances
Unless you cook for an entire army every day, don’t try stuffing your kitchen with large sized appliances that will only block out more space. Choose mini appliances for your needs, including a small sized dish washer and stove. You can also opt for appliances that multitask, thus preventing the need to buy separate appliances for separate chores. This will help reduce clutter in the kitchen, making it look more spacious.
Consider Smart Storage Options
A small kitchen will leave you with very little choice when it comes to storage. While you may keep all the essential appliances and other kitchen essentials in the cabinets, you would nowhere else but the countertop to place the items on in case you run out of cabinet space. This will lead to more clutter, thus making your kitchen look smaller than it actually is.
One way to thwart this is to work with what you have. If standard storage doesn’t work out well, consider vertical storage in the form of racks. Choose a kitchen countertop that comes with open space at the bottom to store items.
Consider hanging all your pots and pans on a frame suspended from the ceiling. In addition to reducing clutter and making your kitchen more spacious, this will lend a unique rustic look to the cooking space.
Use Proper Lighting
Most of us think that overhead lighting is all that a kitchen needs. On the contrary, the kitchen would need different lighting options for different areas. While the countertop would need task lighting to highlight the job at hand, the eating area will need soft, pendant lights to make the food look more appetizing.
Similarly, incandescent lighting , floor lighting, ceiling lighting and cabinet lighting options can help bounce the light off solid surfaces, thus making your kitchen look bright and spacious even at night.
There is no need to worry about getting stuck with a rather small kitchen space. With some really clever décor hacks, you can make your kitchen look larger in no time at all.
