Maximising Small Spaces with Bespoke Kitchens
Do you have a small space that you’re unsure how to make the best use of? We find a lot of people wonder if it’s worth investing in a bespoke kitchen when the space they’re working with is small. The short answer - absolutely! It could even be said that it can be ever more worthwhile investing in bespoke in this case, to get the very best that you can from your living space.
More than ever, designing for small spaces is all about thoughtful design. We try to strike a balance between:
Maximising storage - often in small spaces storage comes at a premium
Keeping the space feeling light and open - we don’t want to crowd your room
Making space for essential appliances - considering what feels essential, whether appliances can be multifunctional or small-scale
Allowing natural and efficient movement through the space - making sure the layout of your space doesn’t come at a cost.
We wanted to take you through some examples and ideas to think about when planning a project in a small space.
Small bespoke kitchens - what can you do?
While it can be sometimes tempting to wish for more space, there are some distinct advantages to having a small kitchen. A particularly impactful knock on effect is if you get the design right, they can be really efficient and pleasurable to work in. It’s also super satisfying to know you’ve made great use of the space.
Let’s start with the cabinetry
As a general principle in kitchens of all sizes, we like to try to keep the cabinetry low, and this is all the more important in small kitchens. It means the space is left feeling as open and spacious as possible, rather than having the feeling of tall furniture looming over you.
Where there are tall units, we often find they work best in a corner that’s your least favourite spot to spend time in! Often it might be where there’s less natural light, or with your back facing the room. Using this space for tall units means you won’t have this space as a workstation, nor will they be blocking natural light or a nice view.
Need to make use of the walls for extra storage? It can be nice to allow some breathing space around any wall units, and think about using materials like reeded glass to keep them feeling light and discrete. Otherwise we love the use of floating shelves in any size kitchen, as they can be an attractive way to increase storage space without adding anything visually heavy to the wall.
Wall cabinets like this one from Station Road can be perfect for a small room
Colour and light
We tend to choose light or bright colours for small spaces as they reflect more light, and help a small room feel bigger. However, it’s not a hard and fast rule - dark colours can look great on lower cabinets, you may just want to pair them with something brighter above the worktops to help keep the room feeling as spacious as possible.
How does the light move across the room throughout the day? Are there any dark spots? Making the most of the daylight can really help in a small space, and ensuring that it’s not obscured by any tall cabinetry. Having a variety of lighting options can be really helpful too - a mixture of overhead and task lighting - carefully concealed underneath shelving or cabinets - is a great combination in a kitchen.
Smart use of appliances
It’s so important to carefully consider what appliances matter most to you when planning a small kitchen. Don’t mind washing up? Maybe you can do without a dishwasher. Not used that food processor for a few years? Time to let it go! As chef Shaun Hill says "Choose your equipment carefully. So many people buy things that gather dust, such as juicers – I've made that mistake." He should know - he ran his Michelin-starred restaurant from a 3m x 2m kitchen for years (he also points out another big benefit “There are fewer things to turn into a disaster zone, and it doesn't take hours to clean”!).
There are also some amazing multi-functional appliances. A Quooker tap gives you boiling water on demand, allowing you to get rid of your kettle and so decluttering the worktop. Or a stove-top kettle can help clear up your worktop at a cheaper cost. A washer-dryer can help save space by combining two appliances in one, or removing the need for you to find space to hang clothes elsewhere.
Make friends with small things! Slim-line dishwashers and pull-out bin systems are readily available, as well as smaller sinks, hobs and ovens. Choosing a few of these instead of full-size appliances can have a big knock on effect on the remaining space in your kitchen to use as storage or workspace.
Choosing an undermount sink without a built-in draining area allows you to use the draining space as a worktop when you don’t have dishes drying. You can even buy sinks that have accessories to convert the sink into a workspace or a draining area when it’s not in use.
One last tip on appliances for small spaces: drawer dishwashers. The way they pull open can be so much easier in a small space than a typical dishwasher. They come in both single and double drawer versions which means you can choose how much of a cabinet you’d like to dedicate to a dishwasher. We love them!
Clever storage ideas
This is where designing for small spaces gets really fun. How best can you use the space around all of the essential appliances? There are often some awkward small spaces left over. Why not add some door-backed pantry storage in the cabinet concealing the boiler? Or, like we did in our Paddock Road project, build a concealed spice rack in the remaining space in front of the extractor.
A little spice rack conceals the extractor in Paddock Road
Drawers are brilliant in small bespoke kitchens, because they can be built to make the most of the space around essential appliances - below the oven (perfect for baking trays and cake tins) or above the bin system (for bins liners and all the messy bits and bobs you don’t know where else to put). They’re also brilliant for making the full use of the depth of the cabinets - making it easy to access things that would otherwise get stuck at the back of a shelf.
We often find that there are slim spaces left over in a kitchen that can be hard to use. We love designing pull-out pantry storage for these areas, which can be great places to store tall, slim things like oils and vinegars, flours and cereals. A space that’s too narrow for a pull-out pantry could be used to store chopping boards or trays. There’s always something useful to be done! Take a look at the pull-out system we designed to fit around the fridge-freezer in our Lewes High Street project below.
We love designing for small spaces. The potential for how much the space can be improved is huge, and we love the challenge it presents. They present an ideal opportunity to do something bespoke, transforming the space into a place you want to spend time in and love using. If you have a project you’re thinking about, do get in touch - we’d love to hear from you.