Kitchen Design Ideas for Low Square Footage

Jan 24, 2012 by Frank Scherer

The Japanese have been doing it for decades now so they for sure got the big head start on everybody. It’s the high cost of land in cities like Tokyo combined with premium prices that they have to pay for building materials like number, cement, and petroleum-based roofing products. Prices that beginning in the 1950s have had home designers in Japan coming up with clever kitchen design ideas that made prudent use of every square inch that they had available.

“Whether you have a galley in a high rise or a small space in the suburbs, these decorating ideas will help you end up with a delectable kitchen, cooked just the way you like it.
The color of walls, appliances, counters, stools — even the dishtowels — can change the atmosphere and perceived size of the kitchen. Pastels or light colors, with good doses of white, reflect light drawing the eyes upward and make the room seem taller”.

So a whole lot of tried and proven discoveries have been made along the way and the most important one of them all is that it can be done.

That you can have a kitchen that’s roomy, comfortable and a pleasure to work in even if it is somewhat lacking for floor space.

Then another surprise discovery that was made early on, is that you don’t have to sacrifice on conveniences and appliances if you’re just willing to think out-of-the-box.

Like the Japanese, think in terms of square inches rather than square footage while re-examining old beliefs regarding “how, what and where” everything in your kitchen should be located.

So you’re going to have to be willing to accept new ideas because for a lot of folks out there who grew in homes where square footage in the kitchen wasn’t an issue older concepts all to often meant bigger was better.

Large appliances like stoves, and refrigerators tended to be located upfront and center where they often functioned as showpieces in a nice big roomy kitchen.

Today however, the operative phrase is “less is more” when capitalizing on kitchen design ideas that make maximum use of minimum square footage. More because so many of the newer technological advancements in today’s kitchen appliances and architectural design concepts for smaller kitchens actually allow you to get more from less. At the same time though, many of the more sensible developments revolve around simply eliminating non-prudent use of space.

Kitchen Island Design Ideas

For too long now kitchen islands have suffered from an image problem and you may have even been involved with perpetuating it. The perceived notion that they were a design feature that required large floor area. A luxury item if you will, for those who have the space to spare because all too often they were approached as such. Just a big counter in the center of the kitchen with perhaps some cabinet space or shelving underneath for storage.

“The kitchen island’s counter top can function as a surface for serving meals. Choose it wisely, and it will not only come with functional benefits, but with an aesthetic effect that can change the whole appearance of your kitchen for the better!”

So take a look at some of the newer kitchen island design ideas that make use of the full potential that they actually have for relocating appliances, and convenience features away from walls and counters.

Areas that once they’re freed up offer more freedom of movement and work space. Also somewhere along the way someone discovered that kitchen island design ideas that were curved tended to be more fluid and space friendly than the classic rectangle box shape.

Another surprise about kitchen islands is how much you can cram into them and get away with it.

A stove, downdraft vent, cabinets, microwave, and even a small refrigerator can be fit into one, and that’s all at the same time. Features and appliances that for some reason we’ve been led to believe have to be taking up space along perimeter walls. So now there are loads of clever kitchen island design ideas that are being used to actually make smaller kitchens bigger.

Kitchen Design Ideas On a Budget

Movie set and soundstage designers have for years been using nothing more than paint, lighting, and clever use of geometry to create the illusion of space, and now you can too for creative kitchen design ideas on a budget. Employing lighting schemes that for instance direct your field of vision up and out, rather than down and in, and also using color schemes to add breadth and volume to confined areas.

So even if you don’t have the money to spend on things like an island or scaled down appliances, if you’re willing to “think out-of-the-box” while making use of relatively inexpensive materials you can in fact make your kitchen at least appear to be larger. Then if you combine that with some common sense tactics like uncluttering encounters and removing “light and sight blocking” curtains from windows you can add even more visual and “real space” to open up your kitchen and make it more roomy and comfortable to work in.

“Decorating your kitchen can be one of the most expensive projects you’ll ever undertake as a home decorator. On a tight budget? Here are easy and creative ways you can update your kitchen, and create a cozy, inviting space for your family.”

Or if you have some money to spend but are still on a tight budget things like replacing solid wood doors on cabinets with glass can work great to open your kitchen up.

Then there’s other frugal decorating tricks like adding hanging wall art and strategically placed potted plants or dried flower arrangements that also function to draw the eye out and away from the center of the room to give the illusion of more volume and space.

Then just as there are things that can do make a room look larger, there are also things that can work to make it appear smaller.

Things that you can simply remove and it doesn’t get any cheaper than that. For instance what about removing the door if there is one to open it for a broader field of vision while allowing for freer movement when entering and leaving. Floor rugs also all too often direct the eye down which in turn can accentuate the smallness of a room.

At the same time though, keep in mind that while these low-budget and no budget techniques that you can use to give the illusion of more room in your kitchen do work they by no means work as well as the above listed kitchen design ideas that require money to implement. Even so, if you’re willing to give some new ideas a try, even if you have little or no money to spend you can add both real space as well as the illusion of space to your kitchen.