The size and shape of your kitchen will ultimately determine how you design it to create a practical working space. If you don’t have much space, you’re going to need some advice specifically tailored to small kitchens to help you make the most of what you’ve got. When it comes to designing and using your kitchen space effectively, start with your small kitchen ideas on a budget for optimising your kitchen’s storage style.
Price is obviously going to be one of your biggest concerns when researching small kitchen ideas, but even if you’ve only got a small budget, you don’t have to skimp on quality. You may think the large DIY stores will be the only places that will have affordable kitchens, but that isn’t the case when exploring small kitchen ideas on a budget.
In fact, in the long run, getting a bespoke, high-quality kitchen designed by an independent company could work out cheaper than buying and fitting through a big discounter.
Affordability and high quality go hand-in-hand with the Nobilia range. Nobilia is an entry-level kitchen range that offers high-quality and stylish alternatives to brands such as Wren or Magnet. The Schüller C Range is perfect if you’ve got a slightly higher budget and would like a greater choice. Or if you have a larger budget, treat your kitchen to Schüller’s Next 125 Range which offers high-end design and innovation for almost half the price of its nearest rivals.
When it comes to balancing the cost of your appliances and your kitchen furniture, we are firm believers in quality over quantity when it comes to outfitting your small kitchen space. Using the room and the space within it to its greatest potential is fundamental when you don’t have an excesses amount of space to work with.
The colour you choose when designing your dream kitchen determines whether it will look smaller or bigger. White walls make a kitchen look bigger so can prove a great choice in the design process; dark colours create a more intimate feel and therefore can make the room appear smaller.
Taking it a step further, by utilising light and reflective materials such as mirrored glass splashbacks coupled with a minimalistic design, you will ensure your new kitchen looks a bit bigger.
A great design for a small kitchen should be one that’s easy to keep tidy. Counter-intuitively, wall cabinets are not a good idea as they encroach on space. A design that accommodates open shelving makes a massive impact in a small kitchen as it helps to open up the space. On a practical level, open shelving will also encourage you to keep things tidy!
Planning is crucial when it comes to designing a small affordable kitchen. You will need a clever layout that enables you to integrate appliances and store all your gadgets, crockery and groceries at the same time as maximising the flow and space of the areas you have to work in, making them as user-friendly as possible.
If it is designed well, a small kitchen will look neat and compact. Using shelving units and stylish cabinets can not only add character and a design flair to your kitchen, but it can also provide necessary storage space for all your pots, pans and utensils. You can also use shelving that creates storage space for your appliances in a way that doesn’t break your budget and is affordable.
The little details are quite important when designing a small kitchen, and there are a few tricks you can use that will help make it look more spacious. For example, choosing units with handleless doors helps to create sleek lines that don’t break up the room, giving it a larger appearance; the use of light colours will help it look bigger; clever use of lighting will keep it brighter and using larger floor and wall tiles will also create an illusion of space.
Thinking about a kitchen revamp but stuck for ideas? Check out a real-life customer kitchen designed by us. With our expertise, we’ve created a beautiful, functional kitchen that meets the customer’s needs. Get inspired and see what we can create for you!