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Don't be discouraged if you have a small kitchen and are planning a kitchen renovation. Although you may be limited on square footage, that does not mean you are limited on creativity.

With the right game plan, you can use your space to its fullest and create a small kitchen with all the storage, style, and space you need.

There are challenges to working with a small kitchen, most notably storage and prep area. Both these challenges can be alleviated using clever food prep surface solutions and innovative storage ideas.

We will talk in more detail about each of those below. With a well-planned layout and efficient solutions for all your storage needs, you will have a kitchen space that feels much larger than its actual square footage.

Deslaurier has over four decades of experience helping design customized kitchens in Ottawa and Renfrew. We take great pride in our profound industry knowledge and being a part of various kitchen designs or renovations. 

Let's dive into the challenges and the solutions to renovating a small kitchen space and how to create a kitchen that feels like your happy place.

The Best Layout for a Small Kitchen

Kitchens come in all shapes and sizes, including galley, L-shaped, and U-shaped. Not all are created equal regarding their suitability for a small kitchen layout.

U-shaped kitchens tend to work best for large kitchens, providing ample countertop space and room for large islands in the middle. Unfortunately, it does not work well for small kitchens.

L-shaped and galley kitchens allow for the most efficient use of space for small kitchens. Because they tend to be longer than they are wide, you can place the most amount of countertop and cabinet space in a small square footage.

If you’ve never heard of the work triangle, then it is a term that will be very important in your small kitchen renovation. The work triangle in your kitchen refers to the spacing and setup of your sink, stove, and refrigerator.

If you’ve ever tried to cook in a kitchen designed inefficiently, you may have experienced frustration when everything is too far or even placed too closely together to work well.

When designing your renovation, think about the ease of removing something from the fridge and getting it to your prep space and then taking pots and pans and moving them to your sink for easy cleanup. This is also important when rinsing pasta or filling large pots with water.

Open shelving versus cabinets is another option to consider when designing your kitchen renovation layout. There are pros and cons to both.

Open shelving has become incredibly popular in the last several years. It can help a kitchen feel more spacious and light but does have the drawback that you will want the dishes you display to be aesthetically pleasing. They can also get dusty more quickly and require more frequent cleaning.

Cabinets may take up more space in a small kitchen, but they also, if done correctly, can have a clean, minimalist look. Well-designed cabinets can also allow for more storage, less worry about displaying perfectly coordinated dishes, and less frequent cleaning.

Creating zones in your kitchen makes your small space more expansive and efficient. These can be designed to best suit how you use your kitchen. A zone for preparation, like chopping vegetables and fruit, can be in one.

Other popular zones in kitchen design include your cleaning zone with your sink or dishwasher and your consumables zone, where you keep your food in cupboards all centrally located.

Strategically placing your appliances also significantly impacts space saving and efficiency. When you work on the design for your kitchen renovation, discussing with a designer how you plan to use your kitchen is essential. For more design ideas for small kitchens, check out this article.

Creating Additional Prep Space

If you love to cook, then prep space in a small kitchen can seem like a frustrating challenge to overcome.

Luckily, with a few ingenious options, you can easily have plenty of room to prep, place small appliances, and cook a restaurant-worthy meal.

One of the most accessible and affordable ways to create additional prep space is utilizing fold-down tables in your kitchen. Mounted to the wall with hinges, these can lay flat against the wall when not in use and pop open to reveal extra space for all your chopping, mixing, and any other prep work you need to do.

A bonus is they can serve as a makeshift table if guests would like to sit and enjoy a drink while you are busy in the kitchen, or you can recruit them to help!

If your small kitchen will feature an island, use the space underneath with built-in cabinets or baskets if you opt for a more open look.

Maximizing Cabinet Space and Storage

When fully maximizing the storage possibilities in your small kitchen, you must make the best use of your cabinets.

Cabinets with built-in racks, pull-out drawers in lowers that make accessing even things in the far back easy, and adjustable shelves mean that you will use every last inch of storage you have.

A great way to do this is not to waste space by leaving several inches at the top of your cabinets just collecting dust. Extend them to the ceiling! To learn more on how to do this, check out this article. 

Incorporating lazy susans and cabinets that fit snugly in corners can be another innovative way to utilize space well.

Lazy susans are wonderful in cabinets close to your cooktop as they are an easy way to store spices or cooking oils for easy access.