5 Ways to Make Your Kitchen Look and Feel Bigger

De-Clutter and Keep Things Organized

Never underestimate the power of having an organized kitchen. Picture two contrasting work surfaces: one has spices, dishes, wine, recipe books and electric appliances on the countertop while the other only has a coffee maker. Which do you think will look larger? The second one, of course. This is because cramped or overcrowded work surfaces tend to make the room feel smaller than it is.

If you want to make your kitchen appear larger, consider taller shelves which can provide for extra storage. You can also consider storage rack systems to maximize your limited cabinet space. Furthermore, you don’t have to spend an arm and a leg to achieve this. There are several items that you can add to your cabinets to provide for extra storage for very little money. For example, you can install hooks under your sink where you can hang some of your shallow pans. You can install tiered spice racks in your cabinets (or to the back of your cabinet doors) to soak up every bit of vertical space and keep things organized. Be creative in order to keep as much off of the countertops as possible.

Adding Space by Subtraction

The more furniture and countertop appliances you add to your kitchen, the smaller it will feel and the less functional it will be. In fact, adding too many items reduces “the flow” of your space and clutters up your work surfaces - making your kitchen look smaller and function less efficiently.

Major appliances come in standard sizes so there’s nothing much you can do about those items. However, you can opt for a foldable island kitchen cart to give you more countertop space for prepping meals when you need it but can be stashed away when you don’t.  Don't have room (or the need) for a full-time kitchen table, you could consider a fold-out table for two which provides a place for dining as well as extra storage. For those kitchen countertop appliances that you don't use very often, consider storing them in a closet in the hall or another room. This will clear up your countertop space as well as reallocate kitchen cabinet storage for things you use more often. There are many space-friendly solutions in the marketplace to help you maximize your small space. Be creative!

Another way to create space is to add open shelves. These open up the walls and make the kitchen feel visually larger and there are is a huge variety of styles available. If open shelves aren’t your thing, you can opt for a more traditional approach of adding glass door inserts for your upper cabinets. Transparent, translucent and opaque glass doors have the same effect. First, they reflect light and make the room look larger and brighter. Second, glass draws in your gaze which makes it feel like the kitchen doesn’t end where the cabinet door begins.