Small kitchen
Every free bit of countertop counts here, so anything that can go up on the wall or behind cabinet doors should. Light solid-color fronts and good lighting over the work zone make a tight space feel calmer.
Ideas
Projects and ideas
No two kitchens are the same, even when the homes look like twins. One has a window right over the countertop, another has no window at all, a third opens onto the living room, a fourth is tucked into an older house with crooked walls. A good idea always starts with what you have: the light, the walkways, the family's habits. Below is one thought for each type of kitchen that you can try against your own plan.
In the kitchen, the winning idea is not the one that looks best in a picture but the one that saves you extra steps.
How this section works: we offer one idea for each type of kitchen, in general terms, without brands, models, sizes or prices. Before ordering anything, test the idea against your own measurements and walkways.
Ideas by kitchen type
Short starting points for different kitchens and dining areas.
Open-plan kitchen
To keep cooking from intruding on downtime, separate the work zone at least visually: with different lighting, flooring or a dining table on the boundary. A good range hood, switched on before you start cooking, keeps the living room fabrics from smelling like dinner.
Kitchen in an older home
Crooked walls and unexpected boxed-in pipes are better found while measuring than while assembling cabinets. Before a new kitchen goes in, have an electrician and a plumber look at the old wiring and pipes.
Dining area and table
The table is the heart the home lives around. Put it where open doors and the path to the sink will not get in the way, and give it its own light fixture, separate from the task lighting.
Kitchen with a window by the sink
Washing dishes with a view outside is nicer, but moving the sink there is a job for a plumber and sometimes a remodeling question. Think about how the window will open and where splashes on the sill will go.
Pantry storage
Grains, canned goods and jars are easier to manage in one place than scattered across every cabinet. A tall pantry unit anchored to the wall works, or a nook in the hallway next to the kitchen.
Young helper's corner
If your child likes to help, set aside a safe spot away from the stove and sharp knives: a stretch of the table where they can rinse vegetables or lay out napkins with an adult nearby.
Read next
- Planning
The order of a kitchen renovation: measuring, work zones, lighting and outlets, work by professionals, sequence of work and final check.
- Materials
Countertops, cabinet fronts, backsplash, sink, hardware and kitchen lighting: what to look for when choosing. Our article list is here too.
- Care
Caring for countertops, the sink, range hood, oven, tile grout, cabinet fronts and the dining table, by season and by situation.
What we rely on
- Building management rules and local remodeling regulations
- Domzhizn editorial materials
Domzhizn advice is written in general terms and based on the instructions of furniture, appliance and material manufacturers and on widely accepted kitchen safety rules. Check the manual for how to clean a specific surface or service an appliance, ask your building management about remodeling, and leave gas, electrical work and water connections to professionals.