8 Ways to Make a Kitchen (Seem) Larger

07 Aug 8 Ways to Make a Kitchen (Seem) Larger

Clever design tricks for the illusion of spaciousness

It doesn’t matter what size your kitchen is, there are ways to make it appear different than its true form. By implementing certain maneuvers, it’s almost as if you can alter one’s perception and make them believe a room is bigger than it really is. There are basic strategies for achieving this illusion. Keeping the walls white is sort of an old standard, but it’s a great place to start. Of course there are other, more clever methods of making the space seem larger. Let’s take a look at a few them:

1. Limit the Hardware
Minimize the amount of stuff on your counters, especially if it’s very crowded. For the absolute best results clear them off completely. Put your countertop appliances away in cabinets. You may also consider replacing the cabinet’s handles/knobs with touch-activated latches, this will further streamline the kitchen, making it appear open and airy.

2. Use a Small Dishwasher
There’s no point in having a standard or large size dishwasher in a smaller kitchen, select one that is less obtrusive and blends in. Pick up a condo sized machine that features a petite 18” width. It will make ample room for additional storage, and frankly it’s just more efficient – no more running half loads and wasting a ton of water! To make sure that you conserve water, call on an Indoor Plumbing Repairs expert to handle any leaks or plumbing issues you have in your kitchen before installing your appliances.

3. Use Shallow Cabinets
There are many cabinet size options currently available. No longer are we stuck with the one large variety so often thrown in homes. Cabinets with as short as a 12 inch depth are out there and are perfect for helping create the large kitchen illusion, especially when you use them in place of the former bulky lower cabinets. It really opens the area up to create more floor space. When you consider how difficult it is to reach the back of standard 24” lower cabinets anyway, the half-sized options simply make sense.

4. Embrace the Skinny Fridge!
Using the same concept as the previous tips, a smaller fridge that doesn’t bulge out and take up a lot of room would be much more ideal than a standard large fridge. You can find one with as little depth as 28 inches. Pop this baby in the kitchen and observe how the area appears to grow.

5. Install a Reflective Backsplash
When the kitchen is actually accommodating people it feels tight, possibly too small. Having a mirrored backsplash opens the room up as if it were super expansive. Use a tinted mirror glass for a more subdued less obvious effect.

6. Rely on Shelves
If you can use shelves in place of upper cabinets for the majority of the kitchen, you will create a significant amount of free space that greatly contributes to the open feel. Plus, they will easily support tableware, storage jars, cookbooks all the stuff you’d typically stick in a cabinet anyway. Even if you were to just remove the doors of your open shelves you would be creating a wider open feel.

7. Glass Door Cabinets
If removing the cabinets doors as suggested in the last example isn’t possible, how about replacing the wooden doors with glass? In fact, it’s easy – just switch out the front flat inserts with glass plates. Not only will it appear more open, you can showcase your best dinnerware within.

8. Cabinet Lighting
Now that you have cabinets with glass-front panels, add lighting inside. Consider incorporating recessed lighting to the exterior tops and bottoms of the cabinets, too. Kitchen lighting is usually lackluster anyway – brighten it up and make it feel roomy! Hire a residential electrician to properly and safely install your lighting fixtures.

As you can see, you don’t have to feel constricted by the limited space of your kitchen. There’s always a way to tweak the circumstances for a desired effect. By utilizing the right appliances and strategic lighting you can transform a compact area into a spacious living space – and appear to break the kitchen’s rules (of physics)!