Space saving tricks for super small kitchen?

16 years ago

My apartment has a small kitchen, about 6'x8', with two doors, a window and a shallow closet outfitted with shelves as a pantry.

Everything works, so my landlord isn't interested in replacing any of the appliances, but I'm looking for ways to make it more functional. (And make it look a little nicer!)

I have several hanging racks on the walls for tools (measuring cups, spoons, etc.) and I have a drop leaf table turned sideways under the window, with the theory that I can pull up the leaf for temporary work space, even tho' it's the wrong height. Underneath the table I have stacked wood shoe racks, that I use to store a lot of equipment. I also store a lot of things on the top of the cabinets. (Food processor, wok, box of seldom used wine glasses, etc.)

It works (altho' I do most of my prep work by laying a large cutting board over the sink) but it's not great. And it really looks like a college-dorm hodge podge. And there seem to be piles of stuff on the few available surfaces.

Any hope of turning this into a pleasant looking, functional kitchen, or is it simply too small to do without remodeling? I'd love to hear what worked for you, especially if you have pictures -- I'm always looking for more ideas.

Thanks!

[Here's a few shots to show you what I'm working with]

East wall with spices and utensils:

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Over the stove, on the south wall:

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Looking north, from the dining room (you can see a corner of the pantry at left)

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Comments (6)

fran1523
16 years ago
It seems like you've done your best to make the most of your space. Would peg board help by any chance to hang stuff on? My only other comment would be do you really have to have a wok and a food processor and stuff that is only used for one purpose. It's amazing how little you can do without if you put your mind to it. Of course, if you already own the stuff it doesn't help much. Would your landlord allow you to paint the walls? Maybe a fresh color would make you feel better about the space? Hopefully this kitchen is only temporary and some day you will have the kitchen of your dreams.
alison
Original Author
16 years ago
Stuff is an issue -- the appliances and the like are all things that I've been giving by well-meaning friends who know how much I like to cook. I've re-gifted some of it -- the cappucino maker, the coffee maker, the George Foreman grill -- but I could probably prune a fewmore things like the wok. (I've also moved some things, like the waffle iron I love but only use 4-5 a year, and the fancy glasses, to the front hall closet on the other end of the apartment. Not convenient, but it looks a little better!)

Pegboard might be an option -- and my landlord might like the fact that it means fewer holes in the brick wall.

Painting is a good suggetion, too. I've thought about that -- mostly about painting the foogly cabinets. The cabinet doors are actually plastic! (The last time I did a really deep cleaning/de-greasing, they ended up several different colors -- all equally ugly -- of brown.)

The one improvement I was able to talk the landlord into was finally removing the carpet in their. Not only was it unhygenic -- it was a truely nasty brown plaid! You have to wonder what they were thinking when they put that in....

Thanks for the comments!
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plllog
16 years ago
I can't tell if the pantry has a door but you were showing us the shelves or if it's open. One thing you can do to cut down on the appearance of clutter is to put blinds over the cabinet tops and the pantry (if the latter has no door). It's inexpensive and landlord friendly :).
kren_pa
16 years ago
used to have an apartment with the same size kitchen!! yikes it is small. hubby has a bad habit of actually using all those specialty appliances. we had to figure out which ones would stay in the kitchen and which had to be stored in the clothes closet, in their boxes. if you have the inclination, take everything out of the kitchen. put up your curtain, ask landlord if you can remove and spraypaint cab doors with lawn chair spray paint (krylon). i am a landlord and if someone asked, i would say no, but i would be willing to spray them myself if tenant cleaned them first. then slowly move appliances back in when you use them. depending on how small the kitchen is, everything that comes back in the first week (two weeks?) can stay. everything else, store elsewhere.
the exception is spices. spices are the biggest problem in a small kitchen, i believe and there really is no other place for them. good luck! kren
shoshanadh
16 years ago
Well your kitchen is one foot larger in either direction than mine! I love to cook so I had to make it work. It's also a rental. I got two attractive tension rods (Umbra brand)and "s" hooks and put one across my window and one above my stove between the cabinet to its left and wall on its right. I hang utensils and a lightweight stainless bowl, strainer, etc from them. I have an Ikea rail system that I've grown to appreciate. I have a basket hanging from it that I use to hold onions and such. To one wall, I attached a narrow (12" x 24") piece of butcher block as a shelf using "elbow" brackets so I can fold it down when not in use. I have a stainless steel wall pocket, intended for file folders, and I use that to hold recipes. There's never enough room - it always looks cluttered but I have to live with that. Check out apartmenttherapy.com for its "small cool kitchen" contest entries.
shoshanadh
16 years ago
Here are a few pictures of the kitchen I describe above.

Space saving tricks for super small kitchen?

Comments (6)

fran1523

alison
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Space saving tricks for super small kitchen?

Comments (6)

fran1523

alisonOriginal Author

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alison
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