"Tricking The Eye": Making Your Kitchen Look Spacious

People who believe that "good things come in tiny packages" probably don't have to deal with the difficulties of a small kitchen, such as crowded cabinets and little counter space. It could be time for a change if your kitchen feels tight these days rather than convenient. There's no need to knock down walls to give a room an impression of spaciousness when some design techniques can help!

Without a major remodel, make the most of a small kitchen. See how to make a small kitchen appear and feel larger with the help of these small kitchen ideas for worktops, cabinetry, and color schemes.

Choose a Light Color Palette

Color, lighting, and the items in the space are the three key design elements that affect how spacious a room feels. Making your kitchen look more open can help you choose neutral or light colors. As whites reflect light and function as a mirror to open up the area, they also provide the impression that the room is "light and airy." Dark, bold walls can make a kitchen appear cramped (or comfortable), whereas lighter colors provide the impression of space. Antique whites, off-whites, creams, soft yellows, or delicate gray colors can help a space feel open.

Accentuate with Lighting

In a kitchen, the highest contrasting point is typically the top of the cabinets because that is where the human eye is normally pulled to in space. The kitchen may appear tight if there is a clear visual divide between the cabinets and the ceiling due to shadows or a high-contrast accent wall. Installation of uplighting above the cabinets will eliminate or lessen the shadows. It creates a soft glow that lessens the optical contrast caused by shadows, giving the impression that the entire space is more open. Similar effects can be achieved by placing countertop lighting beneath upper cabinets: "The light will eliminate contrast and illuminate the cabinet's shadows, creating the illusion of a larger kitchen.

Establish a Home for Everything

Leaving cookbooks, spices, and small appliances out on the counter takes up valuable workspace and highlights the small size of a kitchen.

Besides taller top cabinets, alternatives like concealed storage racks and pull-out or swing-out shelves improve storage capacity behind tidily closed doors.  Shiny surfaces can reflect light, giving the impression that any kitchen is larger. It has a lot to do with how shiny surfaces reflect and picks up the colors of the cabinets and walls. The sheen of stainless steel appliances, for instance, will reflect part of this off-white hue and emphasize the space-enhancing effects of your choice in cabinet color if you have antique white cabinets. For homeowners looking to spruce up their kitchen with a remodeling project, kitchen remodelers can be a great resource. With the help and experience of a licensed kitchen remodeling professional, you can trust that the job will be done right.

Up the Line

Installing tiles in a horizontal pattern will visually enlarge a small kitchen. The horizontal layered bond pattern on the backsplash of this tiny kitchen gives the impression that the room is larger than it is. For coherence, open shelving and butcher block counters match the style.

Expand Out the Floor Area

You'll have more room to move around the kitchen if you have a modest kitchen table, or at the very least one with leaves that can be folded down in between meals. The same is true for other items that take up a lot of room, like a freestanding kitchen island or china cabinet. By deciding on smaller models, you'll have more room for people to move around and prepare meals. It is far simpler to minimize these goods than, say, your kitchen appliances. Large appliances like stoves, refrigerators, and dishwashers come in conventional sizes; smaller, apartment-size units may not be adequate for a large family's demands and may not necessarily fit well in cabinet designs.

Conclusion

You may use what you already have while visually expanding your space by utilizing the power of effective kitchen design. The outcome? A stunning kitchen that flawlessly blends storage, aesthetics, and functionality while appearing larger than it is.

Authors Bio: Elliot Rhodes

Elliot has been both an interior and exterior designer for over 8 years. He is happy to plan and design the exteriors of residential, commercial, and industrial buildings. He helps others with beautifying the outside areas of their homes and businesses. When he has free time, he is writing articles on the latest design trends and projects.