Kitchen downsizing is a matter of sorting items but also using less space to avoid clutter. Minimalistic all-in-one kitchens are beginning to take on a new trend as they save space and look great. Whether you like it or not, kitchen arrangement is one of the most difficult tasks to perform at home. This is primarily because the majority of daily tasks and chores are performed in the kitchen. If you have a small home, studio apartment or want a solution convenient to your home office – a mini all-in-one kitchen idea may be for you!

Image via

Downsizing doesn’t mean you will have to remove all of your kitchen items, but rather focus on the appropriate arrangement to maximize your space. With proper arrangement techniques, and minimal cabinetry that is functional in a small space, you will be able to get the best of what your kitchen can offer.

[ad#co-1]

Here are some tips on getting your mini kitchen started:

Sort kitchen items by size and type

This is placing kitchen utensils together by the group. For example, let’s say you have a dozen of cups with your dish set like having your favorite mugs with nice fat handles, several souvenir mugs, and cups acquired as gifts. Try pairing these mugs according to sizes. Usually the bigger mugs are placed at the bottom so that smaller ones can be placed on top. If you have several dishes, pair  accordingly with those huge and heavy at the farthest area.

Image via

Make efficient use of your countertops.

You will need every inch of space especially in a small kitchen. To do this, you may customize storage for your small kitchen utensils like spoons, forks, knives, ladles and other kitchen essentials. You may also use this space for your lighting fixtures. Other notable consideration is to place your decorative pieces near the edges and preserve the rest of the counter space only for essentials.

Use innovative kitchen furniture

A lot of kitchen countertops are now designed to have several storage closets and drawers. Also, there are popular dining sets that are designed to fit with the area allotted for them with chairs that are fitting at the bottom of the table when not in use. Consider installing kitchen cabinetry that have drawers, compartments and built-in features to help save space.

Image via

Storage cabinets and open shelving

Storing kitchen items in upper cabinets and open shelving proves to be very effective. Storage cabinets that are attached to the ceiling area can definitely save space in your kitchen. Since this may not be that convenient to reach, place your seldom used kitchen materials and utensils inside this storage. To stream line your kitchen get rid of items you don’t use anymore!

For more kitchen & bath ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

]]> https://stagetecture.com/how-to-downsize-your-kitchen-for-simplified-living/feed/ 0 30895 https://stagetecture.com/guest-blogger-how-to-create-more-storage-space-in-a-small-kitchen/ https://stagetecture.com/guest-blogger-how-to-create-more-storage-space-in-a-small-kitchen/#respond Fri, 15 Jun 2012 13:39:29 +0000 https://stagetecture.com/?p=28313 Guest Blogger #571, Entry #1288, June 15, 2012

Whether you’ve upgraded from your apartment to a town house (but you’re still suffering from small-kitchen syndrome) you’ve had to downgrade during the recession, or you’ve simply been dealing with a postage-stamp sized cooking space for as long as you can remember and your buildup of gadgets has gotten overwhelming, you may find yourself seeking ways to up the ante when it comes to storage space in this pivotal part of your home. But short of doing a complete overhaul that encroaches on another room, you may not be certain how to go about meeting your goal (especially if you happen to be operating on a limited budget). So here are just a few creative ways that you can add more storage without going crazy.

Image via

[ad#co-1]

Assess you current kitchen space

The first thing you can do is find ways to maximize the space you already have. Suppose, for example, that you have a lot of vertical space to work with, but you’re only stacking dishes, cookware, and so on to about half the height available on each shelf. You don’t necessarily want to end up with items stacked precariously high in order to use all available space, so why not think about installing additional shelves so that you have more surface area to work with? This could allow you to utilize the cabinetry you already rather than shelling out a ton of dough for new cabinets.

You might also consider replacing only certain cabinets, like those that overlap in a corner space. Just because the builders didn’t think to put in corner cabinets in order to make this area usable doesn’t mean you have to replace all of the cabinetry in your kitchen. You may be able to simply overhaul the corners (or even add Lazy Susans as a cheap alternative). And of course, structuring your space with a variety of kitchen organizers could help you to maximize usage. Storage racks, bins, and other types of organizers can help you to make the space you have more efficient.

Use cabinets and storage to their best use

But perhaps you have unused space where additional cabinetry could be added. If you happen to have an island or bar area that has open space above it you could hang new cabinets from the ceiling in this area or simply add a pot rack to get bulky cookware out of the cabinets and clear the space for something else. Or if you have overhead cabinets that fall short of the ceiling, you could tear out the old ones and replace them with something taller (or potentially even expand the ones you already have, although a seamless renovation could be difficult). Replacing only a portion of your cabinetry in order to enhance your storage capabilities is bound to be far less expensive than tearing out all of your cupboards and putting in new ones (even if they are more functional).

Image via

In truth, without a major renovation you probably won’t be able to secure a lot of extra storage space in the kitchen (it’s not as if that pods promo code in your email inbox will help you here – unless you want your storage in the driveway). But you can definitely find ways to use the storage you do have to your best advantage, as well as tap unused space (often overhead) to expand your storage potential.

For more kitchen & bath ideas on Stagetecture, click here.