Small Kitchen Remodel

Most often we find ideas for remodeling of large kitchens in books or house magazines. It’s quite rare to come across some article telling us how to remodel a small kitchen. Well, we have quite a lot of freedom while working on kitchens with larger space, but that doesn’t mean there is not much that one can do in case of kitchens with smaller area.

There are quite a few things that need consideration while undertaking remodeling of a small kitchen. Here are some tips that you’ll helpful when decide to rearrange or renovate a small-sized kitchen.

1. Use common layouts for small kitchen spaces

Even if the kitchen has more length and short width or is in square shape, you can still undertake its renovation or remodeling and give it a better look, while making best use of the available space.

You have to opt for one of these layouts: U-shaped or L-shaped, one wall, or galley/corridor. Though the trend these days is to have a kitchen island, it doesn’t work when the kitchen is small and you’ll end up crowding your kitchen and make it look still smaller.

2. Check out your big appliances

It’s typical of many households to buy bigger appliances, ignoring the fact that they occupy a larger area too and thus leave insufficient space for other items that have more functional utility. You should avoid falling in that trap and look for smaller devices that remain more functional without eating into the small space that you might have.

3. Identify your priorities

You should be able to differentiate between what is really needed and what you wish to have. Quite often it so happens that one likes to include some nice looking items in the kitchen, even if they are of no functional value. When your options are limited, you need to decide your priorities.

4. Make use of old cabinetry

Remodeling of kitchen shouldn’t be a very expensive project if you consider reusing some of the items that are already there. For example, you could reuse old or unused cabinets for storage. Usually, they just need to be cleaned or at the most repainted to be put to good use as they begin to look like new cabinets.

5. Bigger and lighter

Flooring should comprise of larger tiles to make the space look bigger. Likewise, having tiles in lighter colors also helps to make a smaller kitchen look larger than it actual size. Lighter colors reflect back the falling light and thus create an impression of larger space.

An important benefit of remodeling small kitchen is that it’s an easy DIY project, which is not difficult to manage and remains manageable. Another important feature of such a project is that to a large extent it just means to sorting out things and getting rid of all that is not needed around the place.

It will be a good idea to trade your items that are in working order and look nice but are not suitable for small kitchen. If you keep in mind the above-mentioned tips while remodeling your small kitchen, you’ll surely end up with a small but more functional and better-looking kitchen.

While considering remodeling of your kitchen, there are quite a few factors you need to consider. It’s one of those projects that apparently looks simple but could turn out to be one of the most expensive home improvement projects. So, it will be good to plan the entire project in detail to avoid getting struck in the middle due unexpected expense. Here are some guidelines to help you plan your renovation. Detailed planning of any project makes its execution a pleasure as it saves you a lot of time, effort and avoidable embarrassment at a later stage.

Do as much of renovation as you can on your own at the minimum of expense. Building contractors are difficult to get and they charge heavily. It is good to avoid hiring general purpose contractors and hire limited experts for doing specialized jobs including plumbing, electrical fittings and installing cabinetry etc. You would be better off doing simple jobs like demolition and clean up etc on your own.

Where do you plan to cook and eat while the process of renovation is on? It may not be a very viable idea to go out for dinners all the time the kitchen is under renovation. So, you would be required to cook a few meals at home. Consider shifting your old fridge to the dining area or the garage. You will also need to shift your dining table, hot plate and the sink to complete your temporary kitchen and dining area. Well, it may not be a very pleasant idea to keep going to the basement for meals, but you may shed a couple of pounds but gain quite a many dollars in the process. So, at the end of the renovation program, you will be a healthier person, and so will be your bank balance!

In case you plan to buy any new gadget or appliance for the renovated area, make sure to measure the available space and the provision of a power plug point before you buy one. That ensures that your new equipment precisely fits into the place you had intended for it. Guesswork may not always work and wastes a lot of time and effort, not to mention the embarrassment. For instance, make sure that you have appropriate water line before ordering a refrigerator with an ice dispenser. Or if you like to keep your new fridge or oven close to the counter, make sure that the appliance has the right depth. Else, you new equipment may not fit there at all or look odd in that area.

Though stoves and such bigger appliances are available in varied colors, styles and sizes, you should opt to have these in a moderately neutral color. The reason is simple. Next time you decide to change the theme of the kitchen, it will work out economical that way! You get appliances like toaster ovens, coffee machines, blenders and devices like can openers and even heavy-duty mixers in any number of colors including white, black and of course stainless, but simple colors prove to be best in the long run. Imagine having your kitchen appliances in red wine color and wanting to have a blue colored theme for the kitchen in a not too distant future ?

Generally speaking redesigning of you kitchen is a very rewarding job as you finally take pride in having used your imagination to the best and sweated it out and derive pleasure out of it all. However, you should take note of the fact that invariably any renovation project for the kitchen, irrespective of its being undertaken by experience contractors or of your own, doesn’t proceed as per expectations. All the time you just can’t eliminate some or the other irritating snags which a re too difficult indeed to anticipate at the beginning of the project. But, rest assured, like everybody else, you too will be able to overcome these and move over t the next phase. That’s very basic with any kind of renovation project for any house.

With the shrinking sizes of houses, it’s but natural to expect and have smaller kitchens. However, there are certain measures that can make your kitchen look bigger than its actual size. You may have to incorporate certain design changes and thus make it more functional and efficient. Once your working becomes efficient therein, it automatically begins to look bigger. Well, your kitchen may not look like the one you often see in magazines or ads, but then every kitchen has different looks. The emphasis should be on functionality to make it more efficient, rather than on its size. It doesn’t really help to have a large kitchen at the cost of sacrificing its efficiency. Here, we look at some of the possibilities that could make your kitchen look bigger without sacrificing any of its existing items. Mind you, we intend making it look bigger and not making its area larger.

Any interior designer would suggest you a couple of things on color and lighting in the kitchen. Sometimes a kitchen may lack a window. That makes the kitchen look smaller, being dark. So, you need to make arrangements for having more light in the kitchen.
You may choose to have under cabinet lightning. These days you get LED lighting too. These lights make the place look brighter while remaining economical, as far as power consumption goes. That helps you cut on your energy bills. Meaning that you have a brighter bigger looking kitchen, while reducing your requirements of power and thus the resultant savings that benefit you.

You should understand that using light colors helps to give a small closed space a feel of being more open. Make your assessment and see if certain things could be stored on the wall or in cabinets. There may be some items on the counter top that you could possibly hang on the wall or store in cabinets. Explore the possibility of having some shelves that will help keeping the counter top space free. There may be an item or two on the floor that could be stored elsewhere. Look for room around the garbage can.

Consider yourself lucky if you have a pantry near by that could be used for storage. It can be used for accommodating a lot many items, which are used in the kitchen but are not needed to remain there all the while. You may even consider housing your microwave therein; all you need is a power connection if it’s not there already. You may have some racks and hang them on the inside of the door, creating additional storage area.

It’s quite demanding to undertake remodeling of kitchen as a DIY project, especially when you have restrictions of space. Nevertheless, there are advantages too of this project, if you compare it to another project spread over a larger area. It’s not difficult to guess that ay project involving larger area will most certainly be more expensive. So, the renovation of a small kitchen will not be as expensive. Small kitchens are those with an area of about nine feet by fourteen feet. Remodeling of kitchen calls in for the services of electrician, plumber and one need to take care of ventilation and of course garbage disposal. You should also appreciate that smaller area means the renovation to be more manageable as a DIY project.

An important issue that you have to decide for renovation of any kitchen is the kind of layout you should follow. A small kitchen may be rectangular or square in shape. It goes without saying that a best layout would make the most of available space and this includes L-shaped, U-shaped, and one-wall and galleys. For instance, try visualizing one wall design that allows unrestricted movement in the kitchen with all the important devices like refrigerator and stove along with the sink in a straight line along one of the walls. In case you like to have an increased shelf space, you may opt for an L shaped layout, also known as the classic kitchen triangle. In such a layout, the refrigerator and the range are almost at right angle to each other while the sink comes in the middle.

Another benefit of having renovation of a small kitchen of the house is that you are able to make substantial savings. Rather than spending money for buying separate storage and cabinets for kitchen utensils, you may buy built-in kitchen utensil keepers that help saving space and cash too. Besides, if you have problems with overhead compartments, you could keep that space free and use the same. Built-in uncovered ledges help making the kitchen look slightly wider and open. Incorporating arrangements for hanging utensils on the walls of the kitchen walls help to save a lot of space.

When deciding for the layout of your small kitchen remodel, you should know exactly what you are looking for in a kitchen, as you would most likely be required to forego certain features. Would you prefer having more of storage space than counter space? You are also required to make space-saving conclusions like deciding if you could do with a side-by-side refrigerator or a big double sink. An appropriate layout is fundamental to the success of any DIY kitchen-modifying project.