Modern Interior Room Designs

Creating a small kitchen design that is not only functional but pleasing on the eye can take quite a bit of forethought and planning. Preparing and cooking food where everything is in easy reach and logically located is a real pleasure, and much less tiring than it would be if you had to keep walking the length of a huge room. Creating a small kitchen design plans to fit into a small space in a large room can often be a deliberate decision; perhaps the only way to stay sane as a cook in a room where entertaining people are priorities is to contain the work area. Careful planning, however, will fit a fully functional kitchen into even the smallest room.

Small Kitchen Design

When you are drawing up your small kitchen design plans you should follow all the basic principles but you will probably end up doing more research, and having to employ more ingenuity. All this will pay massive dividends, however. Whereas in the past one-room living was usually forced upon people when their financial situation allowed nothing else, nowadays all the social stigma has gone and it is not only popular but chic, particularly in cities where space is at a premium and property expensive: from concept to execution, designs ooze practicality and efficiency

Incorporating ideas from other designers is always a good idea before getting started on your small kitchen design plans. It may be worth visiting some show flats in buildings where architects have been employed to divide up huge spaces into apartments of varying sizes; sometimes they have managed to fit the kitchens into really tiny spaces. Alternatively, you could go to a boat show and take a peek at the galleys of ocean-going cruise yachts where marine designers have designed kitchens that can cater for the appetites of a hungry crew in a situation where space is at a real premium, and where there are other considerations, such as safety, that have had to be taken into account as well. Not only may many of the general concepts be worth a second thought as the plans for your kitchen evolve, you might also come across some compact and streamlined appliances that are just what you need.

Designing for small spaces is all too often seen as problematic rather than as an exciting challenge. Yet many people deliberately choose to use small kitchen designs. Those who generally eat out may decide to limit themselves to a mini-fridge and microwave, a designer toaster and the finest espresso machine, but even these few choice items need to be accommodated with care in any small kitchen design plans if they are not to look uncomfortable. And keen cooks should take comfort from the knowledge that many of the best cooks actually prefer working in a small kitchen designed specifically for their own style of preparing and cooking food, with everything within easy reach.

For those people who enjoy entertaining but for whom the luxury of a big, social kitchen is out of the question, the idea of a self-contained working area along one side of a longer room may appeal. The first small kitchen designs I created for myself measured approximately 2.1 x 1.8m (7 x 6ft); a breakfast bar separated my ‘kitchen’ from the room proper but friends could still sit or stand and talk to me while I was cooking, and I could easily converse with people at the dining table on the other side of the room. It worked perfectly except that there was not enough space for two people to wash up! It proved invaluable having a recycling hood, as well as an extractor fan and a window that was easily opened, as the amount of heat generated by four rings and an oven would have become unbearable in a tiny space, particularly on top of the pressure of cooking.

Sometimes drastic and bolder measures are necessary. If your kitchen space is too claustrophobic then you may want to consider changing your small kitchen design plans by taking down a wall and combining two rooms. If you do this it is worth consulting an architect to ensure that all the proposed structural changes conform with building regulations as most countries now have strict fire-and-safety regulations as regards kitchens. If open planning does appeal, you will have to think through the ramifications of combining the functions of the kitchen and another room. Easy maintenance is crucial, for example, so that you can switch off from work mode and relax in the other half of the room without being reminded constantly about clearing up – a dishwasher may be deemed essential, so that dirty plates can disappear from sight immediately. Alternatively, the whole small kitchen design can be hidden behind screens or folding doors, or well-directed spotlights and low-level lamps can put the work area into virtual darkness whilst the rest of the room is illuminated.