Small kitchens are not exactly ideal and finding the right balance of function and style when decorating them can be truly challenging. But don’t let this depress you. Instead of seeing all the things that go bad in a small kitchen, try to see the bright side and find a way to make the most of the space you have.

Use simple, bright colors.

First, let’s get one thing straight: all kitchens include lots of appliances, utensils, etc, no matter how small they are so if you want to keep the décor simple and minimal, then use bright colors. White would be a wonderful choice but if you prefer something else, use pale shades.

Minimalism is the best style.

If you don’t want a small kitchen to feel cramped, cluttered and suffocating, then make sure you design it as simple as possible. Embrace minimalism and simplify everything as much as you can, starting from the furniture.

Eliminate the table.

Do you really need to have a table and chairs in the kitchen. If there’s not enough space, then surely you can find some other place for them. You wouldn’t want to have dinner or breakfast in a tiny room anyway. In an open floor plan, you can replace the table with a bar.

Built-ins.

It would be wonderful if you could design a compact wall unit in which to integrate your major appliances such as the stove, hot plate, refrigerator, etc. try to make them all fit on one wall so you have more room for prepping food on the other side of the kitchen.

Flush against the wall.

Instead of the usual round or rectangular tables which usually take plenty of floor space, consider having a thin counter mounted on a wall, like a bar. It would be much more efficient this way and would give more room to move around in the kitchen. It can even be an expandable table.

Another excellent idea is to have a pull out tabletop hidden in the cabinets.

Wall-mounted cabinets.

It would also be practical to gave cabinets suspended above your work areas and prep spaces. They offer valuable storage space and they take zero floor space. Place them strategically. For example, you can have one above the sink for all the dishes, one close to the hot plate for spices and other things, etc.

Clever storage.

Don’t waste space with large cabinets and drawers when you can hang you pans vertically using hooks and store everything else on simple, open shelves. Be clever and find practical ways to store your appliances and kitchen utensils.