Majjie's Blog

There are two types of small kitchen; there's the type that takes up a small part of a much larger room; and then there's the sort that needs to be fitted into a tiny room. A lot of kitchen design guides are talking about the first type, when they mention small kitchen design ... which seems to be very irritating for those looking for the tiny room variety.

If you're planning a small kitchen in a big room, then the best layout is likely to include a peninsular area or an island. That's when tiny kitchen owners tend to choke ... when it's suggested that they include an island in their kitchen!

Knocking down the wall between a tiny kitchen and a dining room, is one way
of dealing with a kitchen that is too small for your needs. The wall is then
replaced with a peninsula area - as shown here - or an island.

There are also two sorts of tiny kitchen. The first sort is a complete manufactured unit, designed for tiny studio flats and the like. I've mentioned these tiny kitchens in the past, after I saw a display from Elfin Kitchens at a trade show:

The second sort of tiny kitchen is, of course, the sort that most people are looking for advice about. It's the tiny room into which you need to fit individual units and appliances and worktop, to give a workable kitchen design.

In many ways, I love tiny kitchens. They're such a challenge, and working with tiny kitchens is never boring. On the other hand, coming up with a good design can take as long, or sometimes longer, than a design for a much larger kitchen ... it requires a lot of endless shuffling of units, trying to squeeze everything in. Designing tiny kitchens can also be frustrating. I'm often being asked to do the impossible and perform miracles. Good design can make your tiny kitchen look good ... but nobody can squeeze in more kitchen than there is physically room for!

Sqeezing in as much as possible is part of tiny kitchen design.
This small kitchen with high gloss blue doors, is in our kitchen design gallery.

I'm currently writing a series of ten Kitchen Design Tips for Majjie's Kitchen Corner, over on Yell.com. Last week was Tip No. 6 ... so there are four more weeks to go ... but I'm thinking of then writing another series of tips, on Designing Tiny Kitchens. Let me know if you think that's a good idea. How many of you struggle with tiny kitchen design? (You can now find all Majjie's Blogs - from here and from Majjie's Kitchen Corner - and all new entries on this website ... listed on our Facebook Page).

My Designing Tiny Kitchens series would have seven parts:

1. Make the Kitchen Bigger ... build an extension, or knock down an interior wall
2. Make the Room SEEM Bigger ... with light and colour - without physically changing it's dimensions
3. Use the Right Appliances
4. Consider the Sink Carefully ... it's rarely a good idea to use a small one!
5. Accentuate the Space with the Kitchen Design
6. Plan Your Storage Carefully
7. Vary the Layout and Make the Kitchen Interesting

I'm still experimenting with Majjie's Kitchen Corner. Most other kitchen design blogs are of the very short, sound-bite type. I tend to be very long winded (you may have noticed!) and I go into subjects in much greater depth. Is that useful? Would you be interested in a more in-depth look at tiny kitchens? Or would you prefer some short, cheery comments?

The idea came to me when I was putting Mick and Alisons small black and white kitchen into our Kitchen Design Gallery. It's not the tiniest kitchen I've ever designed, but it was awkward. I'll leave you with a CAD picture:

P.S I've started the new Blog about Small Kitchens over at Majjie's Kitchen Corner ... if you want to pop over and have a look

P.P.S I've also since written two blogs here about making a small kitchen look bigger:

How to Make a Small Kitchen Look Bigger: Part 1

How to Make a Small Kitchen Look Bigger: Part 2