14 Practical Ways to Make Your Kitchen Look and Feel Bigger

If you’ve ever wished you had a bigger kitchen but feel stuck with the one you have, there’s hope! By incorporating a few simple design strategies that I’ve used over the years, you can make even the smallest kitchen feel a bit more open and spacious. 

I have set up or designed 15 kitchens over the years (yes, we’ve moved around a lot) and have enjoyed both large kitchens with big pantries and smaller homes with limited storage. When we bought this particular house (not the one we currently live in) back in 2012, the kitchen felt very small and crowded. But these 14 practical tips helped make the kitchen feel like just the right size. And we did it without knocking down a single wall. We just made the most of the space we had and here’s how we did it.

14 Practical ways to make your kitchen look and feel bigger

Some things to consider whether you are planning a full remodel, a mini makeover, or just moving things around to improve the functionality and the look and feel of your kitchen:

1. Act like you’re moving

What I mean by that is: take everything out of your kitchen and then begin to act as if you were moving. Throw out or donate items you never use or have duplicates of. We somehow end up with random spoons from frozen yogurt shops, straws, etc. 

Moving or renovating is one way to really address the clutter, and I try to do it every year as well. Next, make a list of items that need replacing, like silicone spatulas. I use these bins in various sizes and depths to keep little items and everything else organized. We only had three drawers in this kitchen, but we managed to find a place for everything.

2. Make a list of everything you need in your kitchen

Trust me, this may sound like a big job, but it actually makes you think about each item and where you’ll store it.  This is especially important when you are doing a full remodel because this is your chance to get the storage you need.  Here’s our list:

• Cutting Boards (Marble, Wood, Cheese, Pizza Peels)
• Kitchen-Aid Stand Mixer
• Baking Sheets
• Cooling Racks
• Pizza Stones
• Trash Bags, Trash Can
• Dish Washing Liquid, Dish Washer Pods, Pot Scrubber, sponges, cleansers
• Dish Towels, Dish Cloths, Potholders & Oven Mitts
• Potato Ricer, French Rolling Pin
• Wooden Spoons, Utensils
• Ice Cream Scoop, vegetable peeler, can opener, metal and silicone spatulas, Cookie Scoops, basting brush, meat tenderizer, lemon juicer, cookie cutters and biscuit cutters, cocktail picks, tea ball, wooden skewers, sugar shaker, cake decorating spatulas.
• Olive Oils & Vinegars, Salt and Pepper
• Bouillon Bowls, Pasta Bowls, Cereal Bowls, Dinner Plates, Salad Plates, Ramekins, Mugs
• Glassware
• Le Cresuset Dutch Ovens
• Kitchen Knives
• Jars and Glass Food Storage Containers
• Cook Books
• Cheese Grater, Small Kitchen Scale, Bagel Slicer
• Colander
• Cutlery
• Bags, Plastic Wrap, Aluminum Foil, Parchment Paper
• Stainless Steel Pots & Pans. We also use All-Clad Cookware.
• Cake Pans, Madeleine Pans, Loaf Pan, Square & Rectangular Bakers
• Liquid Measuring Cups
• Measuring cups and measuring spoons
• kitchen Twine and Tape
• Butcher Paper
• Nespresso Coffee Maker
• Smeg Tea Kettle
• Jar of Coffee Capsules
• Sugar, Tea
• Bread Baskets
• Microwave
• Panini Press
• Slow Cooker
• Dualit Toaster
• Blender
• Cuisinart
• Glass Mixing Bowls, Melamine Mixing Bowls
• Extra Oils & Vinegars, Baking Items (Vanilla, Baking Soda, Baking Powder)
• Spice Jars
• wood board on table
• Paper Towel Holder

3. Consider open shelving

I know a lot of people either love or hate open shelves. Personally, I love the look and it does make a kitchen feel bigger without an upper wall of cabinets. It gives the room a greater feeling of openness and a lighter look.

When we renovated this kitchen, I originally planned to have open shelving on both sides of the sink. On the left side, the shelves would have been very small but nice to have for coffee mugs. However, seeing the open space made me realize it was better to lose a small amount of shelf space for the overall look of the kitchen. 

Yes, open shelving does get dirty, but I only keep what we use on an everyday basis. And it does provide easy access. Every couple of weeks I run everything through the dishwasher and wipe down the shelves with soap and water or a cleaner

4. Free-standing furniture (kitchen island)

 

Do you have either a built-in or free-standing kitchen island? When we bought our house it had a very large built-in island with cabinets on the bottom and two drawers. The top was butcher block that was way too big for the space. They had two large wooden bar stools with backs and three stools. There was too much furniture and it gave the room a small kitchen feel. In the corner where we now have our Saarinen table, they had a very large built-in desk. We removed both the built-in island and the desk. 

We chose a much smaller island that had two drawers and open storage on the bottom. Since our kitchen only has three regular drawers, we needed an island that had drawers. It would have been nice to have an island that could accommodate bar stools, but given the space, it worked and looked much better with an island that was smaller scale which gave the illusion of a bigger space. And it still works as a place for food preparation.

5. Small appliance storage

Small, compact appliances like a coffee maker, slow cooker, panini press, stand mixer, and blender take up a lot of real estate in any size kitchen. Decide which ones are absolute must-haves and consider storing the rest somewhere else, like a basement or garage. Brooke uses her built-in banquette for storage. 

The Kitchen-Aid Stand Mixer is super heavy, so keeping it out just makes sense. When our son is home from college, I make paninis every day, so I created a space on a shelf in a cabinet in the kitchen. The slow cooker is something I only use in the winter and maybe only a few times a month, so that is stored in the basement, freeing up some kitchen cabinet space.

6. The microwave

I have never understood the popularity of designing a kitchen around a microwave. It always throws off the symmetry of a kitchen and even small microwaves take up too much counter space. A practical option is that we always hide ours in a kitchen cabinet. It’s a small microwave and not super powerful, but it does the job if you must have one.

7. Store your most used pot in plain sight

I use my 7 1/4 quart Le Creuset Dutch Oven almost every time I cook. So it makes perfect sense to leave it on the stove. Mine is white and looks beautiful on a back burner on our stove. A Le Creuset is an investment, but clean it properly and you’ll have it forever, making it well worth the $300!

8. Knife storage

We bought a $10 knife magnet from Ikea and it holds almost all of our beautiful knives. It frees up drawer storage or countertop storage if you normally use a knife block. I love the look and it’s so convenient. If you have small children, they are out of reach.

9. Choose furniture wisely

So we already talked about the kitchen Island, but another mistake people make is choosing furniture that is too large for a space. If space is an issue, choose a table that has a pedestal. A pedestal versus four legs frees up a lot of space visually and gives the illusion of a larger space. If you have a table with legs and four chairs, that means you have a total of 20 legs! It just takes away from the sense of openness.

Our table is a Saarinen 42″ Round we’ve had for at least 20 years. In our kitchen, we made a built-in banquette. What I love about a banquette is that you can always squeeze in one more. Four chairs mean seating for four, and a banquette means seating for four or maybe five or six. The Salt Chair from DWR or the Carter Chair from Serena & Lily. 

The Riviera chairs are also a great option (shown with two chairs). See this post for more round table options.

10. The kitchen pantry

If you are not lucky enough to have a nice big walk-in pantry in your kitchen, get creative and find a place elsewhere. The house is 120 years old and as soon as we moved in I noticed the ledge going down to the basement (which is right off the kitchen) as optimal space. It shocks me that no one ever thought to use it, but by the looks of it before, it was space never considered for storage of any kind. 

Brent painted the shelves cloud white and added ship lap to make it extra lovely. He added brass hooks from Anthropologie to hold shopping bags, brooms, and a dustpan. We used extra large Anchor Hocking glass storage jars to hold things like pasta, rice, extra flour, and sugar. It keeps everything dry and pest-free. You can see it in this post:

• Kitchen Pantry Organization

11. Under the sink storage & trash

Having a pull-out with trash and recycling would be wonderful. Having trash under the single sink is an option, but in our small kitchen, even that seemed to take up too much space. So we chose an attractive trash can that sits beside the island. The style of the Wesco suits our kitchen, but there are many options for any style of kitchen. We had our cabinet maker build a partition in the cabinet under the sink for storing baking sheets, cooling racks, and pizza stones.

12. Art in the kitchen

I love the idea of art in the kitchen, but in a small kitchen I didn’t want a lot of  little pieces.  I chose the Enzo Mari Apple Pear Poster for its graphic bold look in black and white, but then softened the look with the commissioned painting by Lizzy Love.  She is a Nashville artist so I sent her a photo of one of our favorite places (the hills behind Borgo Scopeto near Siena in Tuscany) and she painted this lovely abstract for us.  It’s my favorite thing in the kitchen and since I often work at the kitchen table, it makes me happy!

13. Kitchen lighting

People underestimate the importance of good lighting. It’s my number one thing to adjust when I walk in the door. Lighting has to be soft, and beautiful and the kitchen might be the only place (besides the bathroom) that I would even consider overhead lighting. While I love the look of glass lanterns in the kitchen, I would avoid it. It’s impossible to keep them clean and having foggy glass lighting is the worst. 

The pendant over our table is lovely and we moved it from our house in California because I loved it. However, a pendant like the Capiz Pendant would fill the room with light instead of sending it straight down onto the tabletop. We used two Satellite Pendants from Schoolhouse Electric, they seemed small, but anything larger would have overwhelmed the space. We used an additional sconce over the sink. All have Edison style bulbs  (a great visual effect) for the softest light possible.

14.  Keep it clean and simple

When I’m photographing our kitchen for an Instagram post or a blog post I’ll realize that the kitchen island is almost bare. It may have a simple candle, but that’s it.  I think that’s okay. Having a bare surface gives the kitchen an overall uncluttered and clean feel.  I like that. Remember Caitlin’s kitchen that I posted here?  I loved how she had open shelving, and one entire shelf was bare. She wanted it that way and it gave her whole kitchen an uncluttered feel to it.  So, do you love it, do you need it?  If you do, then keep it!  That’s it, that’s how we make our small kitchen look and feel like the perfect size!

If you are struggling with a small kitchen and need some tips, leave a comment or send a few photos, and let’s see how we can help.

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