Small Kitchen

[HotPotatoePies]

Have been considering a property but am slightly put off by the size of the kitchen. It is 3.05m x 2.13m (10' 0" x 7' 0") and part of the area is taken up by a built in larder type storage cupboard, so it is quite tiny.

Anyone who has a similar size kitchen who manages it ok, or have any tips for maximising the space. Have included a picture of the plan of the house to show the scale of the kitchen.

All advice gratefully received!

[MrsPatmore]

Couldn't you remove the wall between the kitchen and dining room? This will give you a greater sense of space. Should cost about 2K.

[FrogFairy]

I agree taking down the wall would create a lovely space.

If you don’t want to do that perhaps you could use a dresser or sideboard in the dining room for overspill storage or build fitted cupboards into the alcoves there.

If you are having a new kitchen then good planning and storage organisation will optimise the small kitchen.

[Baxdream]

We live in a very similar style house. We’re currently extending but we’ve lived here 4 years. I’ve found our kitchen a nightmare to live with. Hardly any cupboard space and worktop space. We have a small utility bit at the back (it’s damp and nasty) but it’s eased the pressure
I took this earlier excuse the mess I’m mid emptying it out!

[HotPotatoePies]

That's possibly a good plan MrsPatmore

Would you just have kitchen units along the outside wall if you removed the wall? it would definitely give more light and be less cramped that way, but because of the windows there wouldn't be much scope for high cupboards on the far wall.

Would it be "too" open plan if I took that wall down?

[Baxdream]

Ps I agree with the others, knock into the dining room

[FrogFairy]

Sorry, I forgot to say, I have quite a long kitchen, over 7 metres and it is pain having everything so spread out.

A well organised small kitchen could be like a cockpit, everything to hand hand and just a step or two away.

The lessons learnt kitchen thread is your friend.
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/property/a1554664-The-MN-lessons-learnt-kitchen-thread

[HotPotatoePies]

Bax Have you taken the kitchen door off? How do you find that? Are you extending to make your kitchen longer or wider?

I was thinking I will probably bash the storage cupboard out, but basically you walk in the door and the kitchen at the minute isn't full depth units so I don't even think you could store plates in there very comfortably.

[FrogFairy]

You could also consider more shallow cupboards on one side.

Knocking through would make a lovely room though if can afford it and face the mess.

[HotPotatoePies]

frog I guess that's a good point too. My first student house had a little galley kitchen and we could reach everything from one spot

[Baxdream]

Yes we don’t have a door on the dining room or the kitchen. I really like the open plan . Our lounge is really snug and cosy.
We’re very lucky as we’re a corner plot so we’re doing a huge side extension to make a very large kitchen family room. We are knocking into the dining room as ours is very dark and unloved.
If we couldn’t extend, then I would knock into the dining room.

[Emeraude]

My first thought was section off dining room and living room and knock through dining room and kitchen. We rented a very open plan house for a few years and it was awful. So noisy.

[MissHemsworth]

Our kitchen is a similar size & it’s the one thing that really put me off of the property. However we manage ok. Keep appliances small if you can (small microwave) we’ve got a taller bread bin to save workspace. Shelves up in ‘diner’ area to put cookery books/cereal boxes on as they take up a lot of space. Clean up as you go when preparing meals. Don’t hang on to anything you don’t use! We store things that only get used occasionally (cocktail glasses for dinner parties etc) elsewhere. Utilise the space above the cupboards if you have some. We’ve got a chest freezer & dryer in our garage & a huge upright fridge & washing machine in the kitchen.

[PigletJohn]

It's nice to be able to close off the kitchen though.

I once put in a large hatch from the kitchen, starting at the worktop level and high enough you could look through without stooping, and about four feet wide. You need doors that tone in with the other room when closed.

An alternative view is that it's like a factory canteen.

BTW you will need an effective extractor if you go open plan, as cooking scents drift around. I suspect the hood you have is an ornament.

[butterfly56]

I used to have a house with almost very similar layout.
I blocked up the kitchen door, removed wall between kitchen and dining room.
Put wall units units on 'kitchen door wall' along with cooker on the opposite wall once external door was blocked off I put open oak shelves as that was just my style.
Blocked up external kitchen door opening(because there were large patio doors from dining room to outside and base units were put around in a u shape.
Had loads of space as there were lots of base units.
Kept dining room door as it was which became the main entrance into new dining kitchen from hallway.
It also complete changed the look of the hallway which was an added bonus.
It made the whole kitchen and dining area a lot warmer too and a lovely space as I could chat with people as I was cooking.
My family loved it!

[butterfly56]

www.sarproperty.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/bridge_kitchen_dining_sar_property_kent.jpg

This was similar to how it looked when finished!

[butterfly56]

^^ except there are more wall units and oven and extractor fan were not in the middle of the room! lol

[butterfly56]

Here's another similar layout...

i.pinimg.com/originals/2e/38/1a/2e381a92f522337af2398ca0ba853a33.jpg

[CandyMelts]

Have you posted on mse? I swear I've seen that floorplan already today and it's bugging me

[HotPotatoePies]

Haven't posted anywhere else, so either someone wants to bid on "my house" or it's actually a really common layout and i'm unnecessarily worried about how small it might be.

Have done some snooping via google earth and it seems a lot of the houses on that row have extended the back to add a couple more metres to the kitchen length.

[Archipops]

Butterfly56 pics are showing what I’d do if I were you, 2nd one looks closer to the kinda space you have. ie. like most people are suggesting take the seperating wall off and have a kitchen dining in one with a short peninsular base unit/counter, and as pigletjohn suggested a powerful extractor fan would then be important theres plenty in the market.

[SilverSpot]

Chuck a proper wall back up between the sitting room and dining room.

Knock down wall between kitchen and diner. Have a nice new kitchen/diner space open plan.

[SilverSpot]

Yeah basically like @butterfly56 describes

[Archipops]

Bear in mind price of remodelling will vary also depending if the existing wall is structural or just merely a partition. If it’s structural you will need a structural engineer’s services to fo calcs, design and spec of steel beam etc. then building regs need to be approved by building contol or authorised building inspector including electrical work associated with the remodelling of internal spaces etc.

[Eryri1981]

We have a 10ft X 10ft kitchen. Layout is tweeked from how it was when we moved in but nothing like it will be when we have it refurbished. We even have room for a small (2 extending to 4) person kitchen table.

I think ripping out the larder, and planning the layout better to suit you would make a huge difference.

Massively decluttering so that everything has a place to be stored (preferably not on the work top) would make it more workable.

Also we changed the old ceramic (raised rings) hob when we moved in, for an induction hob, which when you are tight on space gives a much better run of clear worktop to use.

Otherwise as others have said, knock out wall through to Dining room.

[whiskyowl]

I live in a house very similar, only I think my kitchen is even tinier! Neighbours have tended either to knock through and make a large kitchen/diner or to extend out the back. We're extending after having made do with it for the last 10 years. Yes, there's been a lot of swearing- our layout is very poor, along with the space being small - but it has been manageable. I think it depends how good you are at mucking in and being patient - for some people on Mumsnet, living in a room that's the wrong colour makes a property all but uninhabitable!!