If there’s one time I can honestly say size doesn’t matter it’s when I’m referring to my living quarters. But when you’re dealing with a small space, how you use the space you have is critical to your home’s livability. I’ve realized just how true this is since I’ve been living in this small condo and nowhere has it been more apparent than in the heart of my home; the kitchen.
If you were to look at a floor plan of this condo, the kitchen would seem like a decent size, by condo standards. It’s an L-shaped kitchen with a breakfast bar. Pretty standard. But there are a few things that are completely wrong in this space and have made this kitchen practically unusable for me. As a result, here’s my list of things to look for/adjust in a small space kitchen.
1) Appliance Scale. In my case the kitchen has a standard depth refrigerator. This is a big problem because it sticks out just far enough to prevent me from fully opening the cupboard door adjacent to it. This basically makes that whole section of cabinetry useless. A counter-depth refrigerator would easily fit in this space, make the place look less crowded and give me access to that cupboard and all the storage possibilities it brings!
2) Corner Cabinets. Space is limited in this kitchen and wasted space is unacceptable. In this kitchen, there are two bottom cupboards that go way back into the corner. I’m not a tall person and cannot reach to the back of these cabinets so there’s a lot of space that is not usable at all. As it turns out, you can buy a special kind of shelf that works perfectly in a space like this. Shaped like a half circle, it slides to the very back of the corner cabinet and is easily pulled out to access the things that are stored back there. I found mine these at Lee Valley Tools and I love it. The best part is that, unlike many other shelves like this on the market, this one can actually be easily added to existing cabinetry. Trust me on the easy part. I am horrible with tools but I installed this one by myself on a Sunday morning!
I’ve realized that in a small space, the kind of cooking that gets done in a large country kitchen is just not going to happen easily. But the right tools and a few easy space saving tricks are definitely a good recipe for small kitchen success.
Tags: Condo Living, home products, Kitchen, organization, small home, Small Space Living, Storage
