These 100-Sq-Ft Kitchens Hide Amazing Space-Saving Secrets
Find out how to get more usable space by going custom, hanging your cabinets higher and more
If you think your kitchen can’t be roomier, take another look. At first glance it might seem maxed out, but with a little thoughtful planning, you can uncover priceless inches that will give you an airier, more efficient space. Here are eight remodelling ideas from kitchens that hover around 100 square feet.
2. Hang your upper cabinets higher
For this 72 square fee kitchen, architect Lauren Rubin hung the cabinets a little higher above the counter to give the feel of more space. Standard cabinets typically hang 18 inches above a counter. Rubin hung these at 22 inches. “I find for small kitchens, hanging cabinets 18 inches above a countertop makes things feel small and congested,” she says. “You lose some storage, but it’s important to make those small spaces feel as light and airy as possible.”
Here’s how to exploit every square inch in your kitchen
For this 72 square fee kitchen, architect Lauren Rubin hung the cabinets a little higher above the counter to give the feel of more space. Standard cabinets typically hang 18 inches above a counter. Rubin hung these at 22 inches. “I find for small kitchens, hanging cabinets 18 inches above a countertop makes things feel small and congested,” she says. “You lose some storage, but it’s important to make those small spaces feel as light and airy as possible.”
Here’s how to exploit every square inch in your kitchen
4. Spring for custom cabinets
Going with custom cabinets will definitely add cost to your project, but if you’re trying to maximise every square inch of space, customising will give you the most flexibility. That’s what designer Brad Belka did for the owners of this 100 square feet kitchen, which includes a recessed cabinet pantry, countertop drawers, rollout garbage cans and backless cabinets that allow plates and glasses to be accessed from an adjacent dining room.
Take a look at these efficient kitchen cabinet designs
Going with custom cabinets will definitely add cost to your project, but if you’re trying to maximise every square inch of space, customising will give you the most flexibility. That’s what designer Brad Belka did for the owners of this 100 square feet kitchen, which includes a recessed cabinet pantry, countertop drawers, rollout garbage cans and backless cabinets that allow plates and glasses to be accessed from an adjacent dining room.
Take a look at these efficient kitchen cabinet designs
5. Use fewer but larger cabinets
For this 102 square feet kitchen, designer Sarah Kahn Turner created a more uncluttered look by installing fewer but larger, more efficient deep drawers and corner cabinets with swing-out shelves.
For this 102 square feet kitchen, designer Sarah Kahn Turner created a more uncluttered look by installing fewer but larger, more efficient deep drawers and corner cabinets with swing-out shelves.
6. Go with a waterfall-effect countertop
If you’ve got an island or a peninsula, a waterfall effect creates the illusion that it and the countertop are larger. “It offers a grander look to a small kitchen,” says Violetta Ustayev, who designed this 100-square-foot kitchen.
Check out the most popular kitchen countertop materials
If you’ve got an island or a peninsula, a waterfall effect creates the illusion that it and the countertop are larger. “It offers a grander look to a small kitchen,” says Violetta Ustayev, who designed this 100-square-foot kitchen.
Check out the most popular kitchen countertop materials
7. Consider a skinny cooktop island
This isn’t an ideal option for everyone, but if you have a small kitchen – like this 99 square feet space – and like to cook with someone else at the same time, a 2-foot-deep island like this with a cooktop can help because it creates an open traffic path so each cook can get around.
This isn’t an ideal option for everyone, but if you have a small kitchen – like this 99 square feet space – and like to cook with someone else at the same time, a 2-foot-deep island like this with a cooktop can help because it creates an open traffic path so each cook can get around.
8. Raise the roof – literally
For this 90 square feet kitchen in a former bedroom, homeowners Vicki and Larsson Omberg pushed the ceiling into an attic and added a skylight to create a well-lit, airy space. Of course, this isn’t a financially or structurally practical option for everyone, but it’s worth considering. The Ombergs saved costs by tackling most of the demolition, construction and installation themselves, and were able to live in the attic and use their previous kitchen while working on the new one. The result cost them a lot of blood, sweat and tears, but they completed the entire renovation for ₹1000000 $15,000.
Read more:
10 Genius Ways to Maximise Space in a Small Kitchen
Tell us:
How have you maximised space in your kitchen? Share your tips and ideas in the Comments below.
For this 90 square feet kitchen in a former bedroom, homeowners Vicki and Larsson Omberg pushed the ceiling into an attic and added a skylight to create a well-lit, airy space. Of course, this isn’t a financially or structurally practical option for everyone, but it’s worth considering. The Ombergs saved costs by tackling most of the demolition, construction and installation themselves, and were able to live in the attic and use their previous kitchen while working on the new one. The result cost them a lot of blood, sweat and tears, but they completed the entire renovation for ₹1000000 $15,000.
Read more:
10 Genius Ways to Maximise Space in a Small Kitchen
Tell us:
How have you maximised space in your kitchen? Share your tips and ideas in the Comments below.
No, not the recess you had in kindergarten. We’re talking recessing storage into a wall. That’s what homeowner Allison Macdonald did with the cabinet seen here on the left below the open shelves. Recessing the unit gave her extra inches between it and the peninsula to create the feeling of a more open layout in 95 square feet.