Got a Small Kitchen? Here's How to Make it Feel Bigger

The kitchen is the heart of the home, or so everyone says. Sure, we all dream of having an enormous farmhouse kitchen a la Joanna Gaines, but the fact of the matter is that sometimes we have to deal with reality, and sometimes reality means a tiny kitchen. Usually this comes along with having a small place, which almost everyone goes through at some point. 

Luckily, there are things you can do to make a small kitchen look bigger. Some of these are intuitive choices, others may surprise you. From the experts at Realtor.com, here are ways to jazz up your tiny space. 

Go Light and Bright

There is no option like the color white to make a small room look bigger. This works especially well if there is a window somewhere in the space - natural light reflecting off the high-gloss white will make your space seem much more spacious. Any solid color will work on small spaces, but white is particularly effective. If you have white cabinets, continue the theme with appliances large and small, sink, and decor items. 

Choose Floating Shelves

For making a space appear larger, floating shelves win over cabinets every time. Go with minimal bracketing to keep things from looking cluttered. And if you make this choice, for the love of everything holy, those shelves better be organized and spotless of clutter. Overdoing it or piling things on in a mishmash will only make your space look more confined. 

Draw Focus on the Ceiling

Jazzing up your ceiling will do wonders to make your space look larger. Something fancy, like pressed tin, eye-popping tile, or even wallpaper, will draw the eye upwards and therefore make the room look bigger than it actually is. If you have storage space over your cabinets, utilize it in a similar way to draw attention to the top of the room. 

Hang it on the Wall

Hanging your pots and pans is a great way to save space. But when you choose an overhead rack, the impression can be one of the ceiling coming down on you, making an already small room feel absolutely cramped. Instead, mount a wall rack to keep your cookware on display, but in a way that doesn’t add to visual clutter.

No Frou-Frou Lighting

You may have admired some elegant pendant lamps in your search for kitchen lighting, but if you have a small space, better to forego any hanging lights altogether. Recessed lighting is the choice of pros who want to make a room look more streamlined and open. Also consider the option of LED track lighting under the cabinets for a subtle glow.