Five Things I hate About Tiny Kitchens

 

Ahhh the small kitchen. How many I have run across since my home search.  I have seen large older homes with tiny kitchens, and small homes with large kitchens. Sometimes there seems to be no logic to the design, and it makes it hard either way, for one to access what they can live with and what is a deal breaker.

I have moved 5 times in my adult life and each home had a decent sized kitchen, well, with a few tweaks. My kitchen at home number 5 is by far the tiniest of all and I have wondered often, can I make do? If money were no object, I'd gut the whole thing and start anew. I find most kitchens are poorly designed and I often wonder who designs them. 

The issues I have discovered and how I intend on remedying the problem. 

1. Not enough storage

This probably comes as no surprise. However, one thing I am thankful for is the 42 inch cabinet. They typically have 3 to 4 shelves and room to add more. Some even had corresponding holes to allow for rearranging shelves that you have to maximize the space. I like this. If you are in the process of renovating, or looking at homes that have tiny kitchens, I recommend these larger cabinets. They cost more but they will make use of the vertical space and offer a lot more storage for your money.

2. Tiny Pantries

I have seen this quite a few times in homes, and this is the second home I have bought with this affliction. Tiny closet pantries, with no interior lighting, wire bracket shelving and extremely small. In part because of their construction. When you add up the finished wall, both inside and out, you are actually consuming valuable real estate that simply goes to structure. 5 inches of wall on two sides, 3 if you count the opening and if you do the math, that's actually a lot of unusable space. 

My solution, at some point will be to tear the built in coffin, I mean closet they call a pantry, and add in storage of my own. Cabinets can be purchased from floor to ceiling and they are a better use of the space.  Like this one: Pull Out drawer Cabinet

3. Invasive hardware

One thing I have learned is that in small spaces anything that sticks out is a bad idea. Kitchen hardware is usually something we all like to update to add a little pizazz and sparkle to a kitchen. However, not all ideas are good ones.  In the picture below the bar handled style is great in a larger kitchen but in a small confined one causes problems. If you bump up against them they will no doubt snag a pocket, a blouse, a sleeve etc and that is an aggravation you don't need. Opt for something blunt that wont snag on those lower cabinets.

4. Poor layout 

So often we see tiny kitchens with bad layouts. They do not make the best use of space and we end up paying the cost to make them work for us. In my kitchen, there's a lot of space allocated to the kitchen sink. There's more counterspace on either side of the sink than there is by the stove where I truly need it. 

I have an open concept home, which is nice, but I am having a hard time understanding why designers haven't figured out we don't need really large sinks any more. Consuming a lot of counter space is not ideal in small kitchens. Since everyone has dishwashers less people are washing and drying dishes by hand so really, why large sinks? 

Another issue is making the sink area face the living and dining areas. When you are hosting dinners and cooking, its ideal to be able to face your company and chat while you are preparing the meal. People love to stand around and watch meals being prepared and it is nice to be a part of the conversation. Many times the sink is where the stove should be and the stove is where the sink would work best. 

Also consider prep space when designing a small kitchen. Wherever the stove/oven is going to be, it needs to have adequate prep space. I have had large kitchens with precious little prep space by the stove and it makes literally no sense. This is not a deal breaker if you cook very little, but if you host family dinners etc having a small area to chop and drop is definitely a bad design. If you are building or buying, make sure you take a good look at this, if it is important to you.

5. Lacking a proper broom closet

Another annoyance of mine is a small ineffective broom closet. Often times this space can barely house a broom much less anything else. Like the pantry, my broom closet is a tiny cramped area that has to also house my trash can, which I really don't like seeing out in the open especially in a kitchen, a tiny kitchen at that.  So I will be adding hooks and possibly more shelving as I go to help store things I need to keep a tidy space. The only thing that makes a tiny kitchen feel smaller is a kitchen that is messy. 

5 times you should ignore Interior Design Pros

 If you're like many homeowners and you're struggling to find a cohesive well thought design for your home, you often seek out information from, well sites like this, youtube, television etc.  The problem is, more often than not you're deluged with a ton of suggestions that just don't work with your lifestyle, nor your budget. This can leave you feeling like the time and effort you invest in your space is a complete waste. Don't fret, we all have to start somewhere and sometimes interior designers forget about the budget friendly middle America point of view. Here's a few things on when  you should absolutely ignore the pros and their advice:

1. Design Pros- "Never buy all your furniture from one place and/or in a set..."

Many interior designers espouse this as some sort of cardinal rule of thumb as it pertains to their viewers. Seldom do they realize that most people buy these sets because it is economical and regardless of what they think, assures a look that is in fact cohesive and easier for the average homeowner to design around. When you're just starting out, have yet to fully understand your own tastes and how to pull a room together with mismatched pieces, buying sets of furniture make sense.

2.Design Pros- " Only purchase all natural fibers in textiles.."

Yes, on first glance this may seem like wonderful advice, as all natural fibers in textiles are often softer and are usually handwoven pieces and can be very sustainable over time. They look better and create visual texture and interest while offering optimal comfort. However, many textiles, like toss pillows, throws, area rugs, drapes etc that are natural fibers can be expensive, and even if you find a good sale you absolutely must factor in your lifestyle. You have to determine if its a practical choice for your family. Families with children or pets may find making these investments can backfire as not all natural handwoven pieces can be easily cleaned, aren't always stain resistant, child or pet friendly.  Proceed with caution when making this investment and factor in these things.

3. Design Pros- "Feel free to mix metals and different wood tones"

If done right mixing various metal fixtures and wood finishes can be a really cool design  in your space. Contrast always creates interest. However,  many designers fail to educate  on how to do this correctly, or they give a brief explanation with little context. Mixing different finishes so that it looks cohesive is not an easy task if you are a new homeowner and are still figuring out your design style. It is better to stick with the tried and true until you have time to establish the right way to blend woods and metals. If you aren't sure how to do this, take your time, avoid major investments and wait until you have had time to live in a space. Rome wasn't built in a day. 

5. Do" this not that" advice

Again this boils down to the expert making assumptions that may not be in line with what their viewers or readers need. Many of the suggestions pros give are not factoring in personal tastes, affordability, or long standing design value. Trends are going to come and go and you can spend a lot of time and money trying to keep up. Think practicality vs affordability and do what will work for you at this time in your life. Choices that make sense for you at 30 with three kids may demand you look for things that are durable and affordable. Design options tend to expand with time and you may be able to go high end or develop a broader sense of what your design aesthetic later on as your lifestyle and family needs change. Until then, get the basics, and don't worry about following designer advice to the utmost. Do what works for you!

Interior design trends in 2021

 So we've seen a lot of surprises along the way in home design. We saw brass, aka gold make a comeback, I know I didn't see that coming. Farmhouse design suddenly dominated design across America, with the popular show Fixer Uppers leading the charge.  Trends, like all good and not so good things almost always have a beginning and an end, but some are just growing, and transforming.

Gray was the new  Beige

Ahhhh gray so calming, so peaceful, and so not beige, yet, not a big leap of faith either. While gray is still showing up in newly constructed homes, modular and mobile homes, it is not as dominant as it was. When gray made the scene we saw it popping up everywhere, and covering every surface in home design, walls, carpets, tiles, and textiles. It almost seemed as if the world was stuck on an old tv movie, in black and white.  However design trends showing up in 2021 suggest gray is fading out, and guess what's creeping back in? Beige. Now we arent necessarily talking about all walls, all furniture, all floors going beige, proper, but we are seeing softer warmer neutrals ie: beige, taupe, warm gray, off whites coming back. The difference this time is we are seeing it in smaller doses, and its being paired with natural elements and accents. Think farmhouse, but with more of an earthy elegance.

Farmhouse Design

Farmhouse design took off like a bullet. Dominating interior design for quite a while, all thanks to Chip and Joanna Gaines and their extremely popular show Fixer Uppers.
Suddenly everyone wanted the look and it did not take long before we saw across home improvement venues nationwide all the farmhouse decor fodder possible. Americans seemed to crave that charming, homespun shiplap dream which easily incorporated the gray and white paint paint scheme that came prior.  Barndoors were going up, and suburbia was playing dress up. Farmhouse design, is slowly transforming. We are seeing a more refined version emerging, but I suspect it will eventually phase out but do not worry, the refined version is an easy fix, just needing tweaks here and there and will likely give this trend some extended life.