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How to make A Small Kitchen Ideal for A Tiny House
A small kitchen is one of the most challenging things to design in a tiny house. You can’t expect ample countertop space and enough storage for all your cooking tools and ingredients. But if you want to be able to cook comfortably, there are some things you need to consider when designing your tiny kitchen.
In this article, we’ll go over some of the challenges of creating a functional kitchen in a small space and then offer some solutions to make your kitchen work better than ever.
A Kitchen Layout Design Ideal for a tiny House
It would help if you kept a few things in mind when designing a small kitchen. For example, you don’t want to distance your sink and stove significantly. That means you should be careful not to place the sink too far back or close to the wall. Not only is this uncomfortable for your hands while washing dishes, but it also makes it difficult to reach items on top of the cabinets.
It would help if you also thought about how much countertop space you need. If you can’t get a large countertop, you’ll probably want to use a table instead. If you don’t have an excellent table in your tiny kitchen, you might want to reconsider putting one in.
Optimize your Kitchen Layout with The “Work Triangle.”
One thing that’s very helpful for any kitchen layout is the “work triangle.” The work triangle is a concept used by architects to ensure efficient flow through a space. It involves three points:
- The main point is what everyone knows as the sink-stove-fridge junction. This is where everything starts and ends.
- The second point is the passageway that connects the kitchen to the rest of the home. This is usually called an ingress/egress point.
- The third point is the furthest away from the first two points. This area serves as a buffer zone, which allows you to move around without bumping into furniture or obstacles.
To implement the work triangle, you should create a comfortable space for walking and moving around. Then, ensure that the refrigerator, sink, and stove are located so they line up with one another. This ensures you won’t have to move around too often to access different appliances.
For example, if you have a narrow kitchen, it might be best to place the fridge and sink on opposite sides of the room. This way, you can open the door to the fridge without having to stoop over. Likewise, you might have to turn sideways to wash dishes near the sink.
By placing these appliances in this specific configuration, you can avoid wasting time and the need to move around too much.
Another key area of consideration is the size of the sink. Ideally, you should have a big enough sink to fit two full bowls or pots under it. In addition, the sink needs to have plenty of clearance underneath so that you won’t hit any pipes or electrical wires when you fill it with water. And finally, you should ensure that the sink has a deep drain to accommodate a garbage disposal.
Remember that the work triangle is just one tool you can use to optimize your kitchen layout. There are other factors to take into account as well.
These suggestions are meant to be general guidelines and not rules. They should serve as a starting point for exploring the possibilities for optimizing your kitchen. Ultimately, you’ll want to find out what works best for your lifestyle.
– Keep your materials consistent
Your appliances don’t always come in a matching set. So, unless you plan on getting them all new simultaneously, you might want to buy each piece separately. This way, you’ll be able to swap out pieces depending on what fits your budget.
– Realize that anything may serve as a pantry,
If you don’t have a lot of storage space in your kitchen, you should try incorporating as many drawers as possible. These drawers should be hidden behind cupboards, so you won’t see them while using your kitchen.
– Make your kitchen island A Focal Point,
This is especially true if you live in a city like New York or Los Angeles, where most homes tend to be built around an open floor plan. This means that your kitchen isn’t the home’s focal point. Instead, the focus will likely be on the living space.
– Think about removing the freezer entirely from the room,
Unless you have a really small kitchen, you might want to leave the freezer right where it is. After all, what’s the point in moving it? Plus, you could still purchase a smaller model if the space is tight.
– Knock down walls,
This is something that you should do if you have to. Otherwise, you should avoid knocking down walls because it makes your kitchen look cramped. On the other hand, if you do knock down walls, you’ll have to figure out where to put all of your appliances.
– Get a Dining nook
It’s great to have a dining nook, but you shouldn’t build one if you can’t afford to spend the money on a custom-made nook. A dining nook is also useful if you have guests coming over regularly. This way, you can easily pull together a meal for them without having to run to the grocery store.
– Streamline Your Dishwashing process
A streamlined dishwasher and sink are both crucial for reducing your cleaning duties. However, if you’re looking to save even more energy and money, you might want to invest in an induction range. Induction ranges are built with special coils that allow heat to transfer directly to food. As a result, you won’t need to stand next to your stove to warm up the food you’re preparing.
Once again, these recommendations are meant to be flexible guides for you to follow. Ultimately, you’ll want to find what works best for your lifestyle.
Still relevant to our discussion, and we hope to give you more understanding of our current topic; let’s take a look following
10 Small Kitchen Inspirations for A Tiny House Video
A kitchen is like the heart of the house. It is the source of a family’s energy. Thus, it is necessary to pay more attention to it.
An efficient and comfortable kitchen does not always mean a big room with many utensils and kitchen stuff. You do not need to feel exasperated if your cooking space is not spacious. Here we present a list of 10 small kitchen inspirations for a tiny house. So, check them out. As always, Simphome presents you with the list.
10. Let the natural light in maximally
Maximizing the kitchen’s potential for natural light would help you make it feel bigger. Getting enough sunlight is essential, especially if your kitchen has a double galley which tends to feel stuffy and dark.
Also, the kitchen might be one of the busiest rooms in your house day and night. Thus, having enough natural light sources would help you reduce the electricity bill since you don’t need to turn on any lamp in your kitchen area.
You can acquire more natural light by keeping the window treatment down to a minimum. You can expand the windows and forgo the curtains if possible.
9. Keep What You Need
You can find many types of pots and pans today. They come in various designs and functions that make you want to get them all and display them on your kitchen shelves or walls.
However, you cannot just buy them all, even though you have the money and right to do it. You need to think thoroughly before purchasing. Ask yourself these questions. Do you really need it? Where will you store the new one? What will you do with the old one?
Remember that you only have limited space. You cannot keep buying stylish pots and pans and keep the old ones simultaneously because they will just gobble up your available room.
8. Opt for a narrow island
Some people think a kitchen island is unnecessary, especially if the space is limited. If you also think that way, you should consider investing in it for your cooking area.
A kitchen island offers various functions that can help you work comfortably and efficiently in your kitchen. It can provide extra counter space when you prepare the meals.
It also features cabinets or shelves for more storage solutions. If you do not have more space for a dining table, you can rely on the island, too.
However, please make sure to pick the correct size since it still has to fit in your limited-space kitchen. The island’s width shouldn’t take up too much floor space for a better workflow and foot traffic.
Getting more light for your kitchen would make it more spacious. However, if natural light is impossible, you can install some artificial lights. Place the lighting strategically. You may have to consider layering the lighting to illuminate the space better. Try adding lights under the cabinets, too. This way, you can see the countertops better when cutting vegetables.
Layering the lighting not only allows you to illuminate the kitchen better, but it can also upgrade the interior. It helps you create a more luxurious and warmer atmosphere for your kitchen.
6. Try the One-Wall Kitchen
The layout of your kitchen should be another thing to consider. Since the area is limited, you should be more careful about arranging it.
The layout will help you maximize every space in your kitchen and give you easy and effective access.
Thus, the one-wall layout could be one of the most suitable layouts for your kitchen because it does not gobble up much floor space. Less space is needed because all your cabinets and cooking appliances will be in a line.
5. Does a dishwasher essential for your tiny kitchen?
Most kitchen ideas on the internet would likely mention a dishwasher as one of the recommended appliances. However, please be wise. Ask yourself whether you need it.
We all know that a dishwasher or a washer and dryer has a bulky shape. It probably can take up much of your space. Even without a dishwasher, you can still use the sink to do the dishes.
Don’t put off doing the dishes. Keep it to a minimum, and wash them as soon as you finish cooking or eating. As a result, you would feel less tired and start forgetting the dishwasher’s urgency.
4. A new Open shelving for a more storage solution
The problem with a tiny kitchen could be lacking storage area. Well, since the floor space is limited, try to optimize the use of your wall area. There are various ways to create a vertical storage area.
However, we highly recommend you build open shelving. Compared to other types of shelving, like closed cabinetry or glass-fronted cupboards, this one is pretty easy to assemble and costs less.
3. Invest in multifunctional appliances
Since you lack floor space, keeping things down to a minimum is always your greatest bet. Instead of purchasing many kitchen appliances and furniture that may gobble up the room, you can consider investing in the ones that can do double duty.
These days many cooking appliance factories offer us this kind of product, for example, the multifunction electric cooker. Also, check out the iron-cast dutch oven. This type of pot is genuinely a multi-cooker. You can use it for boiling, braising, baking, and deep-frying.
2. Pay attention to the coloring
Choosing the color scheme for your kitchen could be a tricky one. For your tiny kitchen, you can’t just throw all the colors. Consider applying a bright, clean color, like white, earth tones, or pastels.
The color will help you to create a more spacious look. Don’t pick too many different color combinations. Sure, you can mix and match some color hues, but please don’t overdo it since it will make your kitchen full of distractions and crowded.
Lastly, Number 1. Keep it organized
Keep your kitchen organized because it will help you a lot. Although your cooking space is not spacious, it will still feel comfortable if it has a clean and tidy look. It will spark joy when you use it.
There are several tips to keep your kitchen organized, such as separating the kitchen waste, doing the dishes as soon as possible, creating a cleaning schedule, keeping the cleaning tools in one area, and so on.
Those are all the “10 Small Kitchen Inspirations for A Tiny House”. Hopefully, they can give you some inspiration to upgrade your tiny kitchen into a cozy and stylish one.
References:
10. Architecturaldigest.com
9. Food52.com
8. Designstrom.com
7. Thespruce.com
6. Homely.com.au
5. Apartmenttherapy.com
4. Homesandgardens.com
3. Storagecafe.com
2. Homely.com.au
1. Thekitchn.com
