12 Tips to Make a Small Kitchen Look and Feel Bigger

Have you been graced with a "cozy" kitchen? That's realtor-speak for a small kitchen. For most families, the kitchen is the heart of the home; however, not every house has a big, roomy kitchen. Fortunately, there are numerous tricks to make your smaller kitchen look and feel bigger while still maintaining its coziness.     

12 Tips to Make a "Cozy" Kitchen Look and Feel Bigger

1. Paint the Cabinets White
   White paint can work wonders in your kitchen. It reflects light, creating the illusion that the walls or cabinets are receding and the room is bigger than it actually is. This is known as the irradiation illusion, 'the visual perception in which a light area appears larger than an identically-sized dark area."
    
   By painting dark cabinets white, you can brighten the space and give the illusion of a larger kitchen. Don't worry about your kitchen looking sterile-you can use several shades of white or add texture to create depth and warmth. If you're a fan of color, choosing lighter shades will always make a space look bigger than darker shades. 
    
2. Blend Surfaces 
   Sudden transitions (i.e., light walls to dark cabinets) can make a kitchen appear smaller. The fewer transitions, the more the surfaces in your kitchen will blend together, which allows the eye to dance across the entire room and create the illusion of a larger space. To minimize transitions in your kitchen, use the same material and/or color for the countertops and backsplash, keep your color palette cohesive, and/or add appliance panels that match your cabinets.
    
3. Minimize Clutter
   Clutter can make any kitchen look smaller; therefore, minimizing clutter is especially crucial in smaller kitchens. For example, instead of storing spatulas, big spoons, etc., in a jar on the counter, store them in a drawer. Instead of storing spices on a spice rack on the counter, store them in a cabinet. Consider installing an appliance garage instead of leaving small appliances, such as mixers and coffee makers, on the counter.
    
   Decluttering frees up counter space and makes your kitchen look more organized. You're not just making your kitchen look bigger but also making it more functional and enjoyable to use.
    
4. Light it Up
   The lighter and brighter your kitchen, the bigger it will feel. Under cabinet lighting can brighten work surfaces and make a room appear bigger. Pendant lights can brighten up a space, provide ambiance, and… you guessed it, make a room appear bigger. Maximize the natural light by keeping window treatments to a minimum and leaving window sills open.
    
5. Reduce Hardware
   Cabinet knobs and hinges, especially dark hardware on light cabinets, can create those transitions we discussed earlier. Therefore, if you want your kitchen to appear larger, you may want to consider using touch-activated latches or integrated reach-in pulls that create clean lines and fewer transitions.
    
6. Bring the Outdoors In
   Keeping your windows clear allows the light in, makes the outside an extension of your kitchen, and makes it look larger. Adding French doors leading to a back porch can add light and expand your living space during warmer months.
   
   
7. Replace Cabinet Doors With Glass
   Replacing some of the upper cabinet doors with glass can make a kitchen look bigger. Because you can see inside the cabinets, the walls seem farther away. However, for this to work, you need to keep what is inside those cabinets neat and color-coordinated.
      
8. Stick With Light and Bright Surfaces
   Don't stop at paint colors when it comes to lightening up a kitchen. Reflective surfaces, such as stainless steel appliances or marble countertops, reflect light and can make a room appear light and bright.
      
9. Strategically Remove Upper Cabinets
   Upper cabinets can make a room feel closed in. Removing them and adding open shelving can make a kitchen feel brighter, more open, and bigger. But you need to keep those open shelves clean, orderly, and uncluttered.
      
10. Draw the Eye Up
    Give the eye a vertical path, add storage space, and make the ceiling seem higher by taking the cabinets to the ceiling. If that isn't an option, consider adding framed prints above the cabinets.
       
11. Utilize Horizontal Lines
    Most of us learned early on that wearing horizontal stripes can make us look bigger. You can take advantage of this phenomenon by strategically placing a striped rug, installing a backsplash with strong horizontal lines, adding long open shelving, or painting broad stripes across the skinny part of your floor to make the room appear wider.
       
12. Stick With a Simple Range Hood
    A big or intricate hood creates a big transition, making a kitchen appear smaller. However, a small and simple hood opens the room and gives the room a cleaner and lighter look.
     

Custom Painting Solutions: Cabinets, Walls, Ceilings, Floors, and Fireplaces

Martzall's Custom Surfaces can help you create the illusion of a larger kitchen or brighten and refresh a big kitchen. Call us today at 717-682-2390, or connect with us online for a free design consultation.