Help with kitchen space

LittleBill

Hi ...

I used to have a tiny kitchen in my last house ... with only one 2' by 18" worktop ... the one small blessing was that the drainer was wooden and could be used as 'space' too ... You do manage but its tight

My suggestions would be any or all of the following ...

If you cannot buy one ... or even if you can ... get a joiner to make you a purpose made cover/chopping surface for over the sink

Buy a wheelie trolley to act as additional space/surface you could put it is another room covered with a cloth when not in use ... For any big projects I would prep and load my dining table with all the bits and bobs to avoid filling my mini surfaces ...

Have an additional lift-up end .. (like a drop leaf on a table) .. made for the bit over the door ... if there is room for it to fold down ... this will give you additional space if and when you need it ...

As for what you can make in your kitchen ... do not be daunted ... prepare/prep in advance what you can .. chop veg and ingredients and box or bag up in the fridge and just get out and add as needed ... it needs a little more planning for more adventurous things but it will take very little extra space ...
Also if you are having people round ... have a starter you can prepare in advance and simply serve straight from the fridge ... or something simple ... prepared soup that simply needs heating and can be served into bowls at the table rather than having to be plated up ... This should 'save' you preparing space for your main course
With this in mind ... meals that you can take straight from the oven and to the table are great ... big Italian or Spanish themed one pots ...

Sorry to go on ... Hope this is of some help ... :^)

continualdiamond

Thanks LittleBill, i'll take on board any ideas. Unfortunately though i do not have a dinning room table as i do not have a dinning room, the entrance to my kitchen comes straight off my lounge and to the right of that kitchen entrance is the back of the lounge room wall, which then has a door off into a square hall that then has 2 bedrooms and bathroom leading off.

Hence i don't have people around for dinner, in fact i dred people coming around full stop because its just bareable with myself and my OH, anymore and its like your in a cage.

I want to move to a house desperately and get out of living in a flat, we've been here 2 yrs now and the space has just got to us. Where both 26 (well OH will be in a few weeks) and wanna start a family, but can't, cos we have 1 spare room and that has the fridge in, this (pc), boiler and hot water tank.

Hardly an ideal nursery now it is and id feel way too guilty starting a family without the space.

flea72

get rid of the sink and drainer, and go for a single bowl , without drainer (above where the washing machine currently is) - you have the dishwasher, so prob dont use the drainer part that much (you can get a plastic one to use as when, that can be stored out of the way, when not in use). then put the washing machine under where the sink currently is, and have the microwave on the worktop in the corner where you have your kettle, and move the kettle to the other corner

i would also get rid of the double oven, and go for a single built under one, leaving it where it is ,but having the hob inset in the worktop above (not usually good to have next to a door, but if thats the only place for it to work, then so what)

that would then leave you with a run of worktop along the wall where the hob currently is, and a bit more round the corner where the sink currently is

then put a floor to ceiling cupboard where the microwave currently is

for more workspace i have one of these

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/30087148

i put it over the hob when im not cooking, but put it over my sink when i need to use the hob, as it gives me slightly more workspace

small kitchens are a real pita. my first one, was similar to yours, but it was the width of the sink/drainer in one direction and the width of the hob in the other direction, think yourself lucky, youve got an extra wall to work with lol

hth Flea

continualdiamond

Thanks flea72, know anyone who would carry out your suggestion.

BUT for free :rotfl:

I just don't have that kind of money. In fact i don't have any really, just live from month to month.

PasturesNew

Do you own it? Rent privately? Rent from Council/HA?

continualdiamond

Mortgage, unfortunately. Been here 2 yrs, its a leasehold flat and had 70 something years left when we bought, it obviously fetchs more money the longer the lease is.

Seen a 3 bed house with conservatory for only £75,000, no chain and open to offers, it needs work, but god i love the kitchen space and would have something that needs work over this tiny flat now cos obviously id have the space i need and wouldn't need anything bigger.

I guess like most, didn't think 2 yrs ago that the housing market would be as it is now. So where stuck, cos got a 100% mortgage and probably in negative equity (we can afford the mortgage cos on a fixed rate and never missed a payment).

Keep hoping OH family could help out, like sneakily say we wanna start a family, but can't due to not having a big enough property, lol, im dreaming. But also concerned time could run away from us and it be too late to have a family. (im Australian so all my family are back home)

greenbee

You can definitely do better than this! Would you and OH be able to save up for a few bits and pieces (or ask for them for Christmas) so you can take this out and put it back together in a better way? Some basic Ikea units and some clever planning could make this a really useful kitchen.

It's worth spending some time on the design - it took me a long time to work mine out, and I ended up with twice as much work surface, storage space AND floor space (I now have a kitchen/diner where I used to have a kitchen!).

Invest in some squared paper, tracing paper, a ruler and a pencil. Measure your appliances. Draw up a carefully measured plan of the walls, plumbing and electrics on the squared paper, then paperclip tracing paper over the top and you can draw lots of variations of the plan until you find something that works. I agree with whoever it was who said get rid of the draining board and just have a sink (the smallest you can get). Lakeland do drainers with trays underneath that you can put in a cupboard when they aren't needed. Or put the draining board into the corner, or get a corner sink!

Shelves above the door and window are a great idea - I keep all my saucepans on top of my wall units.

Both of the corners could be used for storage if things were better organised.

What are the dimensions of the room and the appliances. I'd be happy to come up with some suggestions (I love planning for impossible spaces, and I have quite a few ideas for you already - my brother's kitchen is basically a passageway!).

Oldernotwiser

Improving your kitchen will enable you to sell your flat for a better price.

Might also be worth thinking that the next step up the housing ladder wouldn't be from a small 1 bed flat to a 3 bed house; a large 2 bed flar,possibly with garden, is likely to be a more manageable step.

maman

I really do feel for you. I've just had my kitchen refitted and had several weeks of working with very limited worktop space. Now I have my lovely new wooden worktops I'm still limiting where I do messy prep!

As you have a dishwasher, you can keep your draining board fairly free. This can easily double up as a prep area. Similarly the hob can be used at preparation time. I would take up the idea of a small table and then perhaps you and OH could eat in there as well. I saw a narrow drop-leaf table in Ikea which had chairs that slid inside.

What sort of meals are you dreaming of cooking, perhaps we can help?

SpoonyOh

Somebody on my local Freecycle board was giving away Ikea base units two weeks ago, might be worth a looksie to see what you can get.
This reminds me of something that sticks in my craw - does anybody know what happens to the perfectly good kitchen units that get ripped out when people go on these home improvement programs? You see them going into skips but surely they don't get junked? A long shot maybe, but I guess you could try contacting the production companies to find out. Do let me know if you do, I'm rather curious.....