Maximising small kitchen

the_devil_made_me_do_it

My kitchen is quite small and am in the process of having a new kitchen fitted. I live in a rented property so had little choice over design ect.

I have lost a cupboard as I wanted a dishwasher. Due to the design I've lost another cupboard and this has been replaced by drawers.

Just wondering how I can maximise the space now in terms of storage. I don't want to spend a lot of money. Also the only spare wall space I have is plaster board and I'm not confident putting shelves or anything on them

Yorkie1

I have a tiny kitchen with only 1 drawer, 2 eye level cupboards and 4 floor level cupboards. I have quite a lot of kitchen stuff from a previous house ...

Three things I do are:
- have a large fridge capacity, to store things like jams and chutneys which don't need to be chilled but don't mind being in the fridge.
- store some baking things in the oven.
- put some larger things on shelves in the dining room area (cheap open pine bookcase from Argos).

You can also get some neat stacker type things from Lakeland Ltd for cupboards (or at least look there for ideas and get them cheaper elsewhere online).

Finally, get into the habit - if possible - of shopping more frequently but for less stuff, so you're not storing a whole lot of things (this is not something I succeed at).

burnsguitarman

I don't know if this is an option for you. We have no plinths on our units, so the space underneath can be used for storage. We changed the standard legs for stainless steel and the flooring is finished right to the back wall so they don't look unsightly. It's surprising how much can be hidden away underneath.

DigForVictory

If you can, have a long at a narrowboat kitchen (galley I think they call them). They are small kitchens, but sheesh the amount stashed & tucked & folded away has to be seen to be believed!

As it's a rental, I'd probably add a bookcase near the kitchen & store all canned goods, tins, boxes etc there so they're handy if not *in* the kitchen.

TrixA

Are your top cupboards full height? We also have a tiny kitchen and ended up buying some large plastic storage containers from Ikea that fit on top of our cupboards and can be used for extra food storage - it's not the prettiest but it is practical.

the_devil_made_me_do_it

Thanks for the replies.

The wall cupboards are quite high, so would struggle storing stuff on top. Although I could probably put stuff up there that hardly get used.

I also don't have a dining room unfortunately. I live in a small bungalow and space overall is limited. I have had to get rid off all sorts as I moved from a 2 bed house to this much smaller property. In fact, even tho I have lived here for nearly 2 years, I still need to sort out storage situation for the full property really.

It's all money isn't it. I'm not good at visualising how things can look.

tizzle6560

We have added two simple white ikea floating shelves to the wall facing our kitchen. Stuff like granola, dried fruits/nuts etc are now all in big glass jars and has given us loads of room in our main cupboards.

They look great there but you'll just have to make sure you keep them all dust free. Hope that helps

the_devil_made_me_do_it

I am looking at putting shelves up. Just want to try and make sure I put them up to maximum effect.

Also bought one of those under shelf wire basket to try out. If they work I'll but a few more.

I'm also looking at those thin slide out storage towers, but will only know if I have the space once I get all the white goods back in place.