Here’s the second of the kitchen makeovers I filmed with Magnet, visiting the homes of three amazingly lucky winners of fully fitted kitchens! Rudi’s South London first floor apartment had a very small 9msq kitchen, cluttered with poor storage, little worktop area and an old fifties fireplace taking up one wall.
Rudi hated his slightly twee cream cabinets and the black laminate surfaces didn’t help make the room feel spacious, despite a gloriously large window flooding sunlight in. Bless him, only one of his cabinets could fit a full sized plate! Sooooo…. guess how happy he was to win a new kitchen?!
SIX TOP TIPS FROM RUDI’S SMALL KITCHEN
UTILISE THE LIGHT, especially all and any natural light available. Rudi was lucky to have a huge window flooding his kitchen with light, and the white gloss units he chose bounced this light around beautifully. If you have a dark kitchen, maybe North facing, then think about lighter gloss units but honestly, these days there are no rules and deep charcoal units and doors are quite the thing trend wise. Without natural light, make sure you create different lighting schemes: central, overhead, under cupboard and even plinth height.
ADD WARMTH and maybe avoid the very clinical look of pure white gloss units by mixing in organic materials such as timber, marble, stone or slate. Unusual timbers and industrial weathered wood are coming back into fashion for kitchens but a simple butchers block works well for the less adventurous. Swapping the black laminate top for a lighter oak worked well for Rudi’s small, modern space.
CLEVER STORAGE is essential for small kitchens, absolutely essential. On the width-restricted fireplace wall in Rudi’s kitchen, he ditched the 50’s fire surround and installed slimline floor cabinets with a narrower than usual worktop to give extra work area. Tall but narrow larder cabinets hide away food staples and jars. Deep pan drawers are a must and make sure you use any alcoves cleverly too.
WIRED FOR SOUND and cable free, aa funky new sound bar meant no trailing messiness and stereo to plug in. Think about ceiling mounted Bluetooth speakers and a dedicated area for a music station which connects wirelessly, meaning no CDs lying around.
PERSONALISATION is just as important in a small space as in a large one. I loved Rudi’s hack of his central mini-island, using a left over piece of oak butchers block to tie it in with the worktop around the edges. Don’t be afraid to use pattern in small spaces though, it can work wonderfully.
RETHINK WHAT YOU ALREADY HAVE and look at your kitchen with new eyes, maybe even have a planning party and get friends to come up with new ideas. Rudi’s beautiful vintage cabinet overpowered his small kitchen but worked brilliantly in this living room – often older pieces are oversized so unless your kitchen is a wow space, maybe save them for bigger rooms. Excellent planning is needed in small spaces, to maximise every inch and ask for advice if you need it.
I was paid for the filming, obv, but these are not sponsored posts, I just thought there are some great tips in the videos, so it’s good to share! Check out Norma’s working space for a busy professional lady and Susan’s family kitchen makeover too x
Plus, if Rudi’s Apollo White kitchen looks like the one for you, check it out HERE
I am literally just days away from receiving my own brand new kitchen from Magnet, and this post resonates so much! I needed this kind of inspiration before I started planning, but I found the help I needed at Magnet in Stoke-on-Trent. My kitchen designer visited our house, saw the state of our tattered old kitchen, and promptly planned something more suitable to a growing family. I cannot wait until Monday, when the delivery is due! Oh, and I am blogging about my kitchen renovation, offering more advice for people with small kitchens (mine’s a 2-bed terraced house in Cheshire)
Good luck with your installation! I’ll stop by your blog later & have a nosey 🙂 Sian