Mistakes to Avoid When Remodelling a Small Kitchen

Home & Garden Blog

When you're ready to remodel a small kitchen, you want to ensure you take your time to plan every detail, as your new remodel can make the space look larger and brighter, but you can inadvertently make it seem smaller and more cramped and crowded. Note a few common mistakes that homeowners make when it comes to changes in small kitchens so you can avoid these yourself.

Not measuring doors

When buying new appliances or installing new cabinetry, you want to consider more than just their overall footprint. Note the clearance of the doors of each of these and whether they will be able to open freely without bumping into adjacent cabinets or other fixtures; you may even need to check if doors to upper cabinets would bump into light fixtures, an overhead pot rack, and the like. In some cases, you may want to scale down your choices just so everything is accessible and so you can freely open your appliance and cabinetry doors in your smaller kitchen.

Too monochromatic

Mixing up too many colours in a small kitchen can make the space look choppy, uneven and more closed in than before. However, using just one colour can also make the space look bland and boring and allow the cabinets and benchtops to blend in too much with the floor. Choose your colour scheme and use various shades of this colour to add visual interest without making the space seem choppy; you might have a light stone tile on the floor, a benchtop in a medium brown shade, and a darker brown for the splashback. If you choose white for your cabinetry and floors, add a bold splashback in black or candy-apple red.

Not using all available space

Storage space is crucial in a small kitchen, and your remodel is a good chance to ensure you're making use of every square inch or centimetre. Even small gaps between appliances and cabinetry can be a good place for a rollout spice rack, and an empty wall can be knocked back and inserts created to hold decorative platters and cookbooks that would otherwise take up valuable cabinet space. Ask your contractor about installing an overhead pot rack if there's room around the lighting fixture. Consider installing small racks and shelves in the tiniest of spaces; these can hold hooks for hanging up your utensils or small baskets for linens. If you are sure to include these plans in your kitchen remodelling project, you know that no space in the kitchen will go to waste.

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19 May 2017

Home Truths: Decorating Through The Years

I am the proud mother of nine grown up children! There wasn't much money around when they were little, so I was always sewing, knitting, growing vegetables and generally being self-sufficient. Now that they have their own households, you would think that I could rest a little, but I am busier than ever. I am blessed that my children and their partners are talented and have good jobs. However, they are very busy, so most of their home decorating is left up to me. From making curtains to painting bathrooms, I always have at least one project on the go. To tell the truth, I really enjoy it and it makes me feel that all my skills gained over the years are useful. I thought that people might like to read this blog which shares a lot of tips and ideas. I really hope you enjoy scanning through these pages.