Joanne’s Small Kitchen Tour

You all know that I love small spaces.  So when Joanne showed me her old 20 square foot kitchen, I just couldn’t stop smiling.  Well that and wondering how the heck she managed!  I mean, our 36 square feet I can handle.  But 20?  Too incredible.

So I’m pulling out a pen and paper and taking a few notes.  Joanne’s kitchen is absolute genius, and here’s what she has to say…

I love small spaces.  If I won a gazillion dollars tomorrow, I’d still live in a small space (but I’d get a puppy!).   Small spaces don’t cost much to heat or cool and take 5 minutes to clean. Small spaces force you to keep what is the most important in life. I used to live in a 280 sq foot bachelor apartment. The kitchen, at best, was 5′ x 4′.

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So how the heck do you function in a 5 x 4 kitchen? Pretty darn well. The only glitch was you could not open the fridge and oven at the same time. The doors banged into each other. I like to make bread and I had no problem with my friend Tyler and I standing side by side as I taught him to make bread (without a bread maker). My friend Sarah and I cooked a meal together in that kitchen, and we had been drinking too. So yes, this kitchen was very functioning even if totally intoxicated – which we were.

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The secret to my tiny kitchen was the use of vertical space. I made shelves (all from scrap MDF from the garbage), hooks, giant magnets, little magnets and velcro. All these items held my cooking tools. Most of these things were purchased at thrift stores or the Dollarama (if you are Canadian, you are well aware of the awesomeness of the Dollarama!). The main ones were in the ‘prep’ area. Some tools that were specifically used at the stove (like the spatulas) were located by the stove.

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Also you really don’t need a lot of kitcheny gadgets. I have 6 mixing bowls and to be honest, I probably will be giving some of them away. I got them for free so it’s no big deal. I have 4 pots – 2 big, 2 small. I have 2 frying pans and a skillet.  Almost all of  these items fit in the bottom drawer of my stove.

I cook from scratch as it is much healthier and cheaper than prepared foods. All the tools are there for me to reach out and grab. I never had any problems chopping, marinading, kneeding anything in that 3 ft x 2.5 ft section of countertop. If anything, a small work space forces you to put away stuff and clean as you go. Even in a small space like my tiny kitchen, I could stockpile some items.

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I am really not super smart in design education.  Most of my ideas I learned from IKEA as well as looking of pictures of RVs and boat galleys.  If you are wondering, I DID NOT use the oven as a storage method.

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Is that not the coolest pile of jems from Joanne?  I’m so impressed with that homemade bread and use of vertical space. That house was only 280 square feet; now Joanne has a bigger place (450 sf!)… a 61 sf kitchen… and a dining room.  Go Joanne!

What about the rest of you?  Any teeny spaces you have tucked away in your houses?  We’d love a little peek.

Craving for more small space strategies?  Check out our double-burner stove and pull-out pantry tricks.