April’s Small Kitchen Tour
Today’s society has us believing that everything has to be big and brand new. April is here with a beautiful tips for loving what we have. Her appreciate for her 56 square foot kitchen where she feeds her family is truly humbling. Ready to hear her wonderful words?
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My kitchen is 7 feet wide, and 8 feet long, wall to wall, window to entry.
How we make it work:
We cook one-at a time. This is a ONE person kitchen. Get two people in there, and you’re both stuck – and if the refrigerator door gets opened, you’d better plan on spending the day stuck behind it. The walkway is 42 inches wide.
We buy appliances we love, and store large rarely used things (i.e blender, food processor, mixer) in a hall closet.
We put things where they make sense to us. For example, the Flaxseed is on top of the microwave where we make our oatmeal. The Tupperware is above the microwave. The plates, bowls and glasses are in one cupboard, along with spices, to the right of the stove. The pots and pans are in a cupboard to the right of the oven. Coffee is by the coffee pot.
One note about why we have glasses in the same cupboard with the canned foods. The cupboard above the sink has an annoying pipe running through it. The pipe gets very hot, and can ruin food (or catch fire – this was a really stupid design). That’s why we have glasses stored all around it. It keeps the food from touching the pipe.
Our window and screen both slide open easily, and right outside is a blue bin that we throw our recycling into.
Tips:
Declutter, and keep only things you love and use. Give un-used and un-loved things to people who can use them.
If you are going to rent or buy a kitchen this size, make sure you have a lot of cupboards. I don’t know what I’d do if I was missing even one cupboard or drawer.
Just buy what you like and put it where you like it. Don’t worry about where people say to put things. My first aid kit is in a drawer where everyone can access it. My knives are in a drawer next to the stove (nothing else is stored here – so people know what they are “getting into”, and water bottles are stored on top of the refrigerator.
Buy good cutting boards that will fit in a drawer so you’ll always have “counter space”.
Don’t compare yourselves to others if you (like me) have little or no ability to remodel – it will always make you feel like you fall short. Just find things that work for you and that make you happy.
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All I can say is wow. Thank you April! You can read more about how April makes her small house a home right here. And don’t forget to share the love and let us know if you’ve got a small space in your home that you’d like to share.
March 27th, 2009 at 5:07 am
I have to say I’m impressed not only with her kitchen and her use of space, but with her can-do attitude. We have a weird pipe going through one of our cabinets that is up above our microwave too – and to be honest, I don’t even know what’s in it. I’m hoping stuff I don’t like very much because I certainly can’t reach it because it’s up so high…Great guest post Katie!
March 27th, 2009 at 6:53 am
We lived with kitchens like this is at least 2 places. One of them was the same layout as this one but with no window. That made it a dark kitchen. I hated that part. It was longer than this one, because I had counter space on both sides of the stove. The empty wall where April has her window, I had pot racks hanging from the wall. That saved on cupboard space by having my pots and skillets accessible on the racks. Also our refrigerator opened the other way, from the kitchen side. I noticed April’s refrigerator is the kind that can be switched. Just move the hinges and the door handles to the opposite side. There was no wall above the sink, it was open to the living room with a breakfast bar kind of thing on the other side. There were cupboards above. We had a pie safe in the dining area which helped to store canned and boxed food. We still have that pie safe.
March 27th, 2009 at 10:03 am
I find that small kitchens don’t feel as small when they have a window in them. Even though April’s kitchen is small, it looks like a comfortable place to work specifically because they have that nice big window. My kitchen has no windows, and even though it’s not too small, it feels claustrophobic.
Also, what’s the verdict on the teakettle — do you keep it on the stove for storage? Or does that make things too cluttered, and so you tuck it away for when you need it?
March 27th, 2009 at 11:27 am
Wow, thanks for all the great comments! Yes, the window helps a lot. The teakettle, I use at least three times a day, so it’s on the stove for convenience. I use it to fill my coffee maker, and also to make tea and hot cocoa for the family. I do need a new one.
The refrigerator door switching is a great idea, and we have done this. But the space is so short, we get stuck either way. ;-) At least the way it is, if I’m working in the kitchen and someone wants to come get a drink, they can do that without blocking themselves in the kitchen with me. :-)
Thanks Katie for the post, and thanks everyone for your wonderful comments!
March 27th, 2009 at 7:47 pm
Very creative use of a small space.