How the right layout can totally transform a cheap kitchen into an efficient space

Discover how the right layout can totally transform a cheap kitchen into an efficient space without breaking the bank.

How the right layout can totally transform a cheap kitchen into an efficient space

You may struggle with finding the budget for a luxurious kitchen, but you don’t need to invest a lot of resources to have an efficient and good-looking space. Indeed, organising a small room is challenging regardless of how often you cook or use the appliances due to the freedom of movement, so if you have the chance to design your kitchen, take the time to research the best layouts for its size measurements.

You could list a few aspects of a kitchen you want to integrate and include the things you might want to avoid, and then use an online tool to develop the visual image of the kitchen. For example, granite countertops seem to have become untrendy again, along with too much open shelving, but also consider the features that would make it easy or more difficult to keep the space clean, such as anti-fingerprint cabinets vs dark floors.

So, let’s dive into some of the design choices that will simply make the kitchen look better.

Sliding doors that save space

The swing space that appears when opening and closing a door can become overwhelming over time, especially in a small space, so you can instead install sliding doors that not only optimise the space but also have a superior aesthetic appeal by offering an enhanced light flow to the kitchen. For cheap kitchen units, you can look into pocket sliding doors or uPVC ones to save some money, but still ensure functionality and prevent the cooking smells from entering the entire house.

You can also lengthen the doors’ lifecycle by frequent cleaning, let’s say once a week or even every two weeks. You should clean the tracks where dust accumulates to prevent the sliding mechanism from breaking down, as well as lubricate the rollers to keep the movement smooth. You should also clean the doors with a non-abrasive cleaner, such as simple warm water and dish soap.

A kitchen island that can double as a dining space

A kitchen island is the best choice for saving space and having a central point in the room, especially since you can use it for dining as well. Luckily, you have the option to DIY it or simply find a professional who can customise it to the kitchen size and add useful features like door cabinets on the side that’s less used, and add stools on the other side. Or, you can have open shelves, but you must keep them cluttered; they might make the kitchen look messy.

You can also opt for drawers in case you expect you will need a lot of storage space on the back of the island. Shallow and slim drawers are great for smaller kitchens, and you can use them for cutlery, cooking tools, and “junk” without mixing them up and being able to keep the kitchen organised.

Choose the right storage solutions

The shape of the kitchen space shouldn’t limit your storage options, but expand them. You can find the right option for weird corners or shapes with pullout vertical pantries and corner systems that will help cut down on the clutter while making enough space for units and the dining room. Think of floating shelves, a pantry, or even hidden storage options when exploring options for the kitchen space.

When you opt for open storage, the only thing you must consider is the maintenance you must do in order to avoid visual clutter in the kitchen. Open storage might be best for decorative dinnerware, cooking books, or other items you’re not moving daily, so there are fewer chances of taking and putting them back so often that they look messy.

Create a kitchen appliance garage

The appliance garage is one of the latest trends in kitchen storage ideas, and it remains a useful tip because installing such a space allows you to corral several things with an activity in common, such as coffee-making, in one space. This means less mess and movement, which are ideal in a small space. The best spots for a garage include the corners of the kitchen, where you usually wouldn’t place anything else, or next to the fridge. A coffee station is a great example of putting similar stuff together, such as the coffee machine, several cups, sugar, coffee, and other necessities.

If you bake a lot, having the baking tools in one place is useful for saving space and not making too many steps around the kitchen to gather everything, which can be tiring even for a kitchen triangle. So, find your most common activity in the kitchen and create a special garage for it for maximum space-saving.

Choose colors that are smart for the visual space

This is one of the aspects you might never think of, but the colours you choose to paint the room with, or the colours of the units, can influence the visual appeal, so you can unintentionally make the kitchen feel more crowded than it is with colours like dark charcoal grey, saturated orange, or vibrant reds. That’s why you should opt for more cream, pale blue, and soft green tones that enhance the vibe of the room and make it look bigger and lighter.

These tones are ideal when you’ve got a lot of natural light coming in, but there are possibilities for artificial lighting to have the same effect. You can explore daylight LEDs if you’re into colder tones, try to layer several types of lighting, and add an artificial skylight that can reflect the paint colours. While not common, you can use mirrors strategically and position them in front of a light source to create the illusion of space.

Final considerations

You can make a cheap kitchen look better, even if it’s smaller, by thinking the layout through, and this means installing sliding doors to maximise the space, having a kitchen island that you use for dining as well, and prioritising smart storage spaces. Other aspects, like choosing specific colours are also important in making the space seem more professional and big, so there’s a lot of information that can help you build the kitchen of your dreams, even on a budget!