Gone are the times when the kitchen was one of the largest rooms in a home. In most urban homes today, the kitchen is the smallest room. However, the importance of the kitchen has not decreased with its size. It is still one of the most important rooms in most homes, where the family meals are cooked lovingly. Hence, it is essential that the kitchen is lively and at the same time functional.
The most common type of small kitchen that you see in today’s homes is the parallel kitchen, with two countertops on both sides and a passage in the middle. Here we put across some ideas to make your parallel kitchen look more prominent.
How to Make Your Small Parallel Kitchen Huge?
Most think that not much can be done for small kitchens. But, while functionality is essential, a stunning kitchen can lift the look of the entire house. So let us look at some ideas that would help make your parallel kitchen look more prominent and stylish.
Go for Classic White
If there is one colour you can completely trust to brighten and make your kitchen appear bigger, it is white. White is a colour that is trendy and can open up the space. Moreover, it reflects light, thus instantly brightening up the room. To give a unique character to your white kitchen, use different textures and shades on different kitchen areas like cabinets, backsplashes, countertop, floors, etc.
Add a Pop of Colour
It is a common notion that one should not experiment with bold or dark colours for the kitchen. However, using suitable accent shades can lift the look of your kitchen. Adding one bold colour to your otherwise white or neutral-coloured kitchen can help to make your kitchen look more prominent. One of the best ways to utilize a dark colour in your kitchen is to use the colour on the lower side while keeping the rest white or neutral. For instance, the kitchen can have white upper cabinets, backsplashes, and countertops, but a dark blue lower cabinet and lower shelves. Shades of red, blue, green, and yellow are good choices for the kitchen.
Play with the Lights
Natural lighting is essential to make your kitchen look huge. If you have an independent house, you can place glass roofing so that more light comes into the room. However, this is not possible when you live in a building or flat. Moreover, it is also possible that you have a small window. In this case, the best thing you can do is keep the treatment on your windows minimal. You can also add some extra light fixtures like under cabinet lights, pendant lights, etc., to not only brighten the place but also give it some style.
Make Use of Reflective Surfaces
One of the most innovative ways of making your kitchen appear huge is using reflective surfaces. There are a variety of ways of doing it. Using shiny ceramic tiles for the floor and backsplashes, stainless steel appliances, glossy cabinets, high-gloss paint, etc., are a few ways of adding reflective surfaces in your kitchen. These surfaces reflect more light, making your kitchen appear bigger. If you want to avoid using reflective surfaces in your kitchen, you can also use light-reflecting or metallic accessories like pendant lights as well as pots and pans that make light bounce across the room. Moreover, they also help to add a sense of depth to the kitchen.
Use Smart Storage Ideas
Storage space is essential for a kitchen. But how you use the storage is even more critical in a small kitchen. Slim cabinets are suitable space-saving cabinets. They do not take too much space and are good for storing most of your everyday utensils, pots, and pans. However, these may not be suitable for heavy utensils. These can be solved by hanging them on hooks underneath the cupboard. Another smart storage idea would be to go for furniture with multi-purpose features. Modular kitchens with cabinets that can be pulled out are a good option. You can also opt for a tall cabinet that acts as a pantry on one side and utensils or a cutlery storage area on the other.
Adapt Minimalism
A clutter-free space is crucial for a small kitchen. This means that there are few pots, pans, utensils, and even appliances on the surface. Open cabinets are an excellent option for small kitchens. But it is essential to ensure that the space remains free of clutter. Similarly, it would be best to keep all the appliances inside cabinets or shelves, especially those you do not regularly use and keep your countertops without any clutter. Buy only essential pots, pans, and utensils, and ensure that everything has space inside the shelves and cabinets.
Additional Tips on How to Make Your Small Parallel Kitchen Huge?
- Mirrors are usually restricted to bedrooms and living rooms. However, adding a decorative mirror in your kitchen (especially right next to your dining table or breakfast bar) can help to make it appear bigger than it is.
- If you opt for wooden cabinets, it would be best to go for sleek, neutral or light coloured wood rather than heavy, dark ones.
- To add more oomph to your kitchen, you can make use of patterned tiles on your kitchen backsplash as well as floors. Horizontal stripes and simple geometric designs paired with light colours would make your kitchen look bigger.
- Integrating your appliances along with the furniture would help to give an even look to your kitchen.
- When adding furniture to your kitchen, always go for small-scale ones like a tiny kitchen island and backless bar stools or chairs that appear lightweight. Clear plastic chairs, glass lights, floating islands, etc., are also good furnishing options for small kitchens.
- Smaller kitchens should also opt for cabinets and shelves without handles. Instead, it is best to use push/click catches or integrated handles to give clean lines to your kitchen cabinets.
Designing a new kitchen or renovating the old one could be stressful, especially if you have a small kitchen. To ensure that you have a bright, beautiful, and functional kitchen, it would be best to hire an interior designing company. HomeLane is a leading Indian home interior brand, which offers the best designing services for all your modern home designing requirements.
