The kitchen is the beating heart of every home! What makes the difference between a homely feeling and a cold, sterile one is the design of the space. But what about miniature food-prep areas? Here are 7 inspiring tips to make your small kitchen look bigger and inviting.

Rely on charm rather than spectacle

If you want to design a small kitchen, better rely on charm as the main aesthetic effect. You can try to go sleek and ultra-modern, but it will just end up looking awkward and “cubed in” unless you hire a truly inventive designer. Though minimalism can work, too. When choosing your fridge and countertops, go with mild, pastel colors that can open the appetite and avoid installing stained wood and too many glass surfaces.

Vintage is a good option

Going rustic and vintage can be a good option for small kitchen areas. A vintage fridge with nicely rounded edges and a gas-powered stove which has been designed to evoke the charm of a simpler age will make your kitchen appear homely and stylish. Countertops and kitchen walls can be covered in convenient throwback tiling which is quite easy to maintain. The more glaring your vintage design choices are, the better off you will be. Try to go with a style that is far removed from modern sensibilities, for example, kitchens from the fifties.

A matter of color

Now, when it comes to the aforementioned “appetizing” colors of your kitchen, there is one golden rule you should adhere to – small necessitates bright. Darker tones and, God forbid, black is out of the question! Unless you want to turn your small kitchen into a black hole… Instead, you can go with warmer tones of contrasting pastels, or add a bold secondary color that is very refreshing. For a vintage kitchen, for example, you can utilize a throwback mint and combine it with calming pink tones. If it’s a modern kitchen, you can combine discreet shades of cream with onyx or taupe.

Let your pottery dangle

Have you ever faced a ubiquitous problem of many small kitchens: you have a bunch of beautiful pottery, plates, and cups, but cannot seem to find a reasonable room for all the unwieldy kitchenware in your small area? If you have, then you’re doing it all wrong. Don’t break a sweat by trying to create extra shelf space for your plates and cups. Instead, go in the exact opposite logistical and stylistic direction – display it for all eyes to see. Use the opportunity you must show off your nice kitchenware and turn it into an aesthetic feature. You can find some beautiful Wedgwood dinnerware sets and place them on the kitchen wall; either hang them on singular hooks which are easy to install or pair the hooks, so you can place plates on them.

Shelves instead of cabinets

Hanging cabinets in small kitchens can turn them into claustrophobic nightmares. While you might be particularly attracted to a type of cabinetry, you should reconsider that if you have a one-wall kitchen. Instead of bulky elements, hang several rows of open shelves on the wall above the kitchen sink and the stove. It will open the place up and you will have the necessary space to keep your utensils and dishes. As mentioned before, this doesn’t have to be a necessary evil, but an opportunity to showcase your colorful kitchenware as a type of additional interesting ornamentation.

Pull-out mechanic

While pull-out workstations and elements sound like something that requires engineering wizardry, they are easy to install after you’ve read through some basic guides. Still, you can always invite a design professional who can create a small kitchen that is filled with tastefully hidden pull-out elements, including workstations, dish storage, and trash bins. Should you go down this route, you can, in a way, turn your small kitchen area into a functional Swiss knife of sorts.

Live large with fixtures

If you want to light up your small kitchen properly, go big with fixtures. Do not opt for small ceiling lights but go with distinctive, noticeable hanging fixtures. They will accentuate your kitchen space and add some “large” style to the small proceedings. Just make sure that the drop lights you have chosen mesh well with the overall kitchen aesthetic and go crazy – choose something out of the left field, something that cannot be ignored, something avant-garde.

As more and more people flock into sprawling urban areas, the requirements for reasonably equipped living spaces skyrocket. This is why architects and building companies try to be as economical as possible when it comes to building living spaces. The idea is to have everything a modern human needs, but with the utmost care for every square inch or centimeter. Therefore, small kitchens are becoming a big thing, but small does not necessarily mean ugly or awkward. In fact, by relying on at least a few of these 7 inspiring tips, you can design a small kitchen that looks both homely and cozy.