Small Kitchen Storage Ideas: From Tall Cabinets to Owning Less
Ways to find room in a small kitchen: use the height, the spaces you do not see and the next room, and keep fewer things. Test them on your own plan first.
The cabinets were full the week you moved in. A big kitchen has space for one more cabinet. A small kitchen has no free wall for it.
These small kitchen storage ideas find room in the height of the walls, in spaces you do not see, in the next room, and in what you choose to keep.
How do you maximize storage in a small kitchen?
Use the full height of the walls first, then the hidden spaces under seats, floors and windows. If that is still not enough, keep fewer things.
Which vertical kitchen storage ideas fit a small kitchen?
Tall cabinets, shelves sized to what you store, and wall racks. The floor area stays the same; the storage goes up.
A tall cabinet in place of three. One high cabinet holds as much as 3 standard cabinets. The trade-off: the top shelves are hard to reach, so keep rarely used things there.
Shelves made to measure. Divide each cabinet into storage zones, and size each shelf to what goes on it. Container stands inside a cabinet add one more shelf.
A bottle drawer by the stove keeps oils and detergents where you use them.
Wall racks hold seasonings and kitchen supplies. The trade-off: everything on a rack is on display.
Which small kitchen storage solutions use hidden space?
The spaces under seats, under the floor and at the window. They suit the things you do not use every day.
Boxes and extra shelves
Store boxes under the seating or under the table. A large window can also take extra storage.
Underfloor storage
Some Japanese houses have extra space under the floor. Plan it when you design a house, or build a raised level in an existing kitchen. It suits preserves and anything you use rarely. It needs building work, so plan it early.
Window storage
In the Soviet Union, people used a special cabinet outside the window as an extra fridge in winter. In a cold region, you can do the same.
Move what you rarely use out of an open kitchen
If the kitchen shares a room with the living area, not everything has to stay in the kitchen zone. Keep appliances and tableware you do not use daily in the living-zone cabinets.
How do you organize a small kitchen when nothing fits?
Do not add storage. Reduce the number of things.
Many kitchens hold things nobody uses: gifted tableware that will never match your design, emotional purchases, expired food, old medicines.
If the kitchen feels full, clear it out. In Italy, there is a tradition of throwing out old things at New Year to make room for something new. Better still, give them to someone who needs them, or recycle them.
Overconsumption also harms the environment. Before you buy, ask: how often will I use it, and can I borrow it instead?
Try it on your own plan
A tall cabinet is easier to judge on your own kitchen than in a list. In Home Planner, measure your space, draw a 2D/3D floor plan, and furnish it with items from world-famous brands to see what fits. Make a visualization, or start from predesigned layouts for the bedroom, bathroom, living room and other rooms.
Try it on your own project
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