'Big' Small Kitchens
Creative planning can help kitchen designers develop small-space solutions that feel and function like their big-kitchen counterparts.
Another member of the NKBA Puget Sound Kitchen Tour, Joseph Irons, CGR, GMB, CAPS, CGP, with Terence Tung, CKD, revitalized a small kitchen in a 1930s Tudor home without sacrificing the personality of the home.
Although the “footprint” of the kitchen could not be dramatically changed, the clients had three objectives:
¦ Relocate the kitchen walking path so it did not pass through the middle of the kitchen.
¦ Create a more open feeling between the rooms.
¦ Add storage for the homeowner’s expensive liquor collection.
Crystal Kennedy of Pacific Northwest Cabinetry, a competition winner in the Wellborn Design Contest, created a very functional small kitchen by adding 24" onto the existing home. Oftentimes, such a small addition can be accomplished without major exterior changes. Much like a bay window, a small “bump-out” addition can be accomplished under the existing roof overhang.
Cantilevered construction (acceptable for local building codes) allows the footing and foundation footprint to remain intact. This is an affordable way to add a small extension, which can result in big gains in size.
Another project by Marie Lail Blackburn that I had the pleasure of actually standing in during the tour is an example of a small kitchen that dramatically increased in size when the designer was able to expand into adjacent spaces.
Design Solutions
When challenged with a small space that needs to feel “big” to get the sale, consider these space stretching approaches:
