All of us dream of having a beautiful, large kitchen with up-to-date appliances and plenty of room for everything we need. But sadly, the reality is often different. Expanding or fitting a kitchen is one of the most expensive purchases that any house owner will ever have to make, and it is therefore much better if we can find ways to maximize whatever we have.

If your kitchen is very small, here are a few ideas to make the most of the space that is available:

Take a look at your kitchen utensils and the storage space available for them. Rather than cramming them together on every surface you can find, it may be better to invest in putting in some more kitchen cabinets. As the room is small, take a look at the height of the ceiling and then build upwards! Put the items you use the least in the upper cupboards, and they will then be out of the way.

Do you really need all of the utensils and kitchenware that you have? Although it is sometimes hard to be ruthless, decide whether all of it is absolutely necessary. Go through your pantry and see whether any of the items have reached their expiry date. You would be surprised by the number of things that you have that are out of date. It is far better for your health if you throw them out, as well as providing much-needed space.

Where do you store your kitchen towels and spices? Put up some little towel rails over the counters and hang a spice rack from the wall. You’d be surprised how much space these items take up on a kitchen counter.

Is your washing machine in the kitchen? Perhaps think about putting it in the bathroom or in another part of the house. It is not essential to have a washing machine in the kitchen, and taking it out would certainly save you some space.
Where is your microwave? Think about setting some of your appliances into the walls or putting them on a special shelf instead of on the counter.

Look at the floor. Put down an attractive area rug. Choose one from a washable material, such as acrylic or polypropylene, as there are often spillages in the kitchen. A nice blue area rug or an oval area rug can add a touch of comfort and even make the floor look slightly larger.
Make efficient use of your wall space. Put up a few wall decorations, but not too many so that the room does not look overcrowded.

Now that you have sorted through your kitchen items and have worked out better ways of storing them, follow the cardinal rule of good housekeeping – keep everything as tidy and neat as you can. The less clutter that you have lying around, the larger any room looks. This especially holds true of your kitchen. Keep a tidy kitchen at all times and it will look a lot less crowded.