Got a galley? An eat-in? A squeeze- past-your-spouse, pretzel-pose- to-open-drawers kind of kitchen? We’re guessing you’d still like to enjoy that room, despite the odds. In support of your efforts, dear space-challenged readers, we offer you a smorgasbord of stories. There’s a real- life tale for inspiration, about a couple who transformed wasted space into a favorite hangout. There’s a survey of small-size appliances to fit budgets from tiny to Titan. And there are two experts—a home organizer and a designer—offering wisdom on setting up your space. Bon appetit!
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New dimension
Here’s a tale that proves small is sometimes better.
Jim and Maria Bell had a sort of black hole right in the middle of their Belmont Lofts condo. To one side of their kitchen was a 7’x11′ dining nook with a single window. “When you sat down at your table, the window was at your shoulder level, and that made me feel like I was sitting in a hole,” Maria says. “We lived there for two years and neither one of us ever sat there.” Instead, they ate their meals on stools pulled up to their kitchen counter.
The Bells thought maybe they should just use the nook for storage, and in 2006 they got in touch with Alloy Workshop to ask about some custom cabinetry. As they were talking with Dan Zimmerman, a partner in the company, he began to think the space might have more potential than storage only.
Fast forward to the present: A built-in table and benches, like a diner booth, is tucked perfectly into the nook. A switch turns on small lights below each bench and inside a tall two-tone cabinet with shelves and drawers, where the Bells store placemats, small appliances, and pots. “We went from never using that space to being in that space every minute,” Maria says.
 Alloy Workshop based the proportions for this new cabinetry on those of the Bells’ existing cupboards. |
“It seemed like we doubled the space,” says Jim—a sort of paradox, since Alloy had actually made the nook smaller vertically, building a 7 1/2" platform over the existing floor to better match the height of the window.
The comfort and appeal of the space is no accident. The dimensions of the new cabinets echo those of the existing ones in the kitchen, and the clean look of all the woodwork was a response, Zimmerman says, to his clients’ interest in Shaker architecture and furniture. The table is inlaid with aluminum, repeated on the edges of the benches, and cushions slide easily down the smooth seats.
“We eat all our meals there. We totally sit there all the time,” says Maria. And Jim: “We’ll probably get rid of the stools now.”
How many can openers does one kitchen need?
So your kitchen is small. There’s very little—no pun intended—you can do about that, unless you’re ready to take down a few walls. But it does matter whether your diminutive kitchen is well organized: “Everything in its place” feels a lot more spacious than “Why is this 14-year-old peanut butter lurking behind the breadmaker?” For advice on the well-ordered kitchen, we turned to Susan Scott, owner of the home organization service Clear Spaces Consulting.
The first order of business is to purge your cabinets. First, says Scott, ask yourself what your lifestyle is really like: Do you bake often with your kids, or is Sunday breakfast the only meal you cook? “People will hang onto things,” says Scott—for example, “because they used to make bread every day. But they don’t make it anymore. Those are the things to let go of.” If you’re too sentimental just to chuck that pasta machine, take a gradual approach: Move it to the basement and reassess in six months or a year. Even basic utensils can multiply out of control. “I’ve gone in cupboards and they’ll have four or five can openers,” says Scott. “How many are you using? Have two—your favorite and a backup.”
Next, scan the kitchen for the things you’re storing there that actually get used somewhere else. Scott says candles, vitamins, medications, and fancy wine glasses are often in this category. The other side of the coin? The things you need every day should be very accessible, near where they’re used. “O.K., so every day we need milk glasses or juice glasses,” Scott says as an example. “Is there a cupboard right next to the fridge?” Pots and pans go near the stove; dishtowels near the sink.
Within your drawers, use dividers or leftover containers to group similar things. “Those plastic butter containers, after you’re through using them, use those [in your junk drawer] for rubber bands, paper clips, extra keys,” Scott says. “Don’t put lids on them.” Any mere mortal can sort stuff this way, but an organizing superhero will actually do junk-drawer maintenance. “I highly recommend doing it when you’re on the phone,” says Scott. “As you’re standing there, neaten and tidy…all the lost buttons, expired coupons, weed through and throw them out.” Phone time is also a good chance to match plastic lids to their containers, then bid adieu to the orphans.
Take a similar approach to the fridge. “It doesn’t matter what your pattern is; pick a pattern that works for you, so you don’t lose things,” says Scott. Let your salad dressings hang out with each other, and keep your cheeses together.
In the pantry, avoid hiding stuff behind taller items of a different kind—no little pimiento jars behind big cans of beans. “The canned stuff will expire, too,” Scott says. “I’ve gone to people’s homes and they’ve got these puffy cans. So what I recommend is every six months or so, if you bought those green olives but you’re not using them, take them to a food bank.”
Maxing out the layout
You might be lucky enough to live with a 400-square-foot gourmet kitchen, with plenty of room to install special refrigerated drawers just to chill your kids’ juice boxes. For our money, it’s even luckier if your kitchen space is small, but you have a chance to influence its layout during a remodel or construction project. What could be more satisfying than a well-conceived, compact kitchen? We asked Adrienne Stronge, a designer with local firm The Gaines Group (and spouse to another talented designer, C-VILLE’s own Andrew Stronge), for the core principles of small kitchen design.
 These four kitchen layouts illustrate a few basic principles: Make a work triangle, include a pantry and leave open counter space in strategic spots. |
• Ask yourself, are you a serious cook or more of the hang-out-with-your-buds, throw-together-a-stir-fry kind of cook? If the former, you’ll want to max out your storage space for all that gourmet gear. If the latter, consider sacrificing some cabinets for a more spacious, social feel.
• The famous “work triangle”—with fridge, sink and stove at its three points—still dictates flow in the kitchen, Stronge says. If your kitchen is a galley shape, it’s usually best to have the sink on one side and the fridge and stove on the other. Don’t squeeze the fridge against a wall in such a way that it can’t open wide enough to take out drawers for cleaning.
• See if you can squeeze in a pantry. Either turn part of your cabinets and countertop into a full-height pantry, or look for a spot in a nearby mudroom or laundry room.
• Plan on an uninterrupted counter space at least 36” wide. That’s enough room for one cook to get something done.
• Try for at least 15” of counter space near the fridge (i.e., less than 4’ away) for setting down items as you take them out.
• Try for at least 24” of counterspace next to the sink; underneath is the perfect spot for the dishwasher.
• Leave yourself at least 15” on one or both sides of the stove so that pot handles can be turned to the side for safety.
• Run cabinets up to the ceiling to maximize vertical space.
• Ask yourself: Can you do without the window over the sink? If so, it’s another spot to get cabinets in. Typically, in modern kitchens, “we use a dishwasher,” says Stronge—less likely you’ll spend hours standing at the sink.
• Leave 4’ between rows of cabinets. “That allows two people to move around each other,” says Stronge.
• Consider an island, if there’s room, or at least a cut-through window to your living or dining room. Having “a clear line of vision” makes a space feel bigger, Stronge says.
Space savers
 A pantry should be organized to avoid losing small stuff behind big stuff, says Susan Scott. |
What if your small kitchen demands a diminutive dishwasher, a slender stove, a runty refrigerator? Jason Stoner, who sells appliances at Ferguson, laid out the options, from budget to deluxe.
GE Hot Point range |
 Viking rangeWidth: 24” Features: Gas heat source, heavy duty grates, broiler, 15,000 BTU burners Price: $3,971 |
 GE freestanding compact refrigerator Width: 24” Features: 6.0 cubic-foot capacity, small freezer, manual defrost Price: $321 |
 Sub-Zero undercounter refrigeratorWidth: 24” Features: 8-bottle wine storage, 3.6 cubic-foot capacity, freezer with automatic ice maker, automatic defrost, door accepts stainless steel panel or custom panel to match cabinetry Price: $2,079 |
 GE dishwasherWidth: 18” Features: Knob control, exterior finish options including white, black and stainless steel Price: $537-584 |
 Miele dishwasherWidth: 18” Features: Special cutlery rack, built-in water softener, touch control, adjustable upper rack, door accepts stainless steel panel or custom panel to match cabinetry Price: $1,400-1,800 |
