Interior Design: 3 Ways to Design Smaller Kitchens to Live Larger

Interior design by Karen Mills/Photography by 29Pixel Studios, LLC

   1. Open up kitchen to rest of the house

In this kitchen we took out the wall to the former dining room and the wall to the maid’s quarters on the opposite end to create a space that lives large and even has enough room for a sit down island.  Once the walls were removed we matched the wood floors of the dining (now hearth) in the kitchen which also visually expands the kitchen so it lives larger.

2. Use lighter colors on walls and cabinetry

Interior design by Karen Mills/Photography by 29Pixel Studios, LLC

By selecting colors that are similar in hue and lighter in color, this kitchen becomes more cohesive and ultimately feels larger because the lighter colors bounce light around the room.

 

Interior design by Karen Mills/Photography by 29 Pixels

In this kitchen by designing a lighter white/gray color palette including the table/chairs, back splash and wall color, the room seems to visually expand also as light is reflected throughout.

  3. Add great lighting 

Interior design by Karen Mills/Photography by 29Pixel Studios, LLC

Great lighting can make or break a room, especially a kitchen.  Here in this kitchen we not only added great under cabinet lighting, beautiful chandeliers, extensive general lighting. and lit glass cabinetry but we also coordinated the lighting to be the same color temperature so it flowed together beautifully.

Interior design by Karen Mills

Here’s another example of a smaller kitchen where we layered lighting to create a wonderful ambiance and a happy place to spend cooking or entertaining.

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Karen Mills

Interior Designer Karen Mills believes everyone should have access to beautiful design and loves to inspire people around the globe by sharing the latest design trends through different venues including her radio show "Living Large", her green show "Living Green with Karen Mills", in her nationally published work or Designer's Eye columns.

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