Getting the Most Out of Your Kitchen

My mom can get a lot out of a kitchen with just an oven, a cookie sheet and maybe a few pie pans, with all the necessary ingredients, but even these necessary ingredients and measuring cups, utensils and supplies require a decent amount of storage space. A decent amount of storage space sometimes requires a pile of money. And then there's the issue of making sure it still looks good! (Instead of straight out of an episode of Hoarders)  So what if your space is limited and you're on a tight budget?

Apartment Therapy recently put up a great post on smart kitchen design that utilizes kitchen space to get the most out of it. It was so great in fact, that we'd like to share it with you here on SD.

Airspace: This kitchen uses a shelving system above the island to store extras. A lot of times kitchens will keep the space above an island for lighting, or nothing at all, so shelving in this 'airspace' (if it works for your kitchen) is a good call.

Pulls and Paint: Your kitchen update might just require a new paint job and some fresh pulls. Depending on when your kitchen was installed, you might have some fairly old pulls hanging off your doors and drawers, and renewing them is cheap and does a wonder to your kitchens appearance. And we've had plenty of kitchen before and afters on Swell Dwellings to know how far a coat of paint can go to liven up the space.

Reuse and Recycle: A little thinking outside the box can turn up some different but great looking solutions, like in this kitchen from Megumi, where old metal filing cabinets were reused as cabinet space. This creates a whole new rugged look, and is a conversation piece to boot!

Embrace the Era: This kitchen's cabinetry had a vintage feel to it, so instead of ripping them out and installing new, more current cabinets, the owner embraced them. Adding a vintage range and checkered floor, the kitchen speaks to its roots (and it still looks great).

Small Space? Big Pattern!: The last of Apartment Therapy's tips recommends a knock em dead pattern on at least one of your walls. Most kitchens can be worked with as far as design and space, but if you want a quick solution, or don't feel like your kitchen as much to work with, do wonders on your walls! Wall papers and pattern stencils make art out of one or more of your walls. Tons of options can be found on the web, but check out Fine Little Day to get you started. Elizabeth Dunker runs this site, and her 8 year old son Otto draws a lot of the wallpapers. It's pretty awesome.