Ideas for Small Kitchen Design and Decorating

Think Color. Color can be your best friend, but only if it is the right color. In most small spaces, darker colors can make the room feel even more cramped and closed in than it already is. If your walls or cabinets are dark, a coat of paint in a lighter, brighter color can instantly open things up. Before painting cabinets, remove the cabinet doors and hardware and wash everything thoroughly beforehand to remove dirt, grease and debris from the surface. When it is dry, lightly sand the surface to make sure the paint will adhere properly.

Get on the scale. When decorating within the limitations of your small kitchen design, size matters. If you want a pattern as opposed to a solid color scheme, go with smaller prints and bear in mind that it really is true what they say - less is more. Consider a few small complementary stencils as a great versatile option. If you're so inclined you can even make your own by drawing a design or printing one out from the internet. Then for the price of some paint and a little time, you can transform your space into a custom nook you've love to cook in!

Instead of buying expensive kitchen curtains and tea towels, get cheaper cotton ones in solid colors and customize them with your stencils and some fabric paint from the craft store. One way to make the room appear larger in this case is to paint your stencils on with a light color. For example, if you paint your kitchen with a pale shade of green, I would recommend finding or making curtains in the same shade and painting your design just a few shades darker than the wall color. This creates visual interest without drawing attention to the size of the room.

Make the most of the space you've got. If you've got a small kitchen, you no doubt have an issue with storage. Heck, many people with average to large kitchens do! When your square footage leaves something to be desired sometimes all you need to do is look up. More often than not, kitchen cabinets are small and cramped and don't make the best use of the space available. If you've got an extra six to twelve inches between the top of the cabinet and the ceiling, you've got usable space. Items stored in such a space may not be the most convenient to retrieve -especially if you vertically challenged (short), but a small step stool with a nonskid surface will have you reaching for the sky in no time.

A watched pot will boil if you can just find it. If you're like me you probably have too many pots and pans cluttering up your storage space. Take them all out of the cabinet and look at each one. Ask yourself how long it has been since you last used it. A good rule of thumb is that if you haven't used it in three to six months, you could live without it. Sentimental value isn't a good indicator when dealing with kitchen ware, especially in small kitchen design. If your mother's stock pot isn't that important until you have a roof leak, let it go. Remember that donations to nonprofit organizations - like those that run many thrift stores - are tax deductible.

Now that you've culled down your collection, how are you going to store it? An easy solution is to buy or build a pot rack that can either be hung from the ceiling or mounted on the wall. Your space will tell you which is the better choice for you. The space over your stove is often unused, and wouldn't that be a convenient location for the pans you reach for the most? A simple wall mounted pot rack is a project that nearly anyone can tackle regardless of their abilities. While it may sound like an intimidating construction project in reality it is little more than a craft project you can do yourself for just a few dollars. If that still sounds like too much for you, why not buy an inexpensive bathroom towel rack and mount it over the stove? Add a few hooks and you've made more space for just a few dollars.

These are just a few ideas that may help in your situation. With a little thought and a touch of creativity, I'm sure you can come up with a solution that will work for you. Don't be afraid to go to your local home improvement store and ask questions. The popular Home Depot's tag line says "You can do it. We can help." I'd wager that if you walk in the door and ask, they'll prove it.