Design ideas for a small kitchen

Interior Designer and founder of Gather Kids, Melissa Webster, is a woman of many talents. She barely seems to break a sweat while simultaneously juggling three small children, renovating her house and managing the day-to-day demands of a small business!

I was keen to ask her how she managed to design her own small kitchen to meet the competing demands of form and function.“There are so many things you can do to make a small space look and feel bigger,” says Melissa. “First off, use light colours and introduce as much natural light into the space as you can. Light reflective surfaces and well-placed artificial lighting help a lot, like strip lighting to light up bench-tops and inside cupboards.”

“Functionality is so important in a small kitchen. I find drawers to be a godsend – you can get plates and even things like spices into drawers,” she said. “The Fisher & Paykel Dishdrawers are perfect for a small kitchen, keeping it uncluttered and dirty dishes off the sink and out of view. If you’ve got room to have one under the other its good to have one on the go while piling up the other. I would definitely get 2 side by side when I upgrade to a home with a larger kitchen!”

Any other tips for small kitchens? “Wall space should be maximized – in my kitchen I’ve used feature shelving to increase the feeling of space. Walls can also be used for lovely features like decorative hooks for utensils and pots, magnetic strips for knives or a funky pendant to brighten a corner,” says Melissa.

So there you go – lots of ideas on what you can do to make a small kitchen magically appear bigger and still have all the mod cons you need! Have you renovated a small kitchen? How did you tackle it?

[sponsored by and all images supplied by Fisher & Paykel]