What’s the one thing you want to change about your home?
Often, the single biggest complaint is something that seems unchangeable, like the size of one of the rooms. We often hear from homeowners whose big wish is that they felt less cramped in the kitchen.

Careful kitchen designs can use slimline base cabinets and other tricks to actively increase the amount of space you have to operate in without significantly reducing the size of the surfaces you work with on a daily basis. But what might be even more important is the changes you can make that will help your small kitchen feel big – so you keep a cosy ambience for working in, but still feel like you’re not cramped.

Here are a few of the ways we can help you at our Nottingham kitchen showroom:

Glass doors for your kitchen cabinets, especially with internal lighting, ‘gives back’ the space the cabinets take up, as well as making it easier for guests in your kitchen to find the things they need. Natural wood tones or white frontages around the glass also contribute to this feeling of space.

You may want to consider adding accessories that provide wall storage below your cabinets, too. These free up work surfaces for use while keeping the items you need most often close to hand.

Wall décor is key to making a space seem bigger. The more complex the patterning, the less space you present to your occupants (which can be a shame for those of us who love houndstooth tile layouts and the like. Ideas like these get discussed a lot, and you probably have already heard them.

But here’s something you might not have thought of; use your décor to draw the eye upwards. Thin vertical lines, widely spaced, lift the gaze up, As well as subliminally drawing attention aware from the lower level of the kitchen where space tends to be at the biggest premium, there’s a psychological effect working for you here in that we associate looking upwards with more room.

We all know that pubs put mirrors behind the bars to create the impression of a larger space. Reflective surfaces of all kinds, from high-gloss white paint up through stainless steel appliances or polished wooden floors, all give that little extra space. Of course, your kitchen also needs to be lived in – we work with brands whose product lines can help with this but are still easy to keep clean!

When your countertop has an extra work surface within, ready to be drawn out, you can really maximise the use of compact spaces. It’s more and more common now to add a pull-out work surface above the drawers and under the counter. This is also a great way to minimise clutter.

If you want to make your smaller kitchen feel bigger, we can help. Contact us directly or drop into our kitchen showroom in Nottingham and let our experts help you with the specifics.