If you have a small kitchen space, it is common to feel like your kitchen makeover or renovation options are limited. However, you can implement many tried and tested techniques to optimise your small kitchen renovation on any budget.

All it takes is some forward-thinking, innovation and imagination, and you can transform your small kitchen into a more functional, enjoyable and stylish place to use. Read on for some cost-effective, easy design ideas for small kitchens and learn why H&H Cabinets is the best small kitchen renovation designer in Melbourne.

Kitchen Design Ideas

Kitchen Design: black and white

Paint is still one of the cheapest ways to transform a kitchen space, and the most cost-effective paint is a timeless classic, a basic white pallet. This is as effective on cabinet and cabinet doors as it is for the surrounding walls and frames.

If your doors are laminate, a standard paint may not be the best option, and it is worth speaking to your local hardware specialist for advice.

However, if you have a timber door, a light sanding and some primer before you apply your coats is all you need to achieve a brand new kitchen aesthetic.

If an all-white kitchen is a little too safe or bland for your taste and you want a stronger contrast, a classic black and white combination can create a striking effect that matches any decor. Try white cabinets with black doors to accentuate the contrast between light and dark and create a defined border between the doors and cabinetry.

Kitchen Design: butcher block countertops

Your countertops are one of the most defining elements of your kitchen’s aesthetic. Rustic timber benchtops are one of the most affordable ways to create stunning benchtops that match any decor, often referred to as “butcher block” countertops.

The best part about butcher block countertops is that they can be made from any type of timber, and most hardware stores will have a cost-effective pre-fabricated butcher block variant in stock. Even refuge timber can look incredible once it is sanded and painted or varnished.

Timber is one of the most affordable and versatile building materials available and can reduce your overall cost significantly.

Declutter, reorganise and simplify

Do you have a plastic cupboard that looks like a demolition zone? The fabled third draw from the top with unused items and takeaway menus? Maybe your pots and pans drawer looks more like a scrap metal yard than a storage utility?

These family home staples aren’t necessarily from bad habits; the kitchen is possibly the busiest room in your home, where we dump work and school bags, purses, wallets, keys, shopping, mail, and much more.

This creates the perfect scenario for accumulating unused items and producing clutter while pushing your kitchen appliances, cookware, cutlery and other kitchenware deeper into the cabinet recesses before they too become lost items of a time forgotten.

Sometimes it’s best to pull everything out, reassess and start again. Throw out unwanted items and reuse, recycle or move on items that haven’t been used in the last 12 to 24 months.

Clearing off the benches and rethinking the way you use your existing storage space can open up a small kitchen considerably and make the kitchen feel less claustrophobic. A minimalist approach in a small kitchen is essential to avoid a build-up of clutter and makes the work prep and cleaning areas much nicer to work in.

There have also been some impressive, affordable storage solutions for overhead and corner kitchen cabinets. This could include corner cabinet carousels and pull-down, retractable overhead baskets that fit inside your cabinets in place of standard shelves optimising your dead space more effectively.

Kitchen Design Ideas: Open shelving

Overhead cabinets in small kitchens are often underutilised. It is impractical to reach the back of a standard cabinet, even with a small step ladder, especially if you are vertically challenged.

Consider removing some or all of your overhead cabinets and replacing them with open or floating shelves. Open shelves can look incredible in a small kitchen design, allowing you to display dry food and cookware as part of your kitchen decor, which can also help you declutter an overflowing pantry.

Displaying dry food in jars, showing off glass coffee decanters, and displaying cast iron or coloured cookware can create contrast and depth to your small kitchen’s overall aesthetic.

Functional accents

If it’s time to upgrade your cookware and appliances, consider stylising your visible utilities, such as:

• Kettles
• Toasters
• Tea and coffee jars
• Cookie jars
• Blender etc

Many affordable and reputable brands create coloured series of appliances, which can be mixed and matched with your surrounding cabinetry and paintwork to create a theme or story rather than just being random items in a compressed kitchen.

Complement these appliances by choosing matching storage jars, trinkets, tea towels and other accents that can merge the functional elements of your kitchen into the decor itself.

Kitchen Design: Lighting

No matter what you alter in your small kitchen, your lighting will significantly affect the tones and depth of your kitchen layout, especially at night. This is one area, however, where it is worth seeking the services of an electrician rather than trying to tackle the job yourself.

While you can often change the light fittings in their existing placements, you may find that changing the position of your lights can significantly benefit your new small kitchen renovation design. Think about where you may have been missing adequate light in the past, like in pantries or above sinks.

Some people may find visualising lighting configurations challenging, and it may be worth consulting an experienced kitchen renovation designer to figure out the best light placement and angles for both practicality and aesthetics.

Kitchen Designer Melbourne

While it may be tempting to go the DIY route for your small kitchen makeover or renovation, not everyone is blessed with the handyperson’s touch.

If you are considering a small kitchen renovation in Melbourne and surrounding areas, contact one of the multi-award-winning small kitchen designers here at H&H Cabinets. We specialise in small kitchen renovation design and fabrication and can help you optimise the space you have to create a small kitchen you’ll love using every day.

For more information, contact one of our consultants on 03 9808 4200, or send us a message via our online contact form, and one of our staff will respond promptly.