Catfish Out of Water

The key with making any small space functional? Is utilizing the space so that it works for you. Experts, friends, family, and random people on the internet oftentimes like to tell other people how to use their own spaces. And, if you have a near infinite amount of space, it's all fine and dandy to say that everything should have a home in its own realm. The kitchen appliances are relegated to the kitchen. The dining room is where you eat and store the fine china. The living room is where you spend the rest of the time during the evening.

But let's be real. In my everyday life? I oftentimes feel like I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off. I have a million things to do all at once. And, despite cooking for a living and having an ample amount of experience running professional kitchens? My personal and professional life oh so much of the time feels like absolute chaos.

So, I'm not going to sit here and tell anyone that having a kitchen that looks like it came out of a magazine is going to change your life! But having a kitchen space that works for you? Regardless of what that space looks like? Does make it easier to cook when you do find the time and energy to do it. Even if that doesn't look like it came out of a design catalogue. Because, let's be real, living in an immaculate space is one of the more unrealistic standards that we try and hold ourselves to.

Don't Make the Comparison to Professional Kitchens

Now, I am a cook by trade and am no stranger to fancy industrial kitchens. I know how they operate. I have been on the inside. And they're not quite as fancy as they might at first appear. Behind that facade is oftentimes a certain amount of grease and chaos that the rest of the world doesn't see behind the cleanly polished veneer. I have an ample amount of tiny kitchen horror stories that might make for a blog post of their own one day.

But trust me, as an actual expert in this field? No kitchen is as perfectly polished as it appears. Even on cooking shows we see hoards of food wiped onto the floors and head chefs screaming as the soup is bubbling over and someone somewhere is crying in the walk-in.

So, for starters, don't compare yourself to what you perceive anyone else is doing. Behind the scenes? Even the professionals are struggling sometimes.

My Journey Throughout the Years of Small Kitchen Spaces

If you've ever lived in the big city where space is premium. Or in the country where land is more valuable than kitchen space. Or really just... anywhere in between because counter space is almost always a luxury commodity? Then, you know what it's like to feel like the kitchen isn't big enough to cook in! I'm beginning to think that I'm an unfortunate conoscere of small kitchen spaces. I did the typical young person thing where every inch of space is a minefield. I lived in a 27' gutted Airstream where I built out thee kitchen space. And I've had more than my fair share of minuscule apartments!

When I started this blog my kitchen had 0 countertops. There was your typical sink, refrigerator, stove, and a few oddly-shaped cabinets above the sink. However, there wasn't a countertop in sight. So, I just started acquiring kitchen furniture.

Now, I just moved into the great big city and have one of those adorably miniaturized kitchens. It has the black and white tile flooring with the cabinets to the ceiling far above any reasonably-sized persons' head.

I've made food with limited electricity over a bonfire in the woods using various stumps as cutting boards, tables, and chairs. I've made food on a boat with only a barbecue as a stove and oven. And I've even been known to make food in motel rooms with a hot plate and an air fryer.

It might take a little bit of creativity, but where there's a will there's a way! And I'm all about utilizing whatever you have at your disposal.

1. Expand the Kitchen Space Into Other Rooms

I don't mean renovate. Unless that's your prerogative. In which case, more power to you! Although I rent and that's not exactly an option. I have a small kitchen, I can stand in it, I can turn around in it, and, when I took the cabinet out of it? I could actually open the refrigerator all of the way! If that's the standard for small, though, it is most definitely small.

I don't mind my kitchen, though. Especially since most of us don't spend all that much time in the kitchen. This is the entire concept of an open concept space. The kitchen is not just relegated to the kitchen. It opens up into the living room and the dining room. It creates more of a 3-in-1 version of living space. Although I wouldn't necessarily recommend this in terms of shampoo, conditioner, and body wash? It's not actually the worst idea when it comes to kitchen space.

Personally, I like to watch TV while cooking. In my last place, I put a TV in the kitchen so that I could do precisely this. Although, with a smaller kitchen? I've just turned part of my living room into my main countertop space. This might sound like an odd use of space. But it's turned my living room into the hub of activity, instead of cramming it into the miniscule kitchen space.

So, the best advice, first and foremost, is to utilize the space that you do have. Whether that's in the kitchen or not.

2. Create Separate Pantry Areas

When the kitchen is too small to accomodate all of the appliances and dry goods that inevitably we all end accumulating? There needs to be an overflow space. I like to utilize extra closet and crawl spaces. In my last place, there was technically a walk-in closet. Even as a short person I couldn't stand up in it without my head hitting the ceiling! But I put an Ikea bookshelf in the back and tossed everything that I couldn't fit anywhere else into the closet.

Another great way to utilize space without sacrificing the closet, is to free up some cabinet space. In more formal dining rooms, there's usually a hutch or buffet or two. These might seem like impractical furniture from a bygone era. Although no one would bat an eye at extra cabinets in the living room filled with kitchen essentials.

In my new place, I have 1 dresser filled with kitchen appliances (like the giant food processor, all of the spatulas that I never use, and various pie and cake pans that are only useful on special occasions!). Additionally, I've filled another dresser with tools, bathroom supplies, and a stash of wine. As well as another cabinet filled to the brim with Christmas decorations and summer clothes. Not that those things necessarily ought to go together... but hidden behind wood doors? No one visiting would be the wiser!

3. Cut Down on Unnecessary Kitchen Gadgets

It's easy to say that you can utilize space more efficiently by creating multi-use spaces. But the real hard part comes when there simply isn't enough space to accomodate everything that you want. When you're constrained to a particular space and cannot simply expand? Some things might have to go.

People like to do closet purges when they've reached the limits of their closet space. And the same concept sometimes needs to be applied to kitchen space as well.

For starters, stop collecting fad kitchen appliances. I have several articles on Top 5 Overrated Kitchen Gadgets NOT Worth Buying and Top 10 Kitchen Essentials for Home Cooks. Culinary gadgets go through fads just like anything else. As much as it might seem like this newfangled appliance is the one thing that will get you cooking all of your meals like Suzy Homemaker?? Chances are that, if you don't already cook regularly, no gadget is going to magically and mystically change your entire philosophy to cooking.

How many people do you know with an entire closet full of Instant Pots, Air Fryers, Magic Bullets, and Standing Mixers that they absolutely never use?

The trick to actually using kitchen appliances is already starting to cook and realizing which things would actually make YOUR life easier. I personally use my food processor all of the time. But, if you don't cook the kinds of foods that need to be puréed? Skip it. Or get rid of it if it's already taking up too much of your space.

A good rule of thumb is, if you haven't actually used it in the last year or two or five? It's not worth trying to fit in your space!

4. Step Away from Minimalism & Have What You Use Handy

There are certain things that I use in my cooking life almost every day. I want knives, spatulas, olive oil, salt and pepper grinders, and my air fryer handy at all times. What you do and don't use will absolutely depend on who you are and what you cook. But for me? These are the things that I want to be able to grab without having to rummage through drawers or cabinets.

If space is at a premium, it's easy to try and cram absolutely everything that you can into the cabinet space that you do have. But this makes it incredibly difficult to find the things that you actually want to use! So, I don't even bother. If I'm going to use something every single time that I cook? I just put it in a basket on the countertop or freely at arms reach.

Having things be "neat and tidy" doesn't necessarily mean having them out of the way. The rich and famous tend to gravitate towards minimalism. The reason for this is often two-fold. For one, they don't actually need to use their spaces. Kitchens can be more aesthetic than functional because they don't need to actually use them. Large kitchens are also difficult to fill! When you have so much extra space? Every corner isn't going to be utilized because it's quite frankly difficult to fill.

I have a rather maximalist style. But, if you took everything in my tiny kitchen and dispersed it throughout a kitchen the size of my entire apartment? I'd look like I had a minimalist style, too!

So, don't be afraid to have baskets, jars, and other storage items on the counter and easily accessible.

5. Get Creative

When all else fails, get creative with it! I've seen people turn lazy Susans into DIY spinning cabinets. I've attached hooks to the walls to store absolutely anything that might be able to hang in order to free up counter space. In my last place, I routinely just put my food processor on the floor! If you don't have the space. Figure out how to make what you do have work for you.

A lot of the time there's wall space that's underutilized. In my last place, I put up a number of shelves to use as spice racks and to put soap on.

A lot of the time people put out ornamental bar carts, which frees up counter, closet, or counter space by making it a focal point.

I even have an entire open cabinets displaying my most ornamental Dutch ovens and copper pots. I might not use these in everyday life and don't need them quite at hand. But they make for a fun display area and free up other spaces for cheese graters and things that aren't quite as attractive in my living room.