A Kitchen Goes From Cramped To Convivial

Sarah Tolle—Homify Canada Sarah Tolle—Homify Canada
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This renovation focuses on a small kitchen in a house with a floor plan of 64 meters squared—space is at a premium in this compact home. The previous kitchen was filled to the brim with appliances, offering very little working space for its residents. You'll see in this Before and After how the interior architects from Oficina Preconceito have enacted a refurbishment and integrated the kitchen into the dining room and living room with an open plan, creating a friendly kitchen/dining room layout that the mother of the family has always dreamed of.

The Old

This kitchen was desperately trying to be a multi-functional workspace, with a washer tucked amongst the kitchen appliances, but the realities of such a tight layout have gotten the best of this kitchen. What was intended to be a multi-functional space has converted itself into non-functional space, as this kitchen is trying to do too much at once! Appliances crowd the counters, leaving no space for chopping and prepping, while extra storage space above the cabinets is unaccessible—the family has temporarily solved this problem by using the empty space for long-term storage, as evidenced by the storage bins lining the tops of the cabinets. Simply put, there's just not enough space in this kitchen.

The Plan

There's not just lack of kitchen, there's lack of dining room as well. Therefore, the architects have planned to add a small dining area beside the kitchen—while the kitchen won't actually increase in floor space, it will increase in convenience and spaciousness as the two halves of the room will employ a unique version of an open concept design.  From the birds-eye view, you can see why the kitchen is being kept as-is: moving a stove and sink can be quite a hassle, depending on where the ventilation has been installed; in this case, the designers have found it best to keep all of the main appliances in their original spaces, changing the room around them. 

In this design, you can also see how the kitchen is connected to a small patio; pay attention to how the designers work to emphasize this perk. Additionally, from this birds-eye view you can also see how the dining room table has a flexible design allowing it to accommodate two extra diners when expanded into the living room.

The wall that needs to go

With the kitchen through the doorway on the left, you can peek into the living room to see the space where the wall is going to be cut away in order to give the kitchen some breathing space. The white wall on the left will be torn down, opening up into a dining room that will communicate with the kitchen through another opening in the wall.

Behold, the future dining room

Here it is: the way the dining room began. Soon, this piece of furniture will be pushed out of the way, and this wall will be knocked down in order to accommodate a dining area. With the addition of this dining area, the architects will remove pieces of the kitchen/dining area wall in order to provide a friendly open space between the two areas.

The new kitchen

Here, a new layout has finally given this tiny kitchen some breathing room! A stylish cut-out creates an open dialogue between the kitchen and the dining room, and the added space has provide room to accommodate some of the family's dinnerware in the standing wooden cabinet, freeing up valuable kitchen storage space. High above, you'll notice that the cabinets have been shifted upwards, taking full advantage of the height of the room and allowing the family to enjoy more convenient, out-of-the-way storage.

One interesting aspect of this reno job is the way they've instilled personality into the design: the wood cabinets are from an old wardrobe that was in the storage room of the house, giving even greater character and personalization to this brand new space.

A Friendly View

A view from the new dining area is all you need in order to appreciate the friendly and spacious design of this new kitchen. From this perspective, you can also observe how the microwave has been lifted off of the precious counter space by installing a shelf high above, and how the family enjoys extra counter utility by opting for wall-mounted racks that hold utensils out of the way.

An Open Invitation

Here, this view shows how the new design invites you to enjoy the patio that lies on the other side of the kitchen. A bright green plant and sunlit hallway beckon from the other end of the narrow kitchen, visually pulling a person through the space and creating movement and energy that flows through the room.

Working with a narrow or bright space in your own home? Have a look at this ideabook, which offers tips for picking a bold colour scheme and making it work, even in small spaces.

A Small Foyer as a Finishing Touch

Acting as a mirror for the greenery at one end of the kitchen, two green stools sit by a patterned rug to create a small foyer. As the kitchen itself doesn't benefit from any extra sitting space, this friendly addition is not only a practical way to invite people to socialize around the kitchen space, but it's also a visually appealing way to lengthen the kitchen area by drawing the space across the adjacent hallway.

Has this well-design reno job got the home improvement wheels turning? Have a look at this ideabook for easy kitchen improvement ideas that you can copy at home!

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