GoodHome Artemisia Midnight Blue Shaker kitchen, B&Q
Maximising worktop space is always a priority when you are designing a kitchen for a small space. You need to make room for prepping food and dishing up food, plus drying dishes and tabletop appliances and, in some cases, eating too. Here are five top tips for freeing up space on kitchen worktops.
MosaiQ Storage System by Rational kitchens
1. Use kitchen wall-hanging storage
Make use of that space between wall units and the worktop by securing a mix of kitchen wall-hanging storage - knives, cooking utensils, mugs spices and even pots of herbs can be stored here. Hooks can be placed under wall-hung kitchen units too, which can be used to hang mugs and wooden spoons, etc.
Wimbledon Modern Shaker Kitchen Pantry, Brayer Design
2. Create a hidden kitchen worktop
Providing your floor-to-ceiling kitchen unit is suitably ventilated and fitted with plug sockets, you can create an internal kitchen worktop inside it, where you can keep and use small kitchen appliances, such as a coffee maker, or chop food. This area can also be made with a shelf that pulls out to create a breakfast bar or deeper prep space.
GoodHome Oven Microwave 60cm, £748, B&Q
3. Get your microwave off your kitchen counter
Opt for a conventional oven that also doubles up as a microwave, so you don't need to have a chunky microwave cluttering up your worktop, or sacrifice the microwave altogether. Think about it, you can probably do everything you use it for either on your hob or in your standard oven.
Battersea Dark Country Kitchen with built-in Quooker boiling water tap, Brayer Design.
4. Swap your kettle for a boiling water tap
This solution requires sacrificing space in the unit under your kitchen sink to free up the space that would be taken up by a kettle on your kitchen counter, but every inch helps when worktop space is tight. A system that provides instant boiling water can be fitted under your kitchen units and this feeds a boiling water tap that is fitted alongside your standard kitchen sink taps.
Door-hung spice rack by Burbidge
5. Create extra storage inside kitchen unit doors
The inside of kitchen unit doors can often be used for storing items that are often left out on display on kitchen worktops: spice racks, kitchen paper, aluminium foil and clingfilm, for example. Build these additional storage areas into your small kitchen space to free up even more space on your kitchen worktops.
Read on – The best hob design for a small kitchen
