For many, kitchens are considered to be the heart of the home. It’s where they wander to in the morning for that first sip of coffee, where they share laughs with friends, or enjoy a wholesome dinner with those they love.
A cramped kitchen can feel incredibly claustrophobic, restricted and unwelcoming, making it less of a space of sanctuary and more one you wish to leave as soon as possible. There are so many ways that a kitchen can become a cramped space too, especially when you’re working with a small kitchen like mine!
To help identify the problem areas that are making your kitchen look more cramped that it actually is I spoke to Helen Parker, creative director of deVol Kitchens, Fred Horlock, design director at British kitchen and home furnishing company Neptune, and kitchen design expert Tamsin Holland from Paula Rosa Kitchens.
They explained how colours and finishes in a kitchen can make a space feel more closed in, as can surplus furniture and items that create visual clutter. These were their top tips for the things that are making your kitchen appear cluttered and cramped and what you can do about it for a quick fix to open up the space.
1. Keeping too many items on your counters
Kitchen surfaces often find themselves becoming home to all sorts, from gadgets and decor to house keys, books, and more. However, the more items you leave out on your counters, the busier and, in turn, more cramped your kitchen is going to look.
Helen explains: ‘Kitchen clutter is a problem and is not the way to keep a calm and simple space. Just be selective; there is nothing more unappealing than a busy kitchen full of stuff, with no space to cook or enjoy the simplicity of something beautiful.’
Being selective about what you leave on your kitchen counters, as Helen suggests, will free up space, instantly opening up your kitchen visually. It will also allow you to see the items you love more, as choosing less with intention will allow each individual item to stand in its pride of place.
Something that has worked for me to help keep clutter at bay on my surfaces is using an attractive basket or a kitchen tray as a drop zone. Something neutral like the VonHaus Seagrass Storage Baskets from Amazon will give you a home for those little things that end up everywhere so your kitchen looks less cramped.
2. Using too many colours and finishes
If a kitchen is decked out in all the world’s colours and finishes, it can end up looking fussy and cramped. This is even more likely the case in smaller kitchens, which already run a higher risk of looking cramped due to their limited capacity.
Fred suggests sticking to one main kitchen colour scheme and accenting with others that complement the shade well to make your cramped kitchen look and feel as spacious as possible. He shares: ‘By painting cabinets, walls and even the ceiling in single or related shades, you soften the room's edges and remove visual interruptions, allowing the eye to move fluidly through the space.’
Light sage, dusty pinks or tranquil blues are good places to start when considering a colour palette for your kitchen. These are all relatively bright but also neutral, meaning they will work well with a lot of other tones, finishes and materials in the room.
3. Using dark colours without balance
An entirely dark kitchen will lack the balance achieved through adding contrasting accent pieces which lift the space and prevent it from looking flat and cramped.
Dark colours can look gorgeous and super classy in a kitchen though. If you’re hoping to keep a deeper palette in yours but don’t want it to look cramped, Tamsin advises: ‘Limiting darker shades to one key element and balancing them with lighter finishes helps create impact without making the kitchen feel heavy. A common approach is to keep deeper tones to lower cabinetry or an island, which grounds the space without closing it in.’
If you’re unsure what colours to opt for, using a tool like the RAL K5 Colour Chart from Amazon can be a great source of inspiration.
4. Overfilled open shelving
Open shelving is perfect for displaying what you love and keeping your kitchen items within reach. However, the downside of open shelving is how quickly it can look cluttered and cramp your kitchen if too much is stored inside.
To help remedy this, pause to first ask yourself these two questions when choosing to put an item on open shelving: Do I really love seeing this every day? and Do I need this to be something easily accessible? From there you can curate your open shelving to be both aesthetically pleasing as well as functional.
Tamsin adds: ‘Open shelving should feel well put together; if every shelf is packed, dust and grease have more places to settle.’
5. Excessive cabinetry
Wall-to-wall cabinets are excellent for providing extra storage but they can very much box your kitchen in and make it look cramped. Fortunately, there are ways to help with this that don’t involve dismantling a cabinet or two.
Fred suggests: ‘Including softer items like table lamps and artwork gives the space a more multifunctional feel and eases harsh lines.’
You can also paint your cabinets in a softer tone like cream or light brown or in a tone that matches your kitchen walls so that the cabinets stand out less in the space. This way, they won’t be a feature, instead blending into the kitchen as opposed to standing out.
If your kitchen is starting to feel a bit on the cosy side (and not in a good way) it might be down to one of these five culprits.