Kitchen planning guide
Small Kitchen Design Solutions
Practical ways to get more from a small kitchen: where the storage really is, which appliances to choose, how to plan a narrow room, and how to make it feel larger than it measures.
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In this guide
Start with what you actually use
A small kitchen has no room for things that are not used. Before anything is designed, it is worth an honest list: which appliances come out every week, which pans and dishes are used daily, what food is bought in bulk, and whether anyone eats in the kitchen. The answers decide more than the size of the room does.
The kitchen then needs three things done well: storage you can reach without emptying a cupboard, a clear stretch of worktop for preparing food, and enough light to work by. A small room that gets those right is easier to cook in than a large one that does not.
Shapes that suit small rooms
The room usually leaves only two or three realistic shapes. Our kitchen layout planning guide covers every layout in full; these are the points that matter most when space is short.
Single run
Where the room is too narrow for units on both sides, one run along the longest wall keeps the floor free. Put the sink and hob far enough apart to leave a working stretch between them, and use tall units at one end for the storage the single run cannot hold.
Galley
Two facing runs give the most storage in a narrow room. The gap between them decides whether it works: about a metre is the practical minimum, and wider is better if the dishwasher and oven doors face each other. If the galley is a corridor to the garden, keep the hob on the side away from the route through.
Compact L-shape
In a small, squarer room, an L-shape leaves floor space for a table or simply for moving about. The corner is the weak spot, so give it a proper fitting or a drawer run rather than a deep cupboard nobody can reach into.
Peninsula or fold-down bar
A short peninsula can add worktop and a place to eat without the space an island needs. Where even that is too much, a fold-down or pull-out table built into the end of a run gives a breakfast spot that disappears when it is not wanted.
Storage that earns its place
Most small kitchens have more storage than they use well. These are the changes that make the biggest difference.
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Go up to the ceiling
Wall units that stop short leave a dusty shelf above them. Taller wall units, or a second row above, hold the things used a few times a year, and draw the eye up so the room feels taller.
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Drawers instead of cupboards
Deep pan drawers under the hob and main worktop show everything at once. A standard base cupboard hides half its contents behind the other half.
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Tall larder units
One tall unit with internal drawers or pull-out baskets can hold a week’s food shopping, and it uses floor space that would otherwise be a single base unit.
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Narrow pull-outs
Gaps of 150 to 300 mm beside the cooker or at the end of a run take pull-out racks for oils, spices, trays and chopping boards.
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Plinth drawers
The space under the base units, behind the plinth, can take shallow drawers for baking trays and other flat things that never fit anywhere else.
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Corners that work
Pull-out corner fittings or carousels bring the back of a corner cupboard forward. Without them, the corner becomes the place things go to be forgotten.
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Inside the doors and on the walls
Racks inside cupboard doors, a magnetic knife strip and a short rail with hooks keep everyday tools off the worktop.
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Organised drawer interiors
Cutlery trays, adjustable dividers and peg systems for plates and bowls fit more into the same drawer and keep it usable.
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Open shelves, used sparingly
A short run of open shelving makes a small room feel less boxed in than solid wall units, as long as it holds things that look tidy on display.
Short on space? We will measure the room and show you where the storage can come from.
Appliances for small kitchens
Appliances take a big share of a small kitchen, so their sizes are worth deciding early. A slimline dishwasher is 450 mm wide against the standard 600 mm, which frees enough space for a narrow pull-out or a drawer unit, and it usually holds enough for a household of two or three.
A single oven built under the worktop leaves the wall above it free for storage, where a tall oven housing takes a full-height column. A compact combination microwave, which bakes, grills and microwaves, can fit in a housing above it and replace a microwave sitting on the worktop. A 600 mm hob suits most households; a narrow two-zone domino hob is worth considering where the run is very short.
For cold storage, the choice is between a tall fridge-freezer, which uses one column of floor space, and under-counter models, which keep the worktop continuous but hold less. Integrated appliances sit behind matching doors, which makes a small room look calmer and less cluttered.
Extraction needs thought in a small kitchen, because steam and smells have less room to go. A ducted extractor that vents outside is the most effective; where there is no route out, a recirculating extractor with carbon filters is the alternative. In many terraced houses the back wall gives a short route out for the ducting.
Finally, the washing machine. If there is anywhere else for it, a utility space, under the stairs or a cupboard in the hall, moving it out of the kitchen frees a full 600 mm of base unit for storage. That depends on getting water and a waste to the new position, which is worth checking at the survey.
Worktops, sinks and splashbacks
In a small kitchen the worktop is the working space, so every decision about it is about keeping as much of it clear and usable as possible. A light worktop makes the room feel larger, and a single continuous length, or as few joints as possible, looks calmer than a run broken into short pieces. Laminate and timber are cut on site, which makes fitting them around awkward walls and chimney breasts straightforward; quartz and other stone are templated after the units are in.
The sink takes a large share of a short run. A single bowl with a drainer is the usual choice in a small kitchen, but a sink with drainer grooves cut into the worktop, or a bowl with a fitted chopping board over it, can give back preparation space when the sink is not in use. An undermount sink under a stone or solid-surface worktop also leaves a flat surface to wipe straight into.
Splashbacks can do a lot of the work of making the room feel bigger. A full-height splashback in glass, or large tiles with few grout lines, reflects light and reads as one surface. Where the window sill sits just above the worktop, running the worktop material into the reveal can add a useful shelf.
Making the room feel bigger
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Light colours and reflective surfaces
Pale units, a light worktop and a gloss, glass or large-tile splashback bounce daylight around the room. Dark colours can still work on a lower run or an island, with lighter colours above.
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Fewer lines
Handleless or slim-handled doors, a continuous worktop and matching end panels give the eye fewer breaks, so the room reads as one piece rather than a collection of boxes.
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Layers of light
A single ceiling light leaves the worktop in your own shadow. Lighting under the wall units makes the room feel brighter and more open, and a ceiling light then only needs to light the floor.
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Continuous flooring
Running the same floor through from the next room, or using large tiles with few joints, makes the kitchen look part of a bigger space.
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Clear worktops
Every appliance that lives on the worktop shrinks the kitchen. Plan homes for the kettle, toaster and microwave, ideally in a tall unit or behind a door, so the worktop stays clear.
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Doors that work for you
A door that opens into a small kitchen can take a whole wall out of use. Rehanging it to open the other way, or replacing it with a sliding or pocket door, can free space for a run of units.
Small kitchens in Derby homes
The house usually explains why the kitchen is small, and points to the way to fix it.
Terraced houses
In the older terraces around Derby, the kitchen is often a narrow room at the back of the house, sometimes with the back door at the far end. A galley or a single run usually suits it best. The sink normally stays near the back wall, where the waste pipe leaves the house, and the main choice is whether to keep the room as it is or open it into the room behind.
1930s semis
In a typical 1930s semi, the kitchen is small and the dining room sits beside it. A compact L-shape suits the original room, and opening the two rooms into one is the change most often considered.
Flats and newer houses
City-centre flats and many newer houses have kitchens that are open to the living space or set along one wall. The aim there is to keep the kitchen looking calm from the sofa: integrated appliances, doors that match, and storage for everything that would otherwise sit on the worktop.
Finding more room
Sometimes the best answer to a small kitchen is to make the room bigger. In terraced and semi-detached houses, the most common change is opening the kitchen into the dining room or back room behind it. The wall is often load-bearing, so it needs a structural engineer’s beam design and building regulations approval from the council, but it can turn a narrow galley into a kitchen with space to eat.
Smaller changes can help too: borrowing the space under the stairs for a larder or the washing machine, taking in a little of the hallway, or moving a boiler that sits in a kitchen wall cupboard into the loft or another room. A boiler move has to be done by a Gas Safe registered engineer.
Planning a small kitchen, step by step
- Measure properly. Width, length and height, plus the positions of the window, doors, radiator, boiler and the existing waste pipe. Note anything that is not square or level.
- List what has to fit. The appliances you will keep or buy, with their sizes, and the things you need to store.
- Fix the services. Decide where the sink, hob and any washing machine will go, based on where water, waste, gas and power can reach without major work.
- Choose the shape. Pick the layout the room allows, then place the sink and hob with clear worktop between them.
- Plan the storage. Give everyday items drawers at waist height and put the occasional ones up high or in a tall unit.
- Add light and sockets. Plan lighting under the wall units and sockets where the small appliances will be used, before the walls are closed up.
- Check it on site. Have the plan checked against a site measure before you order anything.
What the fit involves
A small kitchen is not much quicker to fit than a larger one. Most of the time goes on the parts every kitchen needs: stripping out, first-fix plumbing and electrics, levelling the units, the worktops, second-fix and tiling. Fitting units you have already bought usually takes two to five days; a full renovation with new plumbing, wiring and tiling is more like one to three weeks.
Fit-only for a smaller kitchen usually starts from about £1,500 to £2,500. Small kitchens also tend to have more filler pieces, scribing and made-to-measure panels for their size, because every centimetre is being used. Our kitchen budget guide covers where to spend and where to save.
While the work is going on, a temporary kitchen in another room helps: a kettle, a microwave and a table, with meals cooked and frozen in advance. Derbyshire Joinery Specialists was founded by Liam Taylor, who has more than ten years in property and joinery. Our joiners do the fitting and our partner electricians, plumbers and tilers come in at the right stage, so the room is out of action for as short a time as possible.
Small kitchen questions
What is the smallest room a fitted kitchen can work in?
Very small rooms can still take a useful kitchen if every part is planned: a single run or tight galley, full-height storage, a slimline dishwasher and a built-under oven. What matters most is a clear stretch of worktop between the sink and the hob, and somewhere to put things down beside each.
How can I make a dark, small kitchen feel lighter?
Use pale units and a light worktop, add a reflective splashback, fit lighting under the wall units, and keep the worktop clear of appliances. If the kitchen shares a wall with the next room, opening it up is the biggest change of all, but it usually needs structural work and approval.
Should I have a breakfast bar or more storage?
It depends on whether you eat in the kitchen. If the bar would be used every day, it earns its place. If not, a full run of drawers and cupboards usually serves a small kitchen better, and a fold-down table can give an occasional place to eat.
Is a slimline dishwasher big enough?
For most households of two or three, yes. It is 450 mm wide instead of 600 mm, and the 150 mm it saves can become a pull-out or a narrow drawer unit. Larger families who cook from scratch every day usually find the full-size model worth the space.
Where can the washing machine go if not the kitchen?
Under the stairs, in a hall cupboard, a utility room or a bathroom, as long as water and a waste pipe can reach it. Moving it out frees a full base unit in the kitchen. We will look at whether the pipework can get there when we survey.
Are handleless doors practical in a small kitchen?
Yes, and they help a small room look less busy. Doors with a recessed rail or a profiled edge are easy to open with wet or full hands; push-to-open doors suit wall units better than drawers that are used all day.
Can a small kitchen have an island?
Rarely. An island needs about a metre of clear floor all the way round, which most small kitchens do not have. A short peninsula or a fold-down table usually gives the same extra worktop or place to eat without blocking the room.
Can you fit a small kitchen I have bought myself?
Yes. We fit kitchens from Howdens, Wren, Magnet, IKEA, B&Q, Wickes and independent showrooms. In a small room, check the plan against a site measure before ordering, because a few centimetres either way decides whether an appliance or filler fits.
Keep reading
More on planning a kitchen
Make the most of a small kitchen
A site measure is where a small kitchen is won or lost. Call 01332 215505, Monday to Saturday, 7:30am to 6pm, and we will come and look at the room.
