How to Make a Small Kitchen Look Bigger: 10 Budget Design Tricks
The most common question we hear about small kitchens is simple: how do I make it look bigger? The answer isn't always a renovation. With smart colour choices, clever lighting, and strategic design, you can create the illusion of significantly more space often for under $100.
The Principles Behind Making a Space Feel Larger
There are three core principles that designers rely on to make small kitchens feel bigger: maximising light, reducing visual clutter, and creating a sense of depth. Every technique in this guide works on at least one of these principles.
1. Use a Light, Uniform Colour Palette
The most powerful tool in a small kitchen is colour. Light walls, light cabinets, and light worktops blur the boundaries between surfaces, making the room feel continuous and open. Use the same colour or very similar tones throughout to avoid visual interruptions that make a space feel smaller.
Best light colours for small kitchens:
2. Maximise Natural Light
Natural light is your greatest asset in a small kitchen. Replace heavy curtains with sheer blinds or café-style half curtains that let light in while providing privacy. Keep window ledges clear. If privacy isn't an issue, remove window coverings entirely.
💡 Pro Tip: Clean your windows inside and out. It sounds obvious, but dirty glass can reduce the amount of light entering a room by up to 30%.
3. Add Artificial Lighting Strategically
Dark corners make kitchens feel smaller. Under-cabinet LED strips, a statement pendant light over the sink, and puck lights inside glass-fronted cabinets all add depth and light. Good layered lighting makes a small kitchen feel far more spacious in the evening.
4. Extend Cabinets to the Ceiling
Cabinets that stop short of the ceiling create a visual 'shelf' of dead space above them which actually draws attention to the fact that the room is small. If possible, extend your cabinets to the ceiling or add a trim piece to bridge the gap. This vertical line draws the eye upward and makes the room feel taller.
5. Use Glass Cabinet Doors
Solid cabinet doors create flat walls of colour. Glass-fronted cabinet doors create depth your eye travels into the cabinet rather than stopping at the door. Even one or two glass fronted doors breaks up the visual mass and makes the kitchen feel more open.
6. Choose Reflective Surfaces
Glossy cabinet paint, mirrored backsplash tiles, and polished chrome or brass hardware all reflect light and create a sense of depth. This is particularly effective in northfacing kitchens that don't receive direct sunlight. A mirrored or glass-tile backsplash is one of the most impactful and affordable upgrades available.
7. Keep Worktops Clear
Every appliance, utensil holder, and ornament on your worktop makes the kitchen feel smaller. Move as much as possible off the surface into cabinets, onto walls, or out of the kitchen entirely. A clear worktop is the visual equivalent of a much larger kitchen.
💡 Pro Tip: If you use an item every single day (kettle, toaster, coffee machine), it can stay on the counter. Everything else should have a home elsewhere.
8. Use Continuous Flooring
If your kitchen floor is a different material or colour to an adjacent hallway or dining area, it creates a visual boundary that makes your kitchen feel like a box. Using continuous flooring throughout or at least choosing a floor that is lighter and flows naturally removes this boundary and visually extends the space.
9. Choose Slim, Integrated Appliances
Bulky freestanding appliances make small kitchens feel cluttered. Where budget allows, integrated appliances that sit flush with cabinetry create a seamlessly clean line. Even choosing slimmer models a 45cm dishwasher instead of 60cm, for example can make a meaningful difference.
10. Add a Mirror
A well-placed mirror on a wall or as a backsplash bounces light and creates a genuine optical illusion of depth. Even a small mirror mounted between shelves on a side wall can make a compact kitchen feel significantly larger. This is a trick interior designers rely on in studio flats and small apartments worldwide.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best colour to make a small kitchen look bigger?
Brilliant white is the most effective colour for maximising the sense of space, as it reflects the most light. However, a single coherent colour used throughout even a dark one can also make a small kitchen feel more spacious by removing visual boundaries between surfaces.
Does an open plan layout make a small kitchen feel bigger?
Yes. Removing a wall between a kitchen and dining area is one of the most effective ways to create the feeling of space. However, if a structural change isn't possible, using consistent flooring and keeping the visual line between rooms uninterrupted achieves a similar effect for far less cost.
Do dark colours make a small kitchen look smaller?
Not necessarily. A single bold dark colour used consistently throughout a small kitchen can create a cocooning, intentional feeling that feels luxurious rather than cramped. It's inconsistent use of colour mixing light and dark that tends to make small spaces feel smaller.