Ideas for Adding Dining Space to a Small Kitchen
To add dining space to the small kitchen, a small wall previously used for housing a makeshift island was re-oriented as a custom sit-down gathering area. To put every inch of space to good use, a bar-height table was made from reclaimed wood by furniture designer Dan Faires. It was attached directly into the wall studs rather than taking up more space with additional legs.
The floating-style table seats up to four comfortably. By keeping the space below open, there’s ample leg room for four guests to spread out. Dan constructed the table from reclaimed wood, sanded it until smooth and gave it a new finish with a wax treatment.
Prior to the kitchen redesign, homeowners Sarah and John kept many of their pots and pans inside their kitchen cabinets. To free up cabinet space and put the space above the gathering area to good use, a pot rack pendant light was installed. The bottom of the pot rack sits 48 inches above the top of the table to allow proper space for pots to hang and ensure guests’ views of one another are not impeded.
To save space, stackable steel stools with a powder-coated celery green finish are used as seating for the gathering area. When not in use, the four stools can be stacked two high, then stored underneath the table.
Although the kitchen is tight on space, personality was still squeezed in to the design wherever possible. One of Sarah and John’s favorite art pieces hangs on the wall that houses the floating-style bar-height table. This adds not only a true focal point to the kitchen but also a touch of bold color to the otherwise earthy neutral space.
Thanks to the wall-mounted bar-height table and clever storage solutions throughout the cabinets and drawers, Sarah and John’s kitchen now doubles as an eat-in dining space.
By designating dead space below wall cabinets as coffee cup storage, Sarah and John were able to free up two shelves that now keep baby feeding supplies neatly organized. The hanging coffee cup rack was installed directly into the bottom of the cabinets with screws; the rack pulls out and slides forward keeping cups within easy reach.
To free up counter space, a cabinet-door-mounted paper towel holder was added to one of the base cabinets. This is an easy way to save space without any handy skills; the holder simply clips to the top of the cabinet door and holds itself in place.
Spice jars with chalkboard fronts allow Sarah and John to easily and clearly label each jar. Since the jars are the same green accent color used throughout the space, they double as decoration.
Reaching for then sorting through pans can be irritating -- especially inside extra-deep base cabinets. Simplify by installing upright pan racks that utilize vertical space rather than the cabinet’s depth.
Shelving space inside Sarah and John’s wall-mounted cabinets is maximized with stackable wire racks. The racks come in different heights and widths and allow various sizes of plates to stack neatly within the same cabinet.
Dan and I put dead space near the kitchen’s entrance to good use as a serving buffet made from pine planks and plumbing supplies. The project was created and installed in two days and cost less than $250 in materials.
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To integrate wine storage into the kitchen, vertical space near the refrigerator was outfitted with bottle racks.