13 Easy Ways To Make Your Kitchen Look Bigger

The kitchen is often considered the most important room in the home. Other than the bedroom, it is usually the most-used room in any dwelling, regardless if you are a cooking fanatic or are more inclined to microwave most of your food. Sometimes, however, a kitchen can feel small and difficult to use due to lack of space. If your kitchen feels small, there are ways to make it appear bigger.

To make your kitchen look bigger, reduce clutter, remove appliances from your counters that you don’t use every day, and opt for a minimalistic aesthetic. Use a single sink instead of a double, and use windows to get as much natural light as possible. Paint dark surfaces lighter, and opt for see-through cabinets. Remove the door from your walk-in pantry, and consider adding more lighting and some floating shelves.

Your kitchen might be small, but it doesn’t have to look small. There are many ways to create more space in any kitchen, and several tricks to make it appear much larger than it is. If your kitchen is small and you don’t have the budget for a major remodel, this article is for you. Below is a list of several easy and effective ways to make your small kitchen look much larger.

13 Effective And Easy Ways To Make Your Kitchen Look Bigger

1. Add Mirrors And Reflective Surfaces

One decorative way to make your kitchen look bigger without changing much at all is to add mirrors. Strategically placed mirrors can make almost any room appear larger than it is, including a kitchen.

Place mirrors on walls, including in small breakfast nooks. This will help elongate these narrow spaces. Other reflective surfaces such as tiles, backsplashes, or glass cabinetry or decorations help as well.

2. Paint Dark Elements Lighter

Painting is one of the best ways to make any space appear larger than it is. Specifically, you should paint anything dark a much lighter color. If you have mahogany or black cabinets and shelves, paint the cabinets a soft, light color like white, cream, or powder blue.

Making your kitchen look lighter makes it brighter. It allows shadows and edges to appear more clearly. This all helps make a small kitchen look bigger. Best of all, you can make this change by buying one or two cheap cans of paint and a few painting supplies.

3. Allow More Natural Light In Through Your Windows

Another way to help make a kitchen look bigger, brighter, and full of life is to allow in more natural light. To achieve this, ensure nothing is in front of your kitchen windows. Remove decorations, and get rid of curtains. If you need curtains, opt for easy-to-retract curtains or sheer ones.

If you have overgrown hedges or climbing plants outside the window, ensure they are properly pruned. More natural light and an unobstructed view of the outside can help make your kitchen feel bigger.

4. Make Cabinets See-Through

Another way to make your kitchen appear larger involves adjusting your cabinets and storage spaces. Swapping out solid wood doors for glass or see-through doors can make your kitchen look bigger.

Seeing into deep cabinets makes the wall look further than it is. If you keep your cabinets tidy, it also adds a clean aesthetic element to the kitchen.

5. Remove Lesser-Used Appliances From Countertops

Sometimes less is more, especially when trying to make a small kitchen look bigger. If your kitchen countertop space is limited, you must do all you can to maximize it.

One way to make your kitchen and its countertops look roomier is to remove any small appliances you don’t use regularly from the counter. A microwave could stay, but toasters, blenders, and other such appliances should be stored elsewhere and pulled out only when you use them.

6. Add Dynamic Lighting In Dark Areas

Since light colors help make a space look warm and larger, you may want to add additional lighting to your kitchen. For example, recessed lighting underneath cabinets, over breakfast tables, and even in your pantry are all ways to brighten up your small kitchen.

If your small kitchen only has one main light, find fun and easy spots to add additional dynamic lighting. This will make your kitchen look bigger, and also better.

7. Install Floating Shelves Or Open Shelving

Open shelving and floating shelves are great ways to maximize space in a small kitchen. They can also help make your room look bigger than it is. Open shelving removes a door, which acts like a barrier to the eye. Removing the barrier allows the eye to see further, and in turn, the space appears bigger.

Floating shelving allows you additional functional storage space when counter space and other storage options are limited.

8. Remove The Door From A Walk-In Pantry Or Closet

If you have a small kitchen but a big pantry or kitchen closet, show off this additional space. Instead of keeping the door to your pantry closed, remove the door altogether.

By removing the door from your walk-in pantry, you can make the space look like an extension of your kitchen. This is particularly true if you organize your pantry nicely and add additional lighting. 

9. Use Horizontal Lines And Geometric Patterns

Another optical illusion you can use to help make your kitchen look larger involves lines and geometric shapes. Having horizontal lines in the form of wallpaper, a backsplash, or even paint helps to draw the eye to follow the long width of the room. These lines help make the space appear wider than it is. 

10. Declutter Your Kitchen

Another great and easy way to make your kitchen look bigger without spending money is to remove the clutter. Over time, kitchens tend to collect extra utensils, pots, pans, and mountains of Tupperware. 

Take some time to go through all the items in your kitchen and get rid of anything you don’t use. Purging this room of unnecessary objects will free up lots of storage, and it will make the room look angular, clean, and bigger than before.

11. Opt For A Single Sink

If you are replacing your kitchen sink or remodeling your small kitchen and want it to look bigger, opt for a single sink. While there are some benefits of having a double sink, it’s also perfectly fine and functional to have a single sink. Furthermore, this will free up counter space and help make the kitchen look larger.

12. Downsize Your Coffee Nook

Coffee makers and the accessories that accompany them can take up a lot of counter space. While morning coffee is essential to many people who need to wake up early, it can also make your kitchen look cluttered and smaller.

If possible, try using an alternative coffee-making method, like a French Press or pour-over, both of which take up far less space. Alternatively, store the filters, coffee, and grinder in a bin underneath the counter, so the coffee tools take up less real estate on the countertops.

13. Opt For A Minimalist Aesthetic

Lastly, when you are trying to make your kitchen look larger, ensure you consider the aesthetic you are going for. Sure, you may love country chic or European elegance, but this won’t make your kitchen look any less small.

Instead, opt for minimalism in your kitchen. Don’t display lots of art on the walls, and avoid incorporating too many trinkets. Use clean and angular lines, and consider using very few, yet notable, accents, like a beautiful vase that you add fresh flowers to regularly.

Summing Up Ways To Make Your Kitchen Look Bigger

Just because you have a small kitchen, it doesn’t mean it has to look and feel small. To make your kitchen appear bigger than it is, add mirrors and other reflective surfaces, paint dark surfaces lighter, and let more natural light in through windows. Remove the door to your walk-in pantry to make it an extension of the kitchen. Declutter your kitchen by getting rid of items you don’t need, and store fewer appliances on your countertops to allow more space and cleaner lines.

Related Guides:

• Kitchen Sink Dimensions and Guidelines (with Drawings)
• Ways To Create More Counter Space In Your Kitchen
• Where Do You Store Food If You Don’t Have A Pantry?