I have two Small Space Living Mini-Series features for you! We are talking about kitchens. You may not have a small home but you could have a small kitchen. Or you could have a great kitchen and no pantry. These two kitchens just might inspire you like they did me! I believe you can love your kitchen, no matter the size. It can be organized and look gorgeous! It can be functional and stylish. Both of the kitchens are examples of that.
First-up is my friend Annie from Most Lovely Things. I shared her home HERE on my blog. While I was there I took pictures of the “behind the scenes” of her kitchen. Annie doesn’t necessarily have a small home. But her home is older and it is broken up, leaving it feeling very cozy. She does not have a walk-in pantry, so she created one with the space that leads to her unfinished basement! It is the space behind her stove, just right outside her kitchen.
She painted all the walls white and the floors a dark gray. Then she used the wall space to add some narrow shelves to store some food. Isn’t that a great use of a small space?!
Where do you keep all the small appliances? I keep our blender, panini maker in the cabinet with the microwave. I always hide the microwave!
Make sure to see the rest of Annie’s home HERE and follow her on Instagram HERE
Next Small Space Living Kitchen Feature- From a reader submission Sarah Thatcher
What is your home Motto?
When we moved into this house three years ago, we knew we wanted it to be a place where anyone could come in and feel loved. As we have designed it and made changes, we kept that goal in mind. Our hope is that it is a place that feels inviting and peaceful.
Square footage – 1690
Why do you live in a smaller home?
Our first few years of marriage, we lived in a larger home but then we moved to Uganda and realized that all of that space we had was unnecessary. So when we moved back to Arizona, we decided to purchase a smaller home in a neighborhood that we absolutely love. When we moved into this home three years ago, we didn’t have any kids but since then, we have adopted 3 babies and so far, we still feel like we have more than enough space for the five of us.
The kitchen was our first renovation project that we started when we moved in. There was a wall separating our living room/dining room area and our kitchen and so we had it removed. This was a game changer! Before the kitchen was very separate and dark and now it is much more open. We tore down 1/3 of our cabinets and at first I was nervous that we wouldn’t have enough space for all of our stuff but as I purged and got rid of the things that we weren’t using, I found we have plenty of space! My husband framed out the window and built the open shelves. We painted our cabinets and added the subway tile backsplash. We found inexpensive butcher block counter tops at ikea and also installed a new farmhouse sink. The space is perfect for us I love that now I can see my family in the living room as I’m prepping a meal or doing the dishes.
Where do you keep all the small appliances? I like to keep my countertops fairly clear so the only small appliance that is on the counter is the coffee maker. Although we use our blender everyday, we keep it one of the bottom cabinets and only take it out when we are using it. When we moved into this home, there was a microwave installed above the stove but when we removed that wall, there was no place for the microwave to go so it is actually out in our garage! We walk out there every single time we need something heated in the microwave and surprisingly, it doesn’t bother me one bit!
Do you have a pantry? Not technically….We use the taller cabinets to the right of our refrigerator as our “pantry”.
Are cleaning supplies in the kitchen? The majority of our cleaning supplies are kept in our kitchen underneath the sink. I do keep some of the cleaning supplies upstairs in the laundry room.
We are on a tight budget so most of the changes we have made to our home have been DIY. I love seeing a room transform, especially when you don’t have to spend a fortune to do it! We have never felt cramped in our home because we are constantly purging and minimizing to keep our home clutter-free.
Thank you Sarah for sharing your kitchen with us and how you thrive in a small space! Make sure to check our Sarah Thatcher HERE
Find the rest of the Small Space Living Features HERE
As always you are right on the mark. We are scaling back from a spacious 1,880 country home with pole barn and studio and moving shortly to a small 1,200 condo. I will have a small kitchen so this was great topic to read about. Maybe one day I’ll show you my small kitchen too.
Thank you!!
I cannot put into words how happy I am to win the gift card. My daughter and I have always been close, but when she bought a 960 square foot home, we have shared stories, ideas, food, and friendship. She and her husband have learned to live within their harvest, to enjoy dinner and lunch together each day instead of falling prey to eating out. They have made their deck there outdoor living room- ( which they built last summer together) . While we often think of more and more, it is truly the simple things that make us the happiest. Thank you again!!!
Love the small space series. We are a family of 3 in an 1100 square foot town house in southern California. Great ideas!