Don't forget that you can use the inside of your oven AND the drawers in your fridge for extra storage if needed... I actually used to keep my spatulas etc in the fridge when I lived in an apartment that had one - ONE drawer.

Great tips! I also think it's good to maximise storage space by using extra shelves in cabinets and using the back of the door. Here's the rest of my tips: http://annabelvita.com/2012/05/10/top-tips-for-tiny-rental-kitchens/

I love the geometric curtains in the first photo. Would you know where these are from?

The only problem with open storage- either hanging or shelves- is the weird greasy dust that kitchens produce. When I had a utensil rack, I found I had to throw them in the dishwasher regularly whether they had been used or not. I finally took it down.

I did find it helpful to remove items from the kitchen to another location as a mid step for getting rid of them. If I put the blender in the basement, and a couple of months went by without wondering where the blender went, then I felt more secure getting rid of it. This also saved me from the horror of accidentally trashing my husband's favorite spatula. It took a day for him to ask where his spatula was! Oops. Right here in the sock drawer, dear.

I'm hoping to move out of my house and to a smaller space in about two years. I have an image of a peg board, painted a bright color (oh, who am I kidding: hot pink!) and hanging my pots and pans on it. I could do it where I am now, and might, though I am okay on space here.

The kitchen appliances I find absolutely necessary are my blender (which is part blender and part food processor and can mix batter and cut veggies) and toaster. I lived without a toaster a long time, and I missed it and won't go back to not having one. (Note: I have an old mixer in a cabinet that probably still works, but I have not used it in forever, preferring really to hand mix batter but there are a couple of recipes from my childhood that require a mixer at the stove top and also if I wanted to make meringue or fresh whipped cream, so for now I am keeping it.)

On June 20 my power was out and the microwave time went to default. I do not know how long it had been before that since it had been used, but I can tell you I have not used it after. I did not reset the time and the only thing I have missed has been the clock (simple fix, moved a battery-operated, funky but lovely clock from the guest bedroom to the kitchen counter) and the timer (using my cell phone right now but might buy a small kitchen timer at some point). This week I unplugged the microwave. It will probably go away in September, and I will get back the valuable real estate in my kitchen. I am going to finally have the landing pad for the things that come in and out with me (I come in and out through the garage next to the kitchen). Nothing wrong with a microwave if one uses it a lot (well actually there might be something wrong with them, but I will leave that for another discussion). I have not used mine much at all for a couple of years. Now that I'm determining I can live without it, I am glad to give it away and to move on.

I'm going on break from school work for six months and during that time am doing a massive clean out as if I were moving right away. These blogs about downsizing are very helpful as are the comments being made. Thanks everyone.

@ annabelvia - amazing tips girl! I'm loving it!
I'm moving into a small unit with a tiny galley kitchen, with only 2 tiny bits of counter space on either side of the sink. WHAT! So the small patch of carpet off the kitchen meant for a small dining table will now be used for a DIY kitchen bar (like an island but its not in the center of the kitchen so i guess its a bar). Using the 2x4 expedit as the island base means you have all of those neat cubby holes for storage, from wine bottle slots to cookbooks to extra pots and pans! And we've more than doubled out counter space - yeah we don't have table now but you can eat at the bar - in a small space you have to make some tough choices but its worth it. Here is an example of what it looks like from Ikea Hackers.
http://www.ikeahackers.net/2011/06/expedit-island.html

Since there are only two of us the dishwasher is not really essential, so we use it to store pots and pans in our too small kitchen.

@Annabelvita: Thanks for sharing. Very much enjoyed your blog.

In many older houses, the door to the basement is in the kitchen. I've seen some cool uses of that stairway space. You can often fit a large shelf overhead on the stairway, for example, or line the walls with narrow shelves. You can also put a storage rack on the back of the door.

@laurainalameda - This is true and not true. Yes, things can get greasy, but not if you keep the rack away from the stove. Install it away from the stove, and you shouldn't accumulate grease. I hung up measuring cups because they were a mismatched set that didn't stack very well and I never had a problem with grease.

Am I the only person who thinks that open cabinets in a kitchen that gets used for, um, cooking are impractical? Everything will get coated in a fine film of grease, no matter where it is located. The reason that PI probably didn't notice the grease is that the measuring cups were used and washed frequently.

@SkippingDaisies - It's true, I used the measuring cups frequently, and I cook almost every day, but I am (knock on wood) getting a new kitchen soon, and my plan to keep open shelving clean is to dust often and to only keep frequently used items on the shelves. To me, it was worth having the open shelving in order not to feel like I'm in a cave, since it's almost closed off from the rest of the house.

I went from a butcher block of crappy knives to 3 AMAZING ones. Cleared off space on my tiny kitchen counter and cooking is not anymore of a hassel with less. When are you going to use 2 knives at once? Quality > quantity is key for small kitchens!

I've had open shelving in the past and am in the process of renovation my kitchen, and I'll have open shelves again. I use the items in my kitchen so they don't have much of an opportunity to get dusty and greasy - and if they do, I wash them. It's adds a minute to a process every few months, maybe, but it's worth to have easy access, to enjoy the appearance of my pretty things, and to not feel boxed in in my kitchen.

My problem with downsizing my kitchen is not small appliances; it's necessary large appliances. My current kitchen has a 24" oven, a 30" cooktop and a 30" frig. The oven is okay (finally got rid of my baking equipment that wouldn't fit); the cooktop is so-so but the frig is TOO small. I know my new kitchen will not be able to accommodate a larger frig either. Since I choose to live in rural areas, shopping more than one day every other week is not really an option (gas prices being over $4/gal). I have owned an 18" dishwasher and now have a 24". New kitchen will have to have a 24" so I don't have to handwash so many large items. So, if I don't want to downsize my dishwasher, oven, cooktop or frig, how can I design a good, smaller kitchen? The large appliances I want to accommodate are: 24" wall oven (although 36" would be nice), 30" cooktop 36" would be better), 36" frig, 15" trash compactor and a 24" dishwasher. This is over 10' of space and no cabinetry for storage.

I use Corning ware (the thin opaque glass dishes you can find for cheap at practically any discount store or even cheaper at thrift stores) along with canning jars for cooking in the microwave. Turn a saucer over the bowl or over the jar and bang; no need to worry about plastic exuding it's toxins into your food either. Jars are great for storage in the fridge, mixing small amounts of this and that and I often bring my lunch to work in one. You have to replace the lids now and then but the rings last forever. No bulky plastic storage/microwave ware in the cupboards. Everything I used to store in plastic tubs/boxes seems to go just as well or better in a ziplock bag, including soup, you can stack it up really thin and it thaws out fast.
I keep my good dishes on the top and unreachable-without-footstool shelf of my only large corner cupboard. I keep Kerr and Ball jars on the middle shelf, and a set for 2 Corning ware dishes; along with some paper plates and coffee mugs on the bottom and reachable shelf.
I have NO kitchen drawers, so I bought a set of those plastic rolling drawer caddy type things and they are working pretty well. I hate the way they look however and I'm still trying to find a small enough wood or metal version with the same profile and storage set up.
I'm the same with wall racks or storage, never seems to work out as far as grease, then the dust sticks to it, yuck. On my walls are wire baskets, yes, they still have the same issue but it's not as noticable when they are filled with onions, drying peppers and herbs. I know the grease is there but it doesn't show like it does on stainless steel spoons.
One way I keep my kitchen feeling a little more spacious is to keep a very few nice things on the small counter: crock pot, olive oil, bouquet of flowers, but otherwise keep it and the stove entirely cleared off.

I love the first picture~ such a homey, great feeling kitchen.
I plan on redoing my kitchen to open shelving just like that. I never notice my cupboards being greasy from cooking and so I wonder why my dishes would be so? Also I only have what I use so things would be washed and rotated frequently. I don't fry food and really don't see why I would have grease in my kitchen at all.
This was a great article and really made me reevaluate my own kitchen situation.

Just so the author knows... those dishes are the bento dishes from CB2 and they do NOT stack. I just bought them and was very surprised when I went to put them in my cupboard but then again I should have read all the reviews of the dishes first as it was clearly an issue that other people had noticed.

I still love them and am building dividers in my cupboard to store them vertically - they just aren't a good example for "small" kitchens!

We had to put a small kitchen in our house due to lack of space, & it does mean getting things down to basics only. There is no dining room either. I do not like to dust so open shelves are not going to be put up. Plain cabinets from a local Menards is what we used, and primed/painted ourselves. $5000 for everything (not fridge & simple stove) with a formica counter top. I miss counter space the most! If I was to bake, I'd need to set up a table or two. I find that my husband wants to get more used pans, so I keep the overflow in the 9 1/2 ft sq bedroom on a shelf. I know people like small house living, but ooh, it is tight in here.

@DIANA IN BGKY - this has nothing to do with this post, I just got so giddy to see someone else on here from Bowling Green and had to say hello...so, HELLO :)

@skyeU7 - In the original house tour, the owners say they made the curtains from fabric at Ikea. Purl Soho sells a somewhat similar fabric. http://www.purlsoho.com/purl/products/item/8749-Cloud9-Fabrics-Simpatico

We downsized considerably between our last place (nearly 4,000 sqf) and our current house (just under 1,100 sqf) and it's been the happiest change in our domestic lives! It takes a lot of getting used to, but by simplifying things, you also gain quite a bit of freedom.

Personally, I could never go open shelving. I like order and I don't like to see clutter or dishes stacked on top of each other. We found a way to add storage to our place by raising the ceiling in the kitchen and having extra long cabinets. Not everyone can do this (renters, space limitations, etc), but I'm mentioning it as an example of creative adjusting that can apply to nearly any space if you think hard enough.

Ultimately, there's always going to be something slightly inconvenient about a space, no matter how much you try to fine-tune it to your needs. But I've learned that if you can have things mostly suited to your lifestyle, things become a LOT easier.

I have a small kitchen and i ended up storing my extra dishes (I love dishes) and whatnot in my buffet table, aka old dresser, in my dining room.

i have had open shelves in my small, non-vented kitchen for over 15 years. I have not had any issues with the dreaded "greasy film" on my dishes, etc. However, I do have 16 foot ceilings in my great room, so that might help with the film. I have very few appliances. A toaster, egg cooker, rice cooker, hand mixer, and mini chopper. Thinking about buying an immersion blender. I do have a microwave which I use rarely. My lower cabinet to the right of my stove was custom built by my husband with cubbies for cutting boards, baking sheets, pie plates, cake pans, muffin tins and bundt pans. Very very efficient use of the space available.

Is the kitchen in the photo meant to illustrate a small kitchen? Cuz I would kill for that much space.

I think "what's vital" is aboiut as individual as can be. You will pry my toaster from my cold, dead hand. Use the slow-cooker & rice cooker mostly so things can be safely left to their own devices while I'm outside working my dogs--leaving things unattended on the stovetop is just asking for a house fire. Did without a microwave for years, but finally decided no one would force me to buy frozen dinners if I got one. Always thought a good knife & big chopping board were all I needed for prepping vegetables. Bought a bread machine when my shoulder got too bad to knead dough.
Other people's choices for the same amount of storage space could be completely different, & none of us are wrong, as long as we don't keep what we don't use or want.

In my small(er) kitchen I store things in not commonly used items, so a pitcher doubles as a utensil holder on the counter, my frosting supplies are in my crock pot and well you get the idea.

I know someone who stores files in her oven. However, she also considers jelly beans an entree.

Jelly beans -> an entree...

Funny!

My husband and I moved from a house in San Francisco, where we hosted Thanksgiving dinners for 22, to an apartment in SAn Diego, where the "dining room" is actually 1/3 of our small living room. The kitchen in this apartment is literally a box--i can sit on the floor with my back against the refrigerator and my toes touching the cabinet below the sink. Tiny! But, all for the sake of saving money to buy a house, we have embraced this small apartment and I found I love my tiny kitchen. I can reach everything i need in less than three steps, and I (thankfully) have lots of drawers and cabinets. After the pre-move purge, I had to make choices about what to store and what to stock in the kitchen. So the turkey roaster, the extra-large serving bowls, the two 12-place china sets and all of the other special-event items went into easy-to-reach snap top containers in the garage. I appreciate the challenge and the joy of having the essentials at hand and I feel I'm a more efficient cook now.

I have a small kitchen. I took the doors off one cabinet to display my colorful Fiestaware. It really brightens up the kitchen. Since these are our everyday dishes, they don't have a chance to get dusty. About once a month, I take out the dishes and wipe the cabinets. That takes about five minutes.

I am behind everything here, especially the first tip. Appliances take up SO MUCH SPACE! Counter and storage alike. I have maybe three large small appliances (food processor, crock pot, Keurig). Only one lives "out" in the kitchen (Keurig), the other two live on a tippity top cabinet shelf I couldn't reach on the daily anyway. Counter space is more precious than cabinet in my kitchen, so that works for me.

I have a rule I snagged from Alton Brown: No unitaskers in the kitchen! No this press or that baller, you can get by with a spoon or the butt of a beer bottle. If it's superfluous, it can go eff itself. :)

I actually just downsized to a kitchen that wasn't necessarily smaller, but certainly had less storage space than what I am used to. I was able to buy a cute, little kitchen cart from idea for about 30 dollars, and I was able to put all my big, heavy appliances on it :)

from IKEA***

If you have the space outside the kitchen, a buffet with drawers is a wonderful thing. Dishes, silverware, kitchen towels besides the one in use at the time, and serving pieces really don't need to be stored in the kitchen if you have room for them elsewhere.

@luxluvn - Have you considered a roll-around tool cabinet for portable drawers? Add a butcher block top you've got yourself a tough little multitasking island.

We just moved into a smaller kitchen, and combined 2 larger kitchens into one. It's been so tough to pare down our stuff, though! Some things were easy, like keep my nice toaster and throw his away, but we had 3 sets of measuring cups between us (and had just gotten rid of 2 sets when someone gifted us a set.... geesh!) and multiples of pretty much everything. Plus we only have 1 good counter spot for chopping, the other counter is so low it is unusable for anything other than storage (that's where the toaster and knife blocks sit! Oh yeah, 2 knife blocks... need to get rid of at least one...).

We got rid of our microwave too, just because it wasn't really THAT necessary, but now I feel like we have no good way to defrost meat if we forget to take it out of the freezer early enough. Any tricks?

When I had a tiny kitchen, I used the stove as extra countertop by putting a piece of plexiglass over two burners. I rarely wanted to use more than one or two burners, so it worked most of the time. It really made a world of difference having that bit of extra space.

I have a very small kitchen I've been diy re-doing, trying to add storage and also eliminate unnecessary items. One of the best investments I've made was a $50 wall pot rack I got from Fingerhut. Our ceiling is too low to accommodate an overhead rack, but we are able to store 3 pots, a steamer, 3 frying pans (large, medium, small), lids, a breadboard and knife, and with some extra hooks, measuring cups and spoons and a few other utensils.

I have a small kitchen in our new house and fortunately some of the ideas we've already used AND one of the previous owners in the past was thoughtful enough to use the height of the ceilings in the room by custom building the upper cabinets in the kitchen all the way to the ceiling. The only problem with that is that they only put them on one wall (think galley kitchen) AND put the stove and refrigerator on the opposite wall WITH NO cabinets on that wall and no dishwasher. The first thing we did upon moving in was place a new lower cabinet and counter top in between the stove and fridge. So far it is working out nicely but the mismatch in cabinets is tweaking my OCD a bit LOL. Later down the road we have to decide whether we want upper cabinets on the wall with the appliances to go with the wall-hung self-venting microwave, or open shelving. We know we are keeping the cabinets on the opposite wall and just getting new doors and refinishing the built-in parts that are already there. Lots of work to do over the years! I'll be referencing this article for a while!

WILLIAMSWEYR: I have a 30" fridge and stove and an 18" dishwasher (just remodeled and that was what I could fit) I also have an extra fridge and freezer in my laundry room. My parents who shop monthly at the commisary have their extra appliances in the basement. We both use our kitchen fridges for condiments, fruit and sandwich fixings and the milk we are using; as well as to defrost dinner items. The vegetables, meat, extra dairy go in the other fridge. We have a large family and it works for us.
CARALOVESYOU: no microwave either. For ground or stew meat, you can just begin to cook it, breaking it up as you go. For hunks or poultry, submerge the package in cool water, changing out water as it gets very cold. Also place thin cutlets or fish on an aluminum baking sheet will help them defrost more quickly.

I recently cleaned out and organized my tiny kitchen. It was tough, but worth it. Tip for anyone that has oddly shaped kitchen drawers: Some balsa wood is great for making custom drawer divisions.