Before & After: 56 Square Feet Never Looked So Good

After living in her Upper East Side studio for almost 20 years, Jill decided her kitchen was ready for a facelift. The problem? Her kitchen is tiny. Like, really, really tiny. This is a true small space success story — how one woman created her dream kitchen in only 56 square feet.

The new kitchen has the same layout as the old one, with a few important changes. Jill chose to swap her old 24″ stove for a 20″ wide model. “You wouldn’t think that four inches of counter space would make such a big difference, but it does!” The new stainless fridge is a counter depth model, so it doesn’t jut out at the entrance to the kitchen. And Jill chose to forego a dishwasher entirely, preferring the extra cabinet space instead.

The new, custom cabinets are a pale, pearly grey. They extend all the way to the ceiling, which is both a neat detail and a good use of space. The two small glass doors in the corner (which fold out for access to the corner cabinet) add a touch of lightness, breaking up the solid runs of cabinetry. Above the stove, an open shelf, which had a tendency to get cluttered, was replaced by a vent hood — a particularly welcome addition in such a small space.

The grey quartz countertop adds a touch of contrast to the kitchen, and is a nice complement to the woodgrain tile floor (all the warmth of wood, with none of the maintenance). It’s a very small, hardworking space, but also a very lovely one, proof that good things, and good kitchens, can come in small packages.

Jill found her contractor on Sweeten, a free service matching homeowners with local general contractors. You can read more about the project, see more photos, and find sources on the Sweeten blog.