Compact Appliances for Small Kitchen Design Solutions

How to Choose Appliances for a Small Kitchen Design

A useful small kitchen should focus on food storage and make meal prep and cleanup easy and efficient without wasting any space.

When choosing appliances for your small kitchen or small kitchen renovation, you need to give thought to its current layout and how the space is most often used. These considerations can help you determine where a compact appliance will make the most sense.

You should be able to find plenty of ways to customize your small kitchen to make it the perfect fit for you and your family.

Cooking Appliances for a Small Kitchen Design

Compact cooking appliances provide many of the same options, functions and features that you would expect from full-size appliances.

When considering which small kitchen appliances to buy, consider the following:

• How often you cook
• What you cook most often
• The size of your household

Answering these questions will help you focus on the factors that are most important to you such as the number of burners on a range or oven or microwave capacity.

Space-Saving Cooktops

If you are looking to buy a full-sized oven for a small kitchen, but rarely use a stovetop, one space-saving idea is to go with a wall oven and a separate two-burner cooktop. This will let you dedicate valuable countertop space for food prep or storage. If you feel like you need more than two burners, a skinny cooktop offers four burners with minimal width and depth.

Wall ovens from Whirlpool come in smaller capacities that fit into most small kitchen spaces. You can opt for double oven units if you intend to bake multiple dishes at separate temperatures and times to create a big family meal including dessert.

Whirlpool offers one compact wall oven. This model comes with features that ensure excellent baking results in addition to streamlined touch control digital displays that make it easy to operate and clean.

Microwave and Range Hood Combos

Another space-saving strategy for a small kitchen design is to buy multi-purpose appliances such as a microwave that also act as a range hood. An over-the-range microwave also makes it easy to transfer items from the microwave to the cooktop.

“Skinny” Cooking Appliances

Skinny models save space by shaving off inches from the width of the appliance. At only two feet wide or less, most small kitchen designs can accommodate this type of range or cooktop either next to a single wall in a galley kitchen or an L-shaped layout. Another benefit is that you’ll still get all the burners you need to make your favourite stovetop recipes.

Small kitchens need good ventilation to ensure that smoke, grease and odours don’t get trapped in the tight space. Luckily, slim range hoods can pair perfectly with skinny ranges to perform all ventilation functions in addition to adding a pop of visual impact.

Fit a Range Into Your Small Kitchen

For families who love to spend time cooking and baking together, a skinny kitchen range can be easily incorporated into most small kitchen designs. Gas and electric 24” (61 cm) ranges deliver the performance you need without occupying a ton of space.

Range Hoods for Small Spaces

Add a sleek and modern look to your kitchen with a canopy hood or a range hood in stainless steel.

Refrigerators Made for Small Kitchen Spaces

Whirlpool offers refrigerators in compact sizes with flexible storage designs that can maximize the usable space in a kitchen. Store both fresh foods and leftovers with ease. You’ll find features designed to help you organize and customize your cooling environment to meet your needs.

Other Compact Kitchen Appliances for a Small Kitchen Design

Outfit your small kitchen with a complete line of appliances that let you create a space that can meet the needs of your family. Having limited space shouldn’t limit your potential. Shop for wine centres, compact dishwashers, ice makers and more from the Whirlpool brand.

Laundry Appliances in Your Kitchen

One tactic to combat limited space is to have your kitchen double as a laundry centre, making household chores more efficient. Without leaving your kitchen, you can prep dinner as your laundry completes a wash cycle, and then transfer the load to your dryer while making sure your casserole doesn’t burn in the oven.

Tips for an Efficient and Ergonomic Small Kitchen Design

In addition to using compact appliances and built-in models, some other design tricks can help you increase your storage capacity and make the space feel bigger:

Cabinets that reach the ceiling.
Standard cabinets can often leave up to 12” of space at the top. Choose taller cabinets and trade dead space for valuable storage space.

Use glass cabinet doors or open shelving.
Exchanging some of your upper cabinets for open shelves or replacing solid wood doors with glass ones can help a smaller kitchen feel more open and spacious. Another bonus is that items will be more visible and/or accessible.

Strategic lighting.
Recessed lighting, under-cabinet lighting and interior cabinet lighting can brighten your kitchen and make it easier to see what you’re prepping and cooking.

Lighter or more neutral colours.
Darker colours might add a dash of elegance, but they tend to make a small space feel cramped. Consider going with bright whites or yellow or light-coloured wood. White, stainless steel or panel-ready appliances often work best for smaller kitchens.

Small Kitchens With Big Potential

Small kitchens do have some benefits, including tighter work triangles (the area that includes the fridge, stove and sink) for efficient prep, requiring less cleaning and with a wide selection of combo appliances on the market, you can enjoy extra functionality and flexibility.