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Kitchens: Small worlds
(published in Canadian Renovator Magazine and London CityLife)
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| (IKEA photo) |
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By Ellen Ashton-Haiste
Doll-house kitchens may be cute when the matron is a three-year-old
serving tea to Raggedy-Ann and a teddy bear. But by the time you’re old
enough to own a home, you need a grown-up size space to make real meals
for the family.
Nevertheless, homemakers often find themselves
working — and cooking — in cramped spaces that feel more like a
doll-house than a functional kitchen. And, the last adjective they
would use to describe them is “cute.”
In the days before
the modern open concept became the décor du jour, many homes had the
kitchens tucked away into small and awkward spaces.
“Generally speaking, when you’re looking at smaller kitchens, you are
looking at an older home,” says Paul Bilyea, a designer with Cardinal
Kitchens in London, Ont. While today’s builders are creating this space
as part of the living area, 30 or 40 years ago it was given less weight
and often put off to the side, he says.
Now, residents of those homes are looking for ways to renovate the tiny space into a viable 21st-century kitchen.
It’s a tall order for any designer. Most agree that the small spaces
are by far the most challenging projects they come up against.
Lee Mitchell, founder and lead designer of Ottawa’s Gemini Kitchen and
Bathroom Design, recently completed a renovation of a 9-by-8-foot
kitchen, juxtaposed with another project involving 11 rooms in a
7000-square-foot home. While the larger project was more stressful,
largely because of the timelines and sub-trades involved, Mitchell says
“it goes without saying that the smaller of the two was far more
difficult. In fact, it required three complete redesigns of the space.”
So how does one maximize working and storage space in these
Lilliputian kitchens? Each designer has a personalized set of
strategies and tricks of the trade, all which offer hope for the
frustrated homeowner. But, there are almost as many opinions and
strategies as there are homeowners looking for a makeover.
Measurements are the first step, says Mitchell, who not only
meticulously measures all parts of the space and then has those numbers
confirmed by his contractor, but also physically measures his clients
“to see how their body mechanics work and how it relates to the space
they work in.”
The first rule of thumb, he maintains, is
that the client must “purge the existing kitchen of items they no
longer need,” often involving difficult decisions. “They must also
re-invent how they work in their space.”
After that, he
starts by picking the items that have the least flexibility in terms of
sizes and customizing the kitchen around those. In dealing with small
kitchens, he says “function always needs to come first, over
aesthetics.”
But aesthetics is also important and, here, there are differing opinions.
“Light versus dark” is always the great debate, says Mitchell. “But
the reality is the space is no larger with the usage of one palette
over another. The only caution I advise is that if you go with a
lacquered finish, like white or cream, or if a high gloss finish gets
the nod, remember that, in a small space, your cabinets will be subject
to wear and tear issues with the finish.”
In addition, he
says, use little details throughout to create focal points — molding
selections, hardware for doors and drawers, textures for backsplashes,
even layering lighting – which can draw attention away from the
smallness of the space.
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By Ellen Ashton-Haiste
Doll-house kitchens may be cute when the matron is a three-year-old serving tea to Raggedy-Ann and a teddy bear. But by the time you’re old enough to own a home, you need a grown-up size space to make real meals for the family.
Nevertheless, homemakers often find themselves working — and cooking — in cramped spaces that feel more like a doll-house than a functional kitchen. And, the last adjective they would use to describe them is “cute.”
In the days before the modern open concept became the décor du jour, many homes had the kitchens tucked away into small and awkward spaces.
“Generally speaking, when you’re looking at smaller kitchens, you are looking at an older home,” says Paul Bilyea, a designer with Cardinal Kitchens in London, Ont. While today’s builders are creating this space as part of the living area, 30 or 40 years ago it was given less weight and often put off to the side, he says.
Now, residents of those homes are looking for ways to renovate the tiny space into a viable 21st-century kitchen.
It’s a tall order for any designer. Most agree that the small spaces are by far the most challenging projects they come up against.
Lee Mitchell, founder and lead designer of Ottawa’s Gemini Kitchen and Bathroom Design, recently completed a renovation of a 9-by-8-foot kitchen, juxtaposed with another project involving 11 rooms in a 7000-square-foot home. While the larger project was more stressful, largely because of the timelines and sub-trades involved, Mitchell says “it goes without saying that the smaller of the two was far more difficult. In fact, it required three complete redesigns of the space.”
So how does one maximize working and storage space in these Lilliputian kitchens? Each designer has a personalized set of strategies and tricks of the trade, all which offer hope for the frustrated homeowner. But, there are almost as many opinions and strategies as there are homeowners looking for a makeover.
Measurements are the first step, says Mitchell, who not only meticulously measures all parts of the space and then has those numbers confirmed by his contractor, but also physically measures his clients “to see how their body mechanics work and how it relates to the space they work in.”
The first rule of thumb, he maintains, is that the client must “purge the existing kitchen of items they no longer need,” often involving difficult decisions. “They must also re-invent how they work in their space.”
After that, he starts by picking the items that have the least flexibility in terms of sizes and customizing the kitchen around those. In dealing with small kitchens, he says “function always needs to come first, over aesthetics.”
But aesthetics is also important and, here, there are differing opinions.
“Light versus dark” is always the great debate, says Mitchell. “But the reality is the space is no larger with the usage of one palette over another. The only caution I advise is that if you go with a lacquered finish, like white or cream, or if a high gloss finish gets the nod, remember that, in a small space, your cabinets will be subject to wear and tear issues with the finish.”
In addition, he says, use little details throughout to create focal points — molding selections, hardware for doors and drawers, textures for backsplashes, even layering lighting – which can draw attention away from the smallness of the space.
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| (IKEA photo) |
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