This Old House is not usually the first resource we turn to for small-space tips and ideas. We usually associate it with big rambling houses and expensive renovations. But this may be a mistake; many of the older homes they feature have small kitchens, and there are some treasures in their archives for those of us in older, smaller spaces.
Here are five small(er) kitchens from their archives. Not every kitchen is tiny, but they are all modestly-sized and very inspiring.
• Cottage Kitchen - Part of a cottage renovation in Concord, Massachusetts. This kitchen is compact and well-proportioned, and it shows off clever space-saving design like the angled drawer by the stove.
• Functional Form - There doesn't look to be much storage in this small kitchen, but it feels open and uncluttered. The concrete countertops include a built-in knife block and drain board.
• Big Personality - The owner of this kitchen repurposed her grandmother's furniture into built-in cupboards for her 11x12 kitchen. We love the rich color and tin ceiling.
• Looks and Brains - This kitchen makes great use of odd spaces, like the wire storage in the slot to the left of the stove, and the small pull drawers under the upper shelves. They give closed storage while still letting the upper areas feel open, and they have the added bonus of looking like charming library drawers. And that blackboard over the stove - that's different!
• A Chef's Galley Kitchen - Manhattan chef Michael Lomonaco's renovation reads like a playbook of all the best things you can do to optimize a small NYC kitchen. Check out the deep drawers, folding stepstool, and pull-out pantry.
Related: Kitchen Spotlight: Open Storage in Small Kitchens
(Images: Joshua McHugh for TOH; Deborah Whitlaw Llewellyn for TOH; Eric Piasecki for TOH; Mike Huibregtse for TOH; Alexandra Rowley for TOH)
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
Oh, that chocolate brown kitchen is fantastic!!!
view Kathryn's profile
that chocolate brown kitchen isn't small at all, by nyc standards. I would do anything for that much storage!!
view JulieNYC's profile
Ironically, the chef's kitchen is the only one that doesn't have a "faux-pro" stove.
I subscribed to This Old Money for a year, but since I'm neither handy nor rich, it just left me frustrated.
view heather77's profile
The Looks and Brains kitchen is odd. I don't think having a chalkboard above a stove where all the chalk dusk can fly into the food is very smart.
view Comicgeek's profile
Yeah. The looks and brains stove. That one is in the Kohler showroom. My wife and I oohed and ahhed over that one when we stayed at The American Club in Kohler. It is a dream kitchen for sure, but it's also not in anyone's home.
view Detective Ventriloquist's profile
I meant looks and brains kitchen. Not stove.
view Detective Ventriloquist's profile
i am in love with the looks and brains kitchen! and a few others in that article. That's the one thing i want most in my home- a beautiful kitchen in which i am inspired to cook a feast! This looks like a cooks kitchen. some of the others just look pretty but this looks like its really being used. the last kitchen looks like something that would be in a model home that no one really uses.
view Oneformybaby's profile
The sad thing is, those kitchen look spacious compared to my kitchen!
view Khakigrl's profile
those kitchens look plenty big to me
view SpanishOlives's profile
The looks brains kitchen looks like so much fun - ample counterspace, and well-distribututed and that wire basket storage next to the stove is fantastic!
The white kitchen is pretty. I love that big personality repurposed her grandmother's cabinets.
view mysoultokeep's profile
TOH also has some great lists of small appliances and other things for your small house. They may be out of your price range, but it's nice to know the options exist. And if your kitchen remodel is only 10 linear feet, rather than a 500 sq ft kitchen, maybe you can splurge on that Viking range...
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/photos/0,,20180862_20416226,00.html
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/photos/0,,20170000_20388054,00.html
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/small-home-space
view cara_mia's profile
The Looks and Brains wire baskets are a great idea but Not next to the stove, produce doesn't hold well next to the ambient heat of appliances, which means another kitchen designer-who-doesn't-really-cook designed another good "looking" kitchen that has practical use issues... ARGH.
view Rucy's profile
The first one, yes, the first one!
view bromelia's profile