Ideas for Small Kitchen Remodeling | eHow

Small kitchens are a reality of life in many homes, especially apartments or older houses. If expanding the kitchen isn't an option, that doesn't mean you're doomed to spend every meal time feeling that the walls are closing in. There are things you can do with the colors, appliances and layout to make even the smallest galley kitchen feel cozy rather than suffocating.

Unlike the door in a bedroom or bathoom or closet, the door to the kitchen is optional. Opt out. Widening the doorway and taking out the door, will make the kitchen feel less like a sealed-off box and more like an open nook connected to the rest of the house. Larger, taller windows will give even a very small kitchen feel bigger; go easy on the window treatments to let in as much light as possible. If you can raise the ceiling, do.

Think small and retractable when designing the furniture and buying the appliances. Find a refrigerator that's thin but tall. Instead of a free-standing oven taking up valuable floor space, have a wall oven installed, and have the stovetop set into the countertop. If possible, have your cabinets set, or partly set, into the wall. Instead of a table and chairs, design a countertop so that a few stools can slide under it.