Space-enhancing hacks for small homes: the open kitchen concept

Tear down them walls and upon up your Kitchen! Especially for smaller homes, a space-enhancing open kitchen can do wonders for your flat. And we know, whilst HDBs and BTOs may seem a little restrictive due to their cookie-clutter layout, with just a little bit of ingenuity, you’d be able to revamp and open up your kitchen and by that your home!

Having an open-plan kitchen design allows the entire common area to appear visually larger. If you are thinking about knocking down some walls to achieve that, consider these three creative types of open kitchens that suit smaller abodes perfectly.

Full Hack

The most daring approach is the fully open kitchen concept. This entails knocking down all the walls that divide the kitchen from the adjacent spaces, be it the dining or living room.

1. If you often host dinner parties or fancy brunches, consider opening up the kitchen space to create a more social space. Having an island outside of the kitchen allows guests to hang around and chat, and leaving the cooking area in plain sight allows them to socialise with you as you prepare the meal as well!

Interior Designer: The Association
Location: Cantonment (HDB)

2. By hacking the walls that once confined the kitchen, this home now has a whole lot more floor space to play around with. If you look closely, you’ll realise that the kitchen island is wheeled – a nifty solution that enables it to be tucked away to free up the space when not in use.

Interior Designer: The 80’s Studio;
Location: Acacia Breeze (HDB)

3. The homeowners took advantage of the large common area space in their apartment, and brought down the kitchen walls to make it look even more spacious! The result is stunning, creating a sweeping view of the home that is both warm and welcoming.

Interior Designer: i Chapter
Location: Jurong West (HDB)

Kitchen Peninsula

One of the most popular open-concept kitchen ideas is the kitchen peninsula, which commonly involves a breakfast counter that runs parallel or is connected perpendicularly to the other kitchen cabinets.

4. Replacing the kitchen’s solid wall with a breakfast bar creates a dual-functional area. For those who seldom eat at home, this kitchen layout is a great space-efficient option as compared to having a traditional dining table setting.

Interior Designer: Cozy Interior Ideas

Location: Telok Blangah (HDB)

5. As compared to a full hack, the kitchen peninsula offers more storage and counter space. This kitchen enjoys the best of both worlds as it feels a lot more open than an enclosed kitchen, and yet has more worktop space than a completely open one.

Interior Designer: Space Define
Location: Tampines (HDB)

Divide The Kitchen

By dividing the space into halves, you can enjoy the benefits of both open and enclosed kitchen designs.

6. This design approach is well-suited for the long and narrow layout of this kitchen. By dividing the space into half, the refrigerator can be placed in the open area, allowing it to be much more accessible.

Interior Designer: Green & Lush
Location: Ping Yi Greens (HDB)

7. The awkward outline of this kitchen is improved by separating it into the wet and dry areas. This allows the smoke from any heavy cooking to be contained in the enclosed space. In addition, moving bulky appliances like the fridge out of the wet area frees up more space for storage cabinets in there.

Interior Designer: Lux Design
Location: Punggol (HDB)

This article originally appeared on Qanvast

Open kitchen concepts are a practical design for small homes today as these designs make the spaces more fluid. Now, if you need a professional opinion to maximise every inch of space, turn to our list of interior firms for help. Request a quote from us and we handpick 5 interior firms based on your requirements, at no cost.

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