Kitchen: How We Planned Storage & Layout for a Compact Kitchen 🧐

133

Japandi
HDB (Resale)
~700 sqft
2 br
Couple Living

Hey Communa Friends, let's dive into how thoughtful design and smart storage planning can truly transform your kitchen space into the heart of your home.
When we first got the floor plan, our kitchen and service yard layout came with quite a few challenges. As you can see from the original floor plan (top image), the service yard had four exposed water pipes. YES, it's FOUR! (Look at the circles from the floor plan) It’s honestly the most pipe-heavy layout I’ve ever seen in any HDB, there are only 3 at most! And it was definitely one of the major headache to work around during renovation planning. Another pain point was the fridge space(see the middle pic). The recessed area HDB designed is so shallow, HDB designed this oddly recessed space that basically only fits a smaller-than-standard fridge. We couldn't help but feel a little speechless, why limit the options like that?
After much discussion with a few IDs and deep reflection on our daily routines, we decided to hack the wall between the kitchen and the yard. This gave us the flexibility to place a proper-sized fridge (instead of a washing machine, which some ID suggested), and more importantly, it opened up the space visually. In addition to removing the wall, we also deepened the right side of the kitchen wall. If you look closely, you’ll notice that the original water pipes on that side were quite exposed. By deepening that section, we cleverly reduced the visual impact of the pipes when entering the kitchen. This adjustment also allowed us to extend the countertop and lower cabinets along the same line, just a small detail, but it made a big difference in the overall flow and appearance! ✌️
Of course, no design is perfect - like needing to move laundry if we’re cooking at the same time. But since we don’t cook that often, it felt like a worthwhile compromise. Life isn’t perfect, and neither is space, but thoughtful planning goes a long way!
The kitchen now feels much more spacious and functional for our needs. Visually, not only open up the kitchen, also make it feel less tight and more inviting. Hence, we’re pretty happy to live with this plan! 😉
Another part of the built-in design I absolutely have to share is our dish drying rack setup! Most of us are familiar with the standard market option, a dish rack with normal steel/Aluminium. But our approach? Highly recommended, both aesthetically and functionally! From the start, my husband and I were very clear: no door for the dish rack. Realistically, no one ever closes the door after placing wet dishes inside, we all leave it open to let everything air-dry, am I right? So why even have a door in the first place? We’ve visited many friends and relatives, and not once have we seen anyone closing that door! That’s when our ID introduced us to a much smarter design: an open, ventilation door + stainless steel dish rack from Excel. Unlike the usual options that tend to rust over time, this one is durable and has been used in his own home for over a year without any issues. We trusted his recommendation, went ahead with it, and honestly, after using it for over a year now, it’s one of our favourite, life-changing features in the kitchen. Truly worth sharing!
Another small but important detail we bought for kitchen was a heat and oil splatter guard next to the stove. Since our kitchen is quite compact and the hob is positioned close to a hidden power socket on the right, we were genuinely concerned about safety, especially when cooking for long periods. So my husband found the perfect solution on Taobao 🍑: a foldable heat prevention guard. After installing it, not only did it give us peace of mind, but it also made cleaning the countertop and wall area so much easier. It’s such a simple addition, but one that really improved both the safety and practicality of our kitchen setup.
Lastly, let’s talk about the ever-popular Blum mechanism drawers! Back when we were discussing options, our ID confidently told us that regular soft closing mechanisms were already good enough for daily use and that upgrading to Blum wasn’t necessary, it would just add to the cost. Since we had no personal experience with either, but had heard friends rave about Blum, we decided to install it selectively in a few drawers we knew we’d use often, like our condiment drawer is one of them. After living with it for over a year, I can confidently say: Blum is totally worth it. The smoothness is on a different level compared to the standard soft-close drawers. In fact, the regular ones now feel just… average. If I had the chance (and budget) again, I’d definitely go with Blum throughout the kitchen or entire home! This experience really taught us that when it comes to renovation, you can’t rely 100% on what your ID says. Do your own research, think about how you’ll actually use the space, and invest where it matters to you.