Turning a Small L-Shaped Kitchen Look and Feel Bigger

749

Scandinavian
HDB (BTO)
~700 sqft
2 br
Couple Living

Welcome back to yet another tour of livingatblk129 - this time I'm bringing you to the kitchen! A background recap: this 3-room BTO flat layout is at 69 sqm. The original kitchen (read till the end to find out more) came with a open concept but was horribly tiny, and a bummer for not being able to have extra countertop space for meal preps.
In line with the theme of the house, white and wood tones were combined to infuse this space with some Nordic warmth. Also, to enhance the feeling of openness, these colours used can reflect light better in making this small space appears larger. Since countertop space is already limited, we opted for a built-in dining table extended from the kitchen to maximize functionality (refer to Dining Area post for more)! This further complements the open concept design of a L-shaped layout, giving the illusion of a longer eat-in kitchen.
The start point of the kitchen, and my guests have wondered - where are the switches? Here they are, hidden behind the cabinet, adding a touch to the minimalist approach of a sleek kitchen.
A zoom-in onto the switches - they are all labelled and customized in big fonts for better visibility. I can't stress enough how much convenience and accessibility these labels bring into our daily lives!
- #hiddenswitch
- #switchlabel
What you see here is an illusion of a bigger kitchen space that extends to the service yard after the wall and preinstalled door and window have been hacked away (read till the end to see how small it looked with the original layout before hacking)!
Let's do some lighting trick here: The hidden LED strip is the only light source being switched on in the kitchen. Does the mood seems more comforted now? Actually LED strip light does not only work with ambience but also providing optimal lighting when preparing for meals (as compared to using just the main light source from ceiling).
The cooking area. With never ending debates on using a gas or induction hob is better, I'm a convert from gas because of easy maintenance! There's not much to worry on cookware compatibility too because of this hybrid induction hob that I'm using: It has both induction and ceramic cooking zones, offering the best of both worlds in terms of cooking methods!
A play of aesthetics and functionality with these kitchen accessories.
The sink area. I like how adding a touch of greenery enhances the visual appeal of this area. With all the fumes from cooking, adding houseplants can help to filter pollutants and improve air quality around us! Wells The One is a great investment for homeowners of smaller houses to save space on countertop. Also, I've never enjoyed drinking and making my own beverages as much as before since having this hehe!
Let's zoom into the details of my sink area. I love these two items the most - BulBul's diatomite tray and Nitori's sponge holder. - Albeit expensive, the diatomite tray is really superior in quality as compared to those off-brand ones. - My requirements in looking for a sponge holder is seen in Nitori's one over here. I don't quite fancy the idea of having something pasted on the sink as grime can accumulate on the edges overtime due to moisture. What's great with Nitori's is that this sits firmly on the faucet without slipping off, and can hold up to 4 sponges / sink cover altogether!
Here's the view from the sink looking out to the kitchen. The fridge is where the preinstalled window and door used to be. Hacking was done to accommodate space for it. Due to limited counter space, I did not think that it was ideal to place the fridge along the countertop area, and I didn't want to disrupt the cohesive flow of the kitchen by doing so.
This was the kitchen before renovation and hacking. I was in disbelief when the width of the kitchen was as long as my two arms stretched out touching wall to wall! I couldn't imagine how spacious this space could turn out but everything ended up pretty well isn't it? I hope this sharing brings some inspiration and aid to any 3-room homeowners who are / will be facing a similar situation like I did. Let me know what are your thoughts!