Your kitchen is where you prepare meals, care for your family and make lasting memories. If your kitchen happens to be on the smaller side, you’ll want to ensure that the layout is efficient and makes the most of every square inch.
The solution may be space-saving compact appliances that are designed to help optimize your kitchen’s workspace, storage and flow. This way it can be the hub of your family activity.
Remember, limited space doesn’t have to mean limited options. Choose from feature-rich and powerful cooking appliances such as ovens, microwaves, cooktops and ranges that are designed specifically for small kitchens. We also offer “skinny” appliances like refrigerators and dishwashers that minimize square footage while still offering ample capacity and optimal performance.
Review this guide and enjoy a kitchen that works better for your family.
How to choose appliances for a compact kitchen design
The primary focus of a small kitchen should be to provide adequate space for food storage, preparation and cleaning—without wasting any valuable space. A properly designed small kitchen does all this by ensuring that every inch matches your lifestyle needs. When selecting appliances for your small kitchen or small kitchen renovation, give thought to your existing layout and how your family most often uses the limited space. These considerations should help you determine where you’d like to dedicate more space in your kitchen, and where a compact appliance would make the most sense. You’ll discover a variety of ways to customize your small kitchen to make it perfect for you and your family.
Cooking appliances for small kitchens
Compact cooking appliances for small kitchens offer many of the options, functions and features you’ve come to expect from full-size appliances without needing as much space. When deciding which small kitchen appliances to buy, consider how often you cook, what you like to make and the number of people you usually cook for.
Understanding how you cook will help you choose the features that make the most sense for you, such as the number of burners, or how much oven or microwave capacity you need.
Compact wall ovens
Wall ovens give you back some counter space and also come in smaller capacities, making them ideal for narrow kitchen spaces.
Compact wall ovens can be installed as double ovens, allowing you to bake multiple dishes at separate settings. They offer features that help deliver excellent baking results and streamlined touch control digital displays that make these compact Whirlpool® wall ovens easy to operate and clean.
Space-saving cooktops
If you want or need a full-sized oven, but find that you rarely use the stovetop, one solution for your compact kitchen design is to go for a wall oven and a separate two-burner cooktop. This will free up some countertop space for food prep or storage. If two burners aren’t enough, a skinny cooktop has four burners and is shallower and narrower, so it fits better in a limited countertop space.
Microwave and range hood combos
Another space-saving solution for smaller kitchens is to have one appliance perform multiple functions. For instance, a microwave that doubles as a range hood means you need one less appliance and accomplishes an even more streamlined small kitchen design. An over-the-range microwave also makes it more convenient to transfer items from the microwave to the cooktop so you can thaw and then cook with ease.
“Skinny” cooking appliances
Fit a range into your small kitchen
Households that love to cook and bake together should consider a skinny kitchen range that is ideal for small kitchen designs. 24” (61 cm) ranges in either gas or electric provide amazing performance while saving space.
Range hoods for small spaces
Add a modern look to your kitchen with a range hood or canopy hood in stainless steel. Kitchen hoods designed for your limited space can provide all the functionality you need without sacrificing style.
Refrigerators for small kitchen spaces
Whirlpool refrigerators in compact sizes come with flexible storage designs that maximize your usable space. Keep all of your family’s fresh foods and leftovers stored with ease. Additionally, you’ll have features designed to help you organize and customize your fridge’s interior to meet your needs.
Skinny refrigerators save countertop space
With narrow widths of 24” (61 cm), these skinny models free up horizontal space, especially in a new build, leaving more room for other appliances and countertops. A variety of units are also counter-depth so that they sit virtually flush with your cabinets, allowing you to reclaim valuable space in your small kitchen.
Counter-depth refrigerators for smaller kitchen layouts
If width isn’t overly concerning to you but the space in front of your refrigerator is tight, a counter-depth model can give you back more inches. These appliances tend not to stick out as far into your kitchen, as they align practically flush with your cabinets. These larger cubic foot models can be a great option over the lower capacity of skinny fridges if you’re undertaking a small kitchen renovation and have enough room for a wider model.
Other skinny and compact kitchen appliances for small kitchens
Outfit your small kitchen with a complete range of appliances and customize your space to fit the needs of your family. These appliances include dishwashers, ice makers, wine centres and more.
Laundry appliances in your kitchen
Kitchens can double as laundry centres to help you efficiently tackle all household chores. You can prep dinner as the washer runs and then you can transfer the load to the dryer while keeping an eye on your casserole as it bakes.
Whirlpool offers many space-saving laundry appliance combinations, including a combined washer and dryer that can slide right under a kitchen counter, a closet-depth model that can be tucked away out of sight, and a stackable unit that takes full advantage of vertical space.
Washer and dryer units for small spaces and kitchens
Tips for an ergonomic and efficient small kitchen design
Here are some other design tricks that can help you make the most of your small kitchen space by increasing the available storage while making the space feel bigger:
- Cabinets that reach the ceiling. Standard cabinets often leave up to 12” (30 cm) of space at the top. The additional linear feet of shelving mitigate the loss of some openness at the ceiling level. Essentially, you’re trading dead space for additional storage space.
- Glass cabinet doors or open shelving. Open shelves, or substituting glass doors for solid wood, can make a smaller kitchen seem more open. An additional bonus is that items will be more accessible or visible.
- Strategic lighting. Recessed lighting, under-cabinet lighting and interior cabinet lighting can potentially brighten your space.
- Lighter or more neutral colours. Dark colours can look sleek and elegant but in a small space, they can contribute to a more cramped feeling. Go for bright whites or maybe even yellow, or light-coloured wood. For appliances, consider going with white, stainless steel or panel-ready appliances to match your light-coloured cabinets.
Small kitchens packed with huge potential
Small kitchens are coming back into style and there’s good reason for it. They offer several benefits, including tighter work triangles (the area defined as the sink, oven and fridge) for more efficient meal prep, fewer areas that require cleaning and an array of combination appliances that offer additional functionality and flexibility.
With a wide selection of compact appliances, you can make your small kitchen both functional and beautiful, or turn your small kitchen remodel into a success. Appliance Answers is here to help end your search!
