The kitchen is the heart of the home. It’s where meals are cooked and the family can spend time together.

It is therefore important to have a kitchen where you feel comfortable working and cooking. Many Malaysians, however, live in apartments that don’t have much space.

Fortunately, there are simple and affordable ways to make small kitchen spaces seem larger.

1. Avoid highly contrasting colours

Choose a monochromatic colour scheme for your kitchen, or colours that are close to each other on the colour wheel. Seamless continuity between your cabinets, countertops and drawers has an expansive effect, and won’t cause the eyes to perceive too many straight lines that make the kitchen look smaller.

It also helps if you stick to earthy colours rather than loud ones.

2. Let lots of light in

Make sure you have at least one large window that lets plenty of light in. The more windows you have, the better.

Also ensure your kitchen windows are made of clear glass so you can look out without feeling enclosed. Avoid tinted or frosted glass.

3. Use glass doors

Replace solid doors on your cabinets with clear glass. This will allow your eyes to travel all the way to the back of your storage areas, creating the illusion that your kitchen is larger than it actually is.

Also consider installing more open storage areas such as shelves.

4. Choose clean, simple furnishings

Whether cabinets, shelves, countertops or drawers, go for colours and designs that are simple and look lightweight. Avoid complicated patterns and stick with natural textures.

This applies to your electrical appliances, too, so choose those that don’t have “busy” designs and are very minimalist.

5. Go for striped flooring

Just as horizontal stripes on clothing give the illusion that you are wider, lines on the floors of your kitchen can make it look larger as well.

You don’t have to pick garish linoleum or tiles. Instead, go for the natural lines in floorboards and arrange monochromatic tiles in a pattern that will draw the eyes lengthwise.

This will trick the viewer into believing the space is wider than it actually is.

This article first appeared in kaodim.com.

One of Southeast Asia’s fastest growing local services platform, Kaodim connects users to dependable and professional local service providers – fast and hassle-free. With the Kaodim app, users can access professional services for home renovation, office cleaning, and much more.