60 small kitchen ideas to do more with less in 2024

This tiny kitchen is located in the ranch-style home of ELLE DECOR's A-list designers Eric Hughes and Nathan Turner in Ojai, California, but there are plenty of lessons to be learned from it that apply to indoor kitchens, too. Instead of a stainless steel faucet, for example, they installed a rustic brass faucet. Instead of a cupboard, the pots and pans are hung on a rail. But our favorite detail is the attractive skirting that hides the plumbing and other knickknacks under the sink. Just ditch the hinges and doors and tuck in some pretty curtains of your own.

Kitchen cabinets are great for elevating your prep space, but they can also take up a lot of visual space, especially if you have a small room. We love how designer Timothy Brown ditched the heavy cupboards in his New York apartment for industrial stainless steel shelving. Not only do you have space to mount clip-on lights to illuminate your veggie chopping (or in this case, floral arranging), but you can also show off your vase collection or display a small framed piece of art.

This kitchen is as modern as it gets, but the designers at StudioDB also wanted to add a fashionable edge. In fact, this tiny New York kitchen was inspired by the color palette of a Prada store. But nothing says “galley kitchen” like the two portholes in the pink pocket doors. They're handy for hiding messes before a dinner party, and they act as a style statement in their own right. Ahoy, Mighty!

At first glance, this kitchen designed by ELLE DECOR's A-List firm Pappas Miron may look like your average white kitchen, but the pretty and inviting pendant lights, like peppermint, take this kitchen to the next level. If you have the ceiling space, install some equally attention-grabbing pendant lights.

If you're tired of your all-white kitchen but still want the light and spatial magic that this look brings, follow the example of designer Mark Grattan. He specified all-white cabinets and tile in his Mexico City apartment, but updated the look with gold and terra-cotta accents in travertine countertops, a gold rug, and an earthy plant stand. And if you've got the space and light, why not throw in some wood?

A black kitchen is a sexy counterpoint to the all-white kitchen you'll find everywhere, and here in this Milan apartment, hospitality designer Eric Egan puts the dramatic touches on it. Not only are the countertops made from unusually textured porphyry, but the back wall is fully mirrored, making this tiny space feel like a real cave. And those inky cabinets? They're from IKEA!

When you work with a 16th-century townhouse, like French designer Eric Allert does, you have to embrace the quirky features of the period. This kitchen was laid with terra-cotta tiles. Rather than removing the tiles, Allert left them in and designed the quirky kitchen with unexpected hues that complement the tiles. Here, an ink-tile backsplash refracts sunlight, while a Pepto pink hue on the walls and ceiling guides the eye upward.

This space in a Gary McBourney-designed Beverly Hills home may just be a butler's pantry, but it offers plenty of small kitchen inspiration. If it's within your budget, opt for cabinetry like these that add a touch of Hollywood Regency glamour. If it's not, paint your existing cabinets a vacation-friendly color like bright key lime. A sunburst light fixture will remind you that there's always happy hour happening somewhere.

The clients of this Manhattan apartment don't use their tiny galley-style kitchen all that often, but designer Lauren Bucksbaum Gordon didn't shy away from making it a showpiece. Her signature move was extending the cabinets all the way to the period ceiling. The light countertops and glossy white paint let sunlight into the room, but it's the gleaming gold hardware and accents that really make this tiny kitchen stand out.

Sometimes, it's best to embrace chaos, and we can't think of a better example than this cheery kitchen nook owned by Jayne Design Studio senior designer William Cullum and his partner Jeffrey Rose. A bright pink Victorian pie cabinet holds antique crockery, and a goat sculpture (formerly a Saks Fifth Avenue exhibit) discreetly guards the fridge (camouflaged as a whimsical piece of art) from midnight snack thieves. You really can do anything in this space, as long as you're yourself.

Designed by New York firm Husband Wife, the apartment follows Bucksbaum Gordon's towering kitchen cabinetry rules, but rather than relying on the usual all-white, the designers covered the walls in swirly marble and painted the cabinets in the dreamiest shade of glossy cream paint—the perfect combination of classic and contemporary.

Toast CEO Susie de Rohan Wilner's Victorian farmhouse in Oxfordshire, England, may be small, but it's brimming with country charm. Bright green lower cupboards draw the eye quickly through the space, while open shelving helps smartly store and display chic accessories.

This Brooklyn apartment has extremely high ceilings and plenty of natural light, and designer Danielle Fennoy of Revamp Interior Design helped open up the combined kitchen and dining area with lots of vibrant jewel tones, including an emerald green backsplash (replacing the white subway tile installed by the original developer) and retro-chic Knoll dining chairs upholstered in crimson “nightclub-grade” Ultraleather.

Believe it or not, this cottage in Provincetown, Massachusetts, started out as a humble fishing shack, and designer David Cafiero incorporated a nautical theme throughout the home, including the tiny galley kitchen, which was modeled after a ship's cooking space.

Like many busy New Yorkers, the residents of this Manhattan apartment don't have much time to cook, but that doesn't mean the kitchen takes a back seat to the rest of the home. Instead, Sarah Mendel and Lisa Emen of Cochineal Design transformed the space into a functional showpiece with bold marble and cabinetry painted in Farrow & Ball's sexy Preference Red. Bonus: It's also the perfect nook to display the client's ceramic collection.

A small kitchen space doesn't mean you have to give up space for cooking and eating. The trick is to think small, like this tiny kitchen island in an apartment designed by Nicholas Obeid. With vintage stools underneath and two Allied Manufacturer pendant lights hanging above, this tiny kitchen has the same impact as a spacious suburban kitchen.